CLEVELAND -- Former Cleveland Indians first baseman/manager Mike Hargrove earned plenty of accolades during his career in Major League Baseball, and the veteran player and skipper can add one more award to his trophy case.
Hargrove received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 17th annual Greater Cleveland Sports Awards banquet at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel Grand Ballroom Thursday night.
Between his years as a player and coach, Hargrove spent 21 seasons with the Indians and guided them to World Series appearances in 1995 and 1997.
After being acquired in a trade with the Texas Rangers, Hargrove made his debut with the Indians as a first baseman on June 14, 1979, and in seven years as a player, appeared in 888 games.
In 3,538 plate appearances, Hargrove smacked 860 hits, including 139 doubles, 14 triples and 33 home runs with 383 runs batted in and 388 runs scored. Nicknamed “The Human Rain Delay” for his ability to extend at-bats, Hargrove drew 505 walks during his time with the Indians.
With the Indians, Hargrove had a .292 batting average, .396 slugging percentage and a .778 OPS. His .424 on-base percentage in 1981 was the best in the American League.
Upon the conclusion of his playing career, Hargrove went on to manage the Indians (1991-1999), Baltimore Orioles (2000-2003) and Seattle Mariners (2005-2007), and posted a 1,188-1,176 record.
As a manager, Hargrove had his most success with the Indians, where he led the club to a 721-591 record, five straight American League Central Division titles (1995-1999), two AL pennants and a pair of World Series appearances.
When he concluded his managerial career, Hargrove returned to Cleveland, and along with his wife and high-school sweetheart, Sharon, continued their work to better the community. Hargrove has worked with several charitable organizations in Cleveland, most notably Our Lady of the Wayside.
One of the Top 100 Players in team history, Hargrove was inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame in 2008.
Hargrove is the fifth member of the Indians’ organization to be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, as former pitcher Bob Feller (2004), owner Richard Jacobs (2005), pitcher and announcer Herb Score (2006) and broadcaster Tom Hamilton (2015) have received similar recognition at past ceremonies.
Watch WKYC's Jim Donovan's interview with Hargrove at the WKYC studios before Thursday night's awards.
