Shaprio, Perez Address Comments on Cleveland Fans

By: Brett Crow

“It’s just a slap in the face when you’re in first place and last in attendance. Last. Not 25th or 26th. Last.”

Those are the comments from Cleveland Indians All-Star pitcher Chris Perez that have generated a firestorm around the team. “That was the last straw,” Perez said in reference to being booed for allowing two men on base during a game that he eventually saved against the Seattle Mariners.

Given an opportunity to address the comments since having said them, Perez let his feelings be known: “We’re good. And we have a good team. We haven’t played our best ball and we’re in first place. It’s been years building up and Thursday was the last straw. I just had it.”

Chris Perez, known for actively interacting with fans on Twitter, knew he was going to have deal with the aftermath and wrath of the fans. When asked about the backlash, Perez said, “Some of it was funny. I expected it. But I really don’t care anymore. I’m here to do my job and play for this team. If the fans come, they come. And if they don’t, it will be just like it was in April. So who cares?”

Asked if he had talked to anybody about feelings around the league that players don’t want to play in Cleveland, Perez didn’t offer any apologies and stood by his comments. “I’ve talked to ex-players, I’ve talked to guys we’ve released in recent years. And it’s a consensus pretty much. It’s not a good atmosphere. It’s not fun to be here.”

In an attempt to clarify a bit more, Perez went on to say that the fun atmospheres and fan support help encourage the team and individual players if they’ve had bad games or bad individual performances, saying the atmosphere of having the fans support you could break some of the slumps and pump the energy.

Asked if he talked to former players who had played for the Indians during the times when the fan base was electric, Perez talked emphatically: “I talked to ex-players when they used to play here. Ask Derek Lowe! When he was with Boston, they’re like ‘God, we’re coming to Cleveland! That place is tough to play, it’s loud, they’re on you.’ That’s that home field advantage. That’s what I want to get back to. That helps us win. That helps us get to where we want to go. It’s not like that anymore unfortunately.”

When asked why he wanted to be here then, if things just weren’t the way he thought they should be, Perez let it be known that he loved Cleveland. “We have a good team, I want to get back to that. I was in Florida in 97 when they lost the World Series to the Marlins. I saw the atmosphere here, it’s great. It’s a good baseball town.”

When asked why he thought people don’t come, Perez said, “There’s all kinds of reasons. Weather, the ownership. I hear that all the time. I’m just repeating what you guys write.” Also asked why he thought the fans disliked the ownership, Perez spoke and blamed the media outright: “I think some of it is the media, some of it is the fans.”

Perez continued and got away from the question, his anger with the fans coming out again: “I don’t understand the negativity. Why? Enjoy what we have. We have a first place team! How many teams in the country would want that? Do you think the Tigers are happy? They’re in third place … We’re in first place, enjoy it. We could be in last place, we could be the Royals, the Pirates, haven’t won anything in twenty years. We’re not. Enjoy it. I don’t understand the negativity. And that goes for some of you too.”

Shapiro himself opened up his own segment speaking of the incredible respect he had for Chris Perez, but that they disagreed: “We as an organization clearly disagree with him about our fans. We appreciate our fans, we respect our fans, we certainly want more to come and we’re working extremely hard to make that happen. But it is our underlying belief, that if the team continues to play the way it plays, with the kind of emotion and passion and competitiveness and relentless approach and we continue to win...That more fans will come out.”

Shapiro said he has never gotten the impression that players avoided coming here. “I get the sense they do, you got two examples in Asdrubal [Cabrera] and [Carlos] Santana who just signed extensions. In my experience, this has been a place that certain types of players want to come here.”

Asked if he himself was disappointed in the attendance, Shapiro commented that he “wanted more people to experience what we have going here.” He let it be known that he didn’t let that become frustration, but instead turned it to resolve to do what he could to get people to come to the games.

Chris Perez has been with Cleveland Indians since 2009 when a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals brought him to Cleveland. In 2010, Perez broke out with 23 saves and an ERA of 1.71 as the Indians closer. Hard to improve on such a season, Perez managed when he got 36 saves the next season and maintained a relatively low ERA of 3.32 in 2011, even making the All-Star game that year. This year, Perez is ranked as one of the top closers with over thirteen saves in eighteen games played, second among all pitchers in the MLB.

Mark Shapiro has been the President of the Cleveland Indians since after the 2010 season, when he was promoted and Chris Antonetti took his spot as GM. Serving as GM from 2001 to 2010, Shapiro had been named the Executive of the Year in 2005 and 2007. Shapiro has been with the organization since 1991.

Attendance at Progressive Field, the home of the Cleveland Indians has been low this year, averaging only 15,872 fans per game. This is roughly about ⅓ of what Progressive Field can hold. This weekend’s game against the Miami Marlins seems to be an indicator of things to come though with the the first two games of that series drawing crowds of over 29,000 and the third game drawing nearly 24,000 fans.

The Tribe will kick off a three game series against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, May 22nd with all of the games at home.

Don't forget you can listen to the interview here at the bottom of the page.