April 30, 2005 Cleveland Indians Center Fielder and Lead-off Hitter, Coco Crisp, made two of his personal tickets available to us for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim game in Southern California earlier this month. The local hero had his own cheering section, and we were in the middle of it! Our section, made up mostly of Mr. Crisp's family and friends, definitely had their favorite Indian. TheSportsCritics.com would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Mr. Crisp for inviting us to the game and answering the questions that follow. From High School to College to Professional, who was the one person who had the biggest impact on your life? Besides my father it would have to be Coach Cadar at Southern University. He gave me a chance to play in college when nobody else would. You spent your time in the minors. What would you say is the most beneficial part of the minors? What's the worst part of the minors? Gaining experience playing against some of the best kids in the world and professional coaching. The worst part is all the long bus rides. What did it feel like when you were called up by Cleveland? It was unbelievable. I was jumping from bed to bed with joy, my eyes started watering. It was a great feeling. Who pitched what became your first major league home run? What pitcher do you dread facing now? My first major league home run was off of a good friend of mine, left-hander Scott Wigginson (Cincinnatii Reds). I would have to go with Pedro Martinez. Of the Baseball greats who are now gone, who would you most like to have a conversation with? Ted Williams and Jackie Robinson. What's it mean to have Eddie Murray as your hitting coach? One of, if not the best, switch hitters of all time and since I'm a switch hitter it's great. He has all the knowledge and he knows when and how to translate it to you. How are the 2005 Cleveland Indians going to get over the hump and back into the playoffs? It's all about pitching. If our pitching staff can stay healthy and keep pitching the way they are, the sky's the limit. Per ESPN, your team is ranked 26th in the league. Some say that you don't have a chance because of this. What do you say? The best spot to be in is as the underdog with a chance to do some damage and that's who we are. We're still young but we have loads of talent. You can't take a step this year without talking steroids. Do you think the new rules in place are going to help the game? Why? Of course that's the only thing they can do. I feel that putting steroid users in the media will stop most, if not all, from using them. |
