Mike Hargrove<\/a><\/strong><\/strong> had given the entire ball club a rare spring-training day off. He never did again.<\/p>\n\u201cThey say that time heals all wounds, but it doesn\u2019t,\u201d Hargrove said more than 25 years later. \u201cIt just scabs over and gets scratched off every now and then. You try to bury the emotions. For me they come up maybe three or four times a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
In mentioning it to fans this week, I was surprised to discover that some out here at spring training did not know the story.<\/p>\n
As media director of the Cleveland Crunch that night hosting the National Professional Soccer League All-Star Game, baseball was not on my mind. Our stars Hector Marinaro and Zoran Karic scored spectacular goals, including one on a bicycle kick by Marinaro shortly before halftime. I quickly called local TV stations to tell them they could pick up the highlights on the ESPN broadcast.<\/p>\n
The late Gib Shanley, sports director at Channel 43, assured me he would use the clips, but was sorry he could not do much more. \u201cThree of the Indians were in a big accident tonight in Florida,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to find out what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
From Fun & Frolic to Catastrophe<\/h3>\n
It took a few days for investigators to fully do that. Some teammates are still searching for spiritual resolve.<\/p>\n
The pitchers and their families had spent the day at Crews\u2019 45-acre ranch along the lake having a picnic, riding horses, swimming and playing games. The men, along with strength coach Fernando Montes, were about to go fishing on a moonless night. They had forgotten some gear at the house and played a game of rock, paper scissors to see who had to go get it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lost,\u201d Montes said.<\/p>\n
Not really. It kept him from being aboard Crews\u2019 18-foot power boat when it plowed into a pier that had recently been added. Crews knew the lake well, but on the moonless night apparently misjudged how far the 250-foot wooden structure stuck out. Nobody saw a thing. Montes only heard the crash, then silence. He got into his truck and drove along the shore to try and find his friends. A neighbor heard Ojeda calling for help and dialed 911.<\/p>\n