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Happy Boxing Day, everyone. Make sure to like, put things in boxes, or whatever this holiday is all about. And after you're done with that, peep this baseball news:
Indians news & notes
Santa Claus remembers the Indians whether they've been naughty or nice | Cleveland.com - Paul Hoynes describes hypothetical Christmas gifts that everyone in the Indians organization wants. Top quality Hoynsie, here. Also, there's this:
Why stop at just an ugly sweater? pic.twitter.com/Cn2K3dbRWb
— Corey Kluber (@CKluber) December 21, 2014
Kluber's stellar rise energized Tribe season | Indians.com - Jordan Bastian looks back at the top five storylines from 2014, including the meteoric rise of a machine called Klubot as well as the continued excellence of young guns like Yan Gomes.
Emergence of an ace | Waiting for Next Year - WFNY's top 10 Cleveland sports stories of the year continues with a look at Corey Kluber and his incredible accomplishments.
The season of giving: do promotions really work? | Burning River Baseball - Everyone loves a good bobblehead giveaway, but do these kinds of promotions actually put more butts in the seats? BRB thinks Tribe giveaways are evidence the DOLENZ ARNT CHEEP:
By having the best giveaways when attendance will already be high (like when the Indians gave away a Jim Thome statue on the same Saturday night they had fireworks and 70° weather last August), they are providing a bonus to fans, rather than trying to squeeze them for every penny they have.
12 Tribe gifts of Christmas | Did The Tribe Win Last Night? - Laurel Wilder contributes with her cliche but fun holiday article counting down the Indians season by number.
Catching up with Jim Thome | Did The Tribe Win Last Night? - The DDTWLN staff sits down with Indians legend Jim Thome to discuss his career, including early fears that he wasn't ever going to be a good player.
Tidbits from around MLB
- Sports On Earth takes a look at ten of baseball's most surprising stats of 2014; they also expect a wide-open racein MLB in 2015 (with advantages to the Cubs and Red Sox, of course)
- The Wall Street Journal has an excellent piece on baseball in Uganda
- Fangraphs looks at Korean and Japanese prospects in context
- The Nationals signed Dan Uggla