Spring training officially starts Tuesday, meaning we're less than two months away from the Cleveland Guardians home opener.
Will Cleveland baseball see similar success this year that it saw last year, when it became the American League champions? Could this be the year they end their World Series drought?
The team has seen recent success with one of the youngest managers in the league, Stephen Vogt, who stepped into the legendary shoes of former manager, Terry Francona, in 2023 and last year was named the American League Manager of the Year. He was the fastest person to go from player to Manager of the Year in the award's history.
We'll start Tuesday's "Sound of Ideas" by hearing Vogt talk about his new style of leadership and what he sees for the upcoming season in a recent City Club conversation moderated by the play-by-play announcer of the Cleveland Guardians, Matt Underwood.
Later in the hour, we'll hear how for decades, community leaders have been trying to improve Cleveland's lakefront development, including improving connectivity from downtown to the lake, and building up amenities there to lure local and tourism traffic to the region.
City leaders have proposed a land bridge to connect Mall C and City Hall to the lakefront, that would open up new land for community gatherings and future economic development.
But last year's announcement by Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam to move the team to a new domed stadium in Brook Park has raised questions about the future of downtown development. While Mayor Bibb is still trying to keep the Browns downtown, some say it could open up more opportunities for parks and recreation.
In a recent City Club conversation, Ideastream reporter Abbey Marshall moderated a discussion on the Lakefront Master plan with a panel of city leaders.
Guests:
-Stephen Vogt, Manager, Cleveland Guardians
-Matt Underwood, Play-By-Play Announcer, Cleveland Guardians
-Abbey Marshall, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Drew Crawford, Senior Director of Planning, Downtown Cleveland
-Scott Skinner, Executive Director, North Coast Waterfront Development Corporation
-Jessica Trivosanno, Senior Advisor for Major Projects, City of Cleveland
