CLEVELAND — You couldn't have scripted it any better, and Tom Hanks certainly knows a good script when he sees one.
Less than a year after voicing the video announcing the new team name of Guardians, Hanks was in Cleveland Friday night to throw out the ceremonial pitch for the team's home opener. Larry Doby Jr. caught the ball in recognition of his father breaking the American League color barrier 75 years ago with the Indians, and appropriately, Hanks was sporting a No. 14 Guardians jersey.
What could make the moment even more perfect? Hanks was joined on the mound by an old friend: Wilson, his trusty volleyball from the film "Cast Away." Wilson even had a little fun of his own, zipping around the infield before "Chuck Nolan" finally fired the baseball to Doby behind home plate.
Before becoming a legendary Hollywood actor, Hanks got one of his first big breaks as a member of Cleveland's Great Lakes Theater Festival in the late 1970s, and as a huge baseball fan found himself going to several Indians game at old Municipal Stadium. He's remained a fan of the team ever since, and even name-dropped several players from that era in an interview with Cubs supporter Stephen Colbert during the 2016 World Series.
But of course, us baseball die-hards will always remember Hanks for his role as drunken but brilliant manager Jimmy Dugan in "A League of Their Own," where he coined the immortal phrase, "There's no crying in baseball!"