Tribe Talk | Cleveland Indians do it right in Major League Baseball Puerto Rico Series

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - Somewhere in the heavens above Hiram Bithorn Staduim, Roberto Clemente was smiling.

Major League Baseball was back in Puerto Rico for the first time since the New York Mets and Miami Marlins held a three-game, regular-season series in June 2010. The Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins played a two-game series on the island and Puerto Ricans were not disappointed.

Down on the field, Cleveland Indians shortstop Franciso Lindor was flashing his infectious smile right back up at Clemente.

On Tuesday, the Indians came away with the 6-1 victory where native son Lindor hit a home run that sent the island into a frenzy. Clemente may have had a bit to do with that one sneaking over the right field wall, Clemente's position during his playing career.

He also may have had a hand in the two rain-out games against Toronto earlier in the week. I think he wanted to see Corey Kluber pitch. The Puerto Rico fans were treated to a gem by Kluber, who tossed 6⅔ innings of flawless baseball.

The following night, it was like Clemente didn't want Major League Baseball to leave again. Who knows when it might be back? So, he made the Twins and Indians play 16 innings. So instead of a two-game series, Clemente made sure baseball fans in Puerto Rico witnessed nearly three games. Unfortunately, the Tribe came out on the losing end of that one 2-1, but did the final score really matter?

Sure, in the grand scheme of things, it goes down as a loss on the overall record, but the two-game series did more than that.

We are spoiled. We can drive to the nearest baseball stadium and witness the best baseball players in the world. The people in Puerto Rico had to wait eight years to watch a Major League Baseball game. 

We get to watch the best players from their country more than they do. We get to watch Lindor cement himself as the future of Major League Baseball. We get to watch Roberto Perez gun down runners and hit clutch home runs in the playoffs. We get to watch José Berríos of the Twins throw inning after inning of flawless baseball. And we get to watch that every day.

We can simply go to the ballpark on a normal day and watch this. We can flip on the TV and watch every single Cleveland Indians game. The people of Puerto Rico do not have that luxury.

If there is one major thing the Puerto Rico Series taught me, it is to enjoy the game. Never take the luxury of getting to watch the greatest players in the greatest game ever invented for granted. It could be gone in a flash, or I could have to wait eight years to witness it. 

So thank you, Major League Baseball. Thank you, Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins, for agreeing to play the game. Thank you, Francisco Lindor, for providing one of the most incredible moments I have ever witnessed watching a baseball game. Thank you, Robert Perez, for getting a hit in your home country. Thank you, José Berríos, for tossing a complete gem through seven innings even, though you made my team look silly.

And thank you, Roberto Clemente, for watching over Hiram Bithorn Staduim and watching the game you loved so much.

Jake Furr is the sports reporter for the Mansfield News Journal. He can be reached via email at jfurr@gannett.com, by cell phone at 740-244-9934 or on Twitter at @JakeFurr11.