Being an Indians fan is hard.
REALLY HARD.
But in the spring of 1980, there was a glimmer of hope and it came courtesy of an injury to one of their best players.
During spring training, first baseman Andre Thornton, who led the team in home runs in 1979 with 26, tore cartilage in his right knee. The injury eventually required surgery and would keep Thornton out of the lineup for the entire season. Losing your top power threat is never good, but in some ways, it made manager Dave Garcia’s job a bit easier because there was a 24-year-old kid who had never played above AA making a name for himself at Indians camp in Palm Springs.
“We can’t keep him out the way he’s playing,” said Garcia.” The kid is doing a job and we’re going to give him a shot at it. He’s earned it.”
Joe Charboneau began his career in the Phillies organization but didn’t fit the way the Phillies thought a ballplayer should conduct himself. In 1976, he hit .298 for the Phillies Class A Spartanburg team and advanced to the Carolina League in 1977 with Peninsula. But after starting the season 3 for 17 at the plate, he found himself on the bench and on the outs with manager Jim Snyder and the organization. Fed up, Charboneau decided to leave the team and return home. But he was coaxed back and in 1978 the Phillies loaned him to the Minnesota Twins, who assigned him to Visalia in the California League. Given a chance to play regularly, Charbonneau responded with a .350 batting average, 18 home runs, and 116 RBI.
Following the ’78 season, Charboneau was dealt to Cleveland for pitcher Cardell Camper. With his new organization, Charboneau won the batting title, hitting .352 with 21 homers and 78 RBI with the Indians’ AA club in Chattanooga, and set his sights on the big leagues.
When Thornton went down, the Indians moved Mike Hargrove from left field to first base and made Charboneau an everyday player. He responded by homering on Opening Day on the road against the Angels. But when the Tribe returned to Cleveland for their home opener he immediately gained the affection of Indians fans.
THE DEBUT
In front of nearly 62,000 fans at Municipal Stadium, Charboneau went 3-3 with a home run and drove in two as the Indians beat Toronto 8-1. The legend of “Super Joe” was born and it grew with each home run. But the stories of his exploits off the field gained him additional notoriety.
Charboneau participated in bare-fisted fights in boxcars as a teenager in Santa Clara, California. He suffered multiple broken noses, one of which he set by himself using a pair of pliers. The broken noses also resulted in lost cartilage, which allowed Joe to drink beer through his nose, always a useful skill. In the minor leagues he supposedly performed his own dental work using a razor blade and a pair of vice grips, cut out an ill-conceived tattoo with a razor blade, opened beer bottles with his eye socket, had a pet alligator that almost ate a teammates kitten, and stitched himself back together after another fight using fishing wire. He was also known to eat lit cigarettes. You know, just the normal stuff all of us do on occasion.
Perhaps the most bizarre incident came during spring training when the Indians were playing a series of exhibition games in Mexico City. Charboneau and two teammates were waiting outside the hotel for the team bus when a man approached them and asked Joe where he was from. Joe responded that he was from California. The man then took a penknife and stabbed Charboneau. The knife went about four inches into the left side of Charboneau’s chest and struck a rib. Charboneau’s teammates subdued the man and the police arrived. About 45 minutes later, an ambulance showed up to take Charboneau to the hospital where the wound was stitched up. His assailant, Oscar Billalobos Martinez, was tried and fined 50 pesos. “That’s $2.27 for stabbing a person,” said Charboneau.
A LOVE AFFAIR
A band called Section 36 released a song called, Go Joe Charboneau. It was horrible, but it was about Super Joe and it climbed the charts on the local radio stations, eventually reaching No. 3 in Cleveland.
“Who’s the newest guy in town? Go Joe Charboneau.
Turns the ballpark upside down. Go Joe Charboneau.
Who do we appreciate? Go Joe Charboneau.
Fits right in with the other eight? Go Joe Charboneau.
Who’s the one to keep our hopes alive? Go Joe Charboneau.
Straight from the 7th to the pennant drive? Go Joe Charboneau.
Raise your glass, let out a cheer. Go Joe Charboneau.
For Cleveland’s Rookie of the Year. Go Joe Charboneau.”
A May slump landed him on the bench, but he eventually worked his way back into the lineup and hit .326 with three homers in June. A late-season injury robbed him of playing time and the debate for the Rookie of the Year in the American League heated up.
In Chicago, Tony LaRussa lobbied hard for one of his pitchers, Britt Burns. “If that kid’s not Rookie of the Year, there’s no such thing,” LaRussa told The Sporting News. “There’s no way Charboneau had a better year.”
In Boston, Red Sox manager Don Zimmer made a case for second baseman Dave Stapleton. “The guy in Cleveland is going to be tough to beat because he hits more home runs,” said Zimmer. “There’s much more action at second base and it’s a much tougher position to play than the outfield. Charboneau plays left and is a designated hitter, but my guy has to be right there.”
Peter Gammons indicated he thought Blue Jays second baseman Damaso Garcia might be the leading candidate in his September 6th Sporting News column.
The fans had their say as well. In a September 27th letter to the editor in The Sporting News, one fan pled Super Joe’s case. “Charboneau is exciting and people are talking about him. How many people are talking about Garcia and Stapleton?”
IT DIDN’T LAST
In the end, Charboneau finished the season batting .289 with 23 homers and 87 RBI. Those numbers were enough to win the Rookie of the Year award in a landslide. The award, coupled with his huge popularity in Cleveland allowed him to triple his salary to $90,000 in 1981.
Unfortunately, a Spring Training back injury derailed his season in ’81 and he never recovered. After his magical rookie season, Charboneau would hit just six home runs over the next two years and retired in 1984 after a few comeback attempts. He holds the record for fewest games played in the Major Leagues by a Rookie of the Year, with just 201.
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