There was a time when Corey Kluber was one of the most dominant hurlers in all of Major League Baseball.
He was a fan favorite and a perennial star in Cleveland, which is why it’s so refreshing to see him back at Progressive Field.
Kluber joined the Cleveland Guardians to serve as a ‘special assistant,’ and while his role isn’t fully clear just yet, he will most definitely be of big help.
He claimed that his role would take shape as the season progresses, but he will work closely with the pitchers and the coaching staff to tweak some things.
Moreover, he can also be of great help to young pitchers, especially those who have yet to figure things out in the Minors.
He knows what that’s like, as he had a 5.56 ERA at Triple-A in 2011 and a 5.14 ERA in 2012, so he had to work hard on his craft to get a chance to do his thing in the Majors.
Now, he thinks he can share that expertise with the youngsters:
“I probably experienced pretty close to a full spectrum of things throughout a career,” Kluber said. “I wasn’t a very good Minor Leaguer, figured out some stuff a little bit, but still kind of had to develop at this stage. I had success here, I had not success here … injuries. So I think just having a lot of different types of experiences to build on hopefully presents opportunities to help guys with a lot of different things.”
Kluber wanted to take some time off after he announced his retirement.
Then, after staying in touch with former teammates, he realized that he wanted to stay close to the game.
Kluber played in the Majors for 13 years, nine of which were with the Guardians.
He was a two-time AL Cy Young winner, led the league in ERA once, and even recorded a no-hitter.
Unfortunately, injuries took a toll on his game in the later stretch of his career, but he still went down as one of the most consistent hurlers of his generation.
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