For most Cleveland sports fans 1994-1997 was almost like a dream and with the help of Terry Pluto and Tom Hamilton the dream can be relived in the Glory Days in Tribe Town: The Cleveland Indians and Jacobs Field 1994-1997. This book is written in three different sections with chapters making up each sections. The chapters do not connect to one another so a reader could skip around reading the chapters that they find most interesting first. My favorite chapters come at the end of each section entitled "Readers Letters". Pluto collected letters from the readers of his Plain Dealer columns and separated them based on topic. It is interesting to read Clevelanders accounts of watching games with parents, meeting favorite players, attending Jacobs Field for the first time and reliving how it felt during and after Game 7 of the World Series against the Florida Marlins in 1997.

The stories in the book are collected from interviews that Pluto conducted either during the seasons focused on or in interviews since. Hamilton adds his memories throughout recounting being on Jacob's private plan when the trade of Kenny Lofton to the Atlanta Braves was being discussed, finding out that Herb Score was going to retire at the end of the '97 season but wanted it to be kept a secret and what the seemingly always angry Albert Belle was like away from the clubhouse.

There is a lot of insight into the club that I'm sure some die-hard Cleveland sports radio fans knew, but that I found interesting learning about such as the reason behind Jim Thome signing with the Philadelphia Phillies, some of the fires that manager Mike Hargrove had to put out in the clubhouse, how players felt the organization disrespected Hall of Fame player Eddie Murray with a low contract and what the players thought of playing in Cleveland for the fans.

This book was really interesting to read as a lifelong Cleveland Indians fan. The only thing that I found disappointing was that chunks were repeated throughout the books. Like details about the trade of Lofton to Atlanta is recounted a couple of times, information about Hargrove's playing career and Mark Shapiro's father being a agent for many players in the MLB. Since I look at the book as being one that a reader could skip around and read the chapters in the order they choose I decided not to knock it for the repeats throughout the book. I think that any Cleveland sports fan would be happy to add this book to their library collection.

I grew up with the Indians in the 1990s. My family had season tickets (we split with other families) and we were there for some great games. I was one of the kids who missed school for the parade following the 1995 season. I'm still a tribe fan and this book really helped me relive the Glory Days!

3.5 stars

And in case anyone cares, the paperback actually has 333 pages.

Ideally, this would be a five-star book. Grammatical errors unfortunately litter it, which my inner English major cannot seem to ignore. It's also written rather choppily, and repeats itself from chapter to chapter, as if it assumes you only pick it up to read a specific chapter and then you're done. But if you're reading it the whole way through, it gets a little repetitive. My favorite chapters were the ones about building the new ballpark, and the hope that it brought, and the players' chapters -- Omar, Kenny, Jim Thome. It gets 3.5 stars because this was my team.

I was eight years old in 1995 and ten in 1997. I grew up with a poster of Kenny Lofton on my wall alongside the NSYNC and Backstreet Boys posters. I got to go to a baseball camp one summer and field grounders from Omar Vizquel. I remember drawing up my own sign for the 1997 World Series, as if I were actually going to the game, and held onto it as we sat there watching everything unfold. (It said "Hook the Marlins", if I remember properly.) I'm sitting here listening to the Tribe duke it out with the Yankees in the 16th inning as I type this, and I've been crying since I finished the book ten minutes ago. For what could have been, I suppose, for what almost was and what really should have been, in 1997. But also because I recognize how truly incredible it was to grow up in that decade, believing we really had magic.

Now to find out what hoops I have to jump through to get Tom Hamilton to sign this for me.

update: Cleveland beat the Yankees. It's 12:30 and wayyyy past my bedtime.

I really enjoyed getting Tom Hamilton's prespective in this book. A fun read interesting to hear from the players and coaches perspective on the teams of the 90s.