Let’s Go Tribe’s 10 most popular news stories of 2016

Here’s the Indians news you cared about most in 2016.

By Matt Lyons@mattrly Dec 26, 2016, 12:00pm EST

Cleveland Indians news is something we take seriously and love to cover at Let’s Go Tribe, but I will be the first to admit that we can’t keep up with with beat writers or others with direct access to the team. At best, one of us will catch a tweet sent out by a local writer and be able to get an actual news post out before them, which we then update as more information becomes available.

But still, we get quite a few eyes on our news posts, especially when they take a little time for a measured reaction.... or if they are senseless drama. Those do well, too.

I’m including posts from our “Indians videos, tweets, GIFs, and other fun things” category too, because those are news in the sense of Indians-related things happening around baseball.

#1 - Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer labels beat wirter Paul Hoynes a “coward” by Jason Lukehart (September 18)

So, about that whole drama thing. This is actually our most popular post of the entire year, so I cannot imagine how much traffic this whole thing drove for Cleveland.com. Maybe that’s why they also did two follow-up posts and a Facebook Live video of Paul Hoynes explaining why the Indians were done for after Carlos Carrasco’s injury.

This post in particular was about Trevor’s reaction to the piece, as well as Jason Kipnis’ own, equally unhappy, response. I said in Carlos Carrasco’s yearly review that I don’t think Hoynes was wrong to think the Indians were out of it after the injury, but actually putting it into print probably wasn’t a great idea.

#2 - Cleveland Indians officially demote Chief Wahoo by Jason Lukehart (April 2)

And of course by “demote” they meant “not really though.” Jason also gave a clear and concise way the Indians will likely eventually remove the logo altogether, but it clearly didn’t happen this year. As usual, with anything Wahoo-related, the comments mostly agree with the post and are civil, while the Facebook posts are a zoo.

#3 - Cleveland Indians World Series tickets are already on sale they are not cheap by Matt Lyons (September 7)

Every team heading into the postseason does this, so it’s not a surprise, but it was fun getting an early look at just how expensive the World Series was going to be. Little did anyone know back on September 7 what kind of series they would be getting into.

#3 - Cleveland Indians reportedly telling teams they “have some money to spend” at deadline by Matt Lyons (June 21)

They weren’t lying. The Indians said they had money, they said they were going to fix their roster holes, and by god they did. Andrew Miller added $9 million more to the payroll last season, and they nearly acquired Jonathan Lucroy as well. That all seems like chump change compared to the $20 million AAV given to Edwin Encarnacion this offseason.

#4 - James Ramsey and Zach Walters traded to Dodgers for cash considerations by Matt Lyons (April 10)

What the hell, you guys? This is the biggest trade news story of the year on Let’s Go Tribe. Ramsey didn’t even last in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization all year long, and Zach Walters went hitless in five major-league plate appearances.

#5 - Cleveland Indians to acquire Andrew Miller from Yankees for Clint Frazier and others by Matt Lyons (July 31)

This post came on a crazy morning at the trade deadline. Reports of the Indians acquiring Miller and the deal for Jonathan Lucroy were coming out simultaneously. I remember when this trade happened my initial reaction basically boiled down to “well it’s cool since they got Lucroy too.” Then, when Lucroy did his thing, I wasn’t a huge fan of going all-in on a reliever and nothing else. I happily admit I was wrong.

#6 - Terry Francona: "I do think Chris [Antonetti]'s still got one trick up his sleeve this winter" by Matt Lyons (January 30)

Remember when a “trick up a sleeve” meant signing Juan Uribe to a one-year deal?

#7 - Jose Bautista is whining about baseball again by Matt Lyons (October 16)

The game is rigged. Included in this post is all the swings-and-misses by Bautista in the game he was whining about.

#8 - Trevor Bauer helps a fan on Twitter with her math homework by Matt Lyons (November 11)

A small, innocuous story, but at least it’s a cute one. Although, as commenters pointed out, Trevor’s math may have been off so he just helped a middle schooler fail a math test way to go you jerk.

This post also blew up on reddit after someone posted it there, which is always fun.

#9 - Cleveland Indians "sacrifice" chicken, ask Jobu to forgive Yan Gomes by Matt Schlichting (July 16)

...and then literally one day later he screws up his shoulder. Don’t mess with Jobu.

#10 - Will Benson: "I'm definitely going to sign. I'm definitely going to Cleveland" by Matt Lyons (June 9)

I can’t seem to find a way to identify the highest single peak of any one post, but this one probably has it. It absolutely exploded during the draft then died 15 minutes later. Everyone was just a tad excited about the newest member of the Indians organization. And he wasn’t too bad either, finishing his season in rookie ball with a .209/.321/.424 slash and six home runs. Thanks for signing, Will.