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Get Me to Cleveland!
The Chicago Cubs stunned the Cleveland Indians 9-3 in Game 6 of the World Series last night in Cleveland. It’s clear the Indians need to throw everything they have at the Cubbies in the decisive Game 7.
On that note…
Ladies and Gentlemen: Game 7 of the 2016 World Series is very likely getting the silver screen treatment!
FEAR NOT,
“BELIEVE”LAND!!My bag is packed,
and help is on the way!!©99
#GetMeVaughn
As has been written/requested/begged on Jimmy’s Daily Planet (This Wild Thing is…Major League and There’s Always the 7th Inning Relief), the Cleveland Indians have the opportunity to win the all-important (second to the World Series, I suppose…) pop culture battle with the Chicago Cubs (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Rookie of the Year, Back to the Future Part II’s near prescient prediction back in 1989) by calling on the franchise’s best relief pitcher:
Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn.
Before getting all hopes up of the awesomeness that could transpire tonight (a step-by-step recreation of that famous “Wild Thing” outfield entrance against the New York Yankees in the original Major League, uniform, hat, glasses, haircut, song, strut and all), let’s just all stay tuned at the very beginning of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio at 8:00 p.m. ET on FOX.
If the Cleveland Indians and Charlie Sheen actually pull this off, it would take “winning” to an entirely new, awesome level.
Cleveland’s Celebrity Curveball
The Cleveland Indians or the Chicago Cubs?
I was born and raised in Columbus, OH. I am a fan of many teams from my home state, around the country and all around the world for various sports for various reasons. I have written about the Indians and the Cubs qualifying for the World Series through a pop-culture/movie lens throughout the past few days and the fact that rises above all this jubilant chaos occurring in Major League Baseball is that we’re currently living in a Bizarro World. The Cubs are in the World Series for the first time in seven decades and the Indians could potentially win their second professional sports championship in the same calendar year, leading to a city-wide identity crisis.
What is happening right now?
The one thing I do know is that I will be cheering for…
Tom Hanks may have said it best last night.
Go Cleveland Indians!
If Tom Hanks is not shown on national television sitting at a World Series game in Progressive Field (definitely a catchier name) with a typewriter, while wearing an Indians hat and jersey or t-shirt, then we’ve officially entered a new dimension of the Bizarro World. Indians organization: The “Wild Thing”/Charlie Sheen and Tom Hanks are handing you pop-culture TV gold on a platter…take it and show it to everyone!
Otherwise, that’s what those in the baseball biz call a strikeout K – (open parenthesis, SIT DOWN…backspace, backspace, backspace, Shift 8, ”’, close parenthesis).
Save Ferris (and This Moment)
Movie fans rejoice!
(See previous two blog posts)
The 2016 World Series will be The Cleveland Indians v. The Chicago Cubs.
The Cubbies blanked the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 to win the National League Championship series 4-2 at Wrigley Field to advance to the World Series for the first time seven decades. Despite the fact that Aroldis Chapman was the winning relief pitcher, many of us watching pretended that the Cubs’ pitcher was 12-year-old Henry Rowengartner (1993’s Rookie of the Year).
We just had have to.
Now that the Chicago Cubs are through to the biggest stage in baseball, there are certain people who need to make a televised appearance at the first World Series game at Wrigley Field, sitting in their seats, wearing their same clothes, singing that same song…
Along with a Charlie Sheen/”Wild Thing” entrance and pitch, a recreated Ferris Bueller’s Day Off moment would go down in pop-culture history as one of the best ever.
Even more importantly, Back to the Future: Part II screenwriters Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale deserve tremendous credit for concocting a truly amazing (and admittedly shocking at the time) prediction for the way-off future of October 21, 2015.
Yes, the World Series still needs to be played, but Mr. Zemeckis and Mr. Gale were (potentially) one year away from being stunningly prescient about the Cubs from back in 1989 and the future existence of a Major League Baseball team in Miami, Florida (est. 1993).
And people say movies aren’t real life.
Top of the Eighth
“As a celebration of the magic of movies involving baseball, at least one scene from a different film will be posted each day for the next nine days…”
—From “Top of the First” March 28th
Imagine being back in middle school, one of the most uncomfortable phases in life. Your name is Henry Rowengartner. While hanging around the baseball field at school, one of the kids publicly makes fun of you for embarrassingly throwing a ball over the fence for a home run…for the other team! (tunnel vision can be a killer). He then instantaneously challenges you to catch a high soaring fly ball he hits into the sky in your direction. The girl of your dreams is watching in anticipation to see if you’ll redeem yourself. You start sprinting to make the heroic catch, but instead wildly trip on a stray baseball in the grass and land awkwardly, breaking your arm.
Ouch! In more ways than one…
This is the beginning of the movie, “Rookie of the Year.” After having a cast on into the beginning of summer, the day has arrived to remove the white hot compression box (speaking from personal experience).
“I’m looking for Henry Rulenfurter.
Henry Rowengartner?
Yeah.”
When I broke my arm and had to wear a cast during the summer of 1996, I didn’t subsequently pitch for the Chicago Cubs. Instead, I got the entire Mexican Olympic soccer team’s autographs, along with several other Olympians while in Atlanta for the XXVI Olympiad. However, the most treasured signing of all was “Carl the Scalper.” Why? He sold my Dad and me Dream Team tickets versus Lithuania!
“Starting at guard, number 6, Penny Hardaway!”
The lesson from all of this: Awkwardly break your arm, wear a cast in the summertime and amazing things will happen!
(Just kidding, but only kind of…)
Jimmy's Daily Planet 