On Saturday night, Indians legend Rocky Colavito returned to Cleveland to celebrate his 80th birthday with his former team and "the best fans in baseball".
A member of the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame, Colavito spent the day sharing stories and signing autographs for fans at a luncheon held by the team. He was presented with an 80th birthday cake and capped off the pre-game festivities by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
“I always felt that this was my town,” Colavito told reporters before Saturday's game. “I love Cleveland. It’s my favorite town in the world.”
Cleveland loves him back.
Colavito was one of, if not the most popular Cleveland Indian of the past and still remains a favorite for many generations of Tribe fans. He was the player every kid wanted to be like growing up and was a class-act off the field as well. When he was traded to the Tigers for Harvey Kuenn in 1960, the entire city was outraged.
The story of Colavito's trade, as told by Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com, has changed some throughout the years.
Colavito was standing on first base, fresh off a single in an exhibition game in Memphis, Tenn., when he got the news. When he saw manager Joe Gordon trotting out to the field, he figured he was getting word that he was being pulled from the game so that he could hit the shower at the hotel and be ready to board the bus on time.Instead …"He told me, 'You've been traded to Detroit for Harvey Kuenn,'" Colavito recalled. "And he said, 'And I want to wish you all the luck in the world.'"Now, here's where the myth of the Colavito trade begins to diverge from the truth. Because it is at this point in the story that Colavito famously (and cockily) said, "Kuenn and who else?"Colavito, in the present day, insists that in that stunning moment, all he could think to say to Gordon was, "Same to you."
The bitter feelings fans held towards the Indians front office over the Colavito trade lingered for years. The 'curse of Rocky Colavito' was born. The rest is history.
During Colavito’s visit with the media, he was asked about the PED scandal and what he thinks of the players who use.
“They’re cheaters,” he said. “They cheat. When I played, we never even heard of steroids.”
Colavito said the worst part of the steroid era that has tainted MLB, is the fact that so many records set by clean players are getting blown away.
"In my best year, I hit 45 home runs. Sosa hit 60 three times, McGwire hit 70 and Bonds hit 73. It makes us look like we were mediocre. I resent that. I don’t want kudos, but I don’t want to look mediocre."
He went on to say that the PED users shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame and that MLB should have a seperate set of records for this era of baseball.
