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by J.R.
Story to go with TFIR's pic:
Terry Francona Tells Blake Wood He Made Indians with Awesome Trip to the Mound
By Gabe Zaldivar , Pop Culture Lead Writer
Mar 28, 2014
It's never a good thing when the skipper walks to the mound, unless the manager is Terry Francona and he is meandering over to the bump to relay that you made the team.
Fox Sports' Joe Reedy (h/t Deadspin) reports the Indians manager decided to inform pitcher Blake Wood that he had made it to The Show with a trip to the mound on Monday.
Here is what Francona had to say about the brief exchange on the field he had with the 28-year-old, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012:
When I went to take him out, (catcher Luke) Carlin was coming and I told him to stay back there a little bit...I went out there and asked (Wood) if he ever made the team on the mound? He was like no. I go 'well, you just did.' After that we came and talked to him the dugout but you could tell he was pretty excited.
Unfortunately, we couldn't spot any video of the poignant moment, but Twitter, thankfully, has an image of the meeting Wood will never forget, via Indians president Mark Shapiro:
Go ahead and stick that bad boy in your back pocket and bust it out on a rainy day, because it is just too wonderful.
As Northeast Ohio Media Group Indians beat writer Paul Hoynes reminds, "The Indians claimed Wood on waivers in 2012 after he had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow with the Royals." In the end, two more appearances during spring were enough to really welcome Wood into the fold.
