Jimmy Warfield, Cleveland Indian's Trainer
Bill Schenley
-(7/16/02)-
You couldn't wear the red, white and blue colors of the
Cleveland Indians without knowing how important trainer
Jimmy Warfield had been to the franchise. Not that the
60-year-old Warfield ever did anything on the field to
endear himself to the legion of Indians faithful, because
he never did.
His contributions were strictly behind the scenes, away
from the public spotlight. Yet his contributions were of as
much importance as some of the events that had
happened on the baseball field.
Warfield spent 31 years as an Indians trainer or assistant
trainer, and he handled his duties with a smile, a firm
handshake and professionalism. So his death Tuesday
afternoon in Cleveland Clinic left a void in the lives of the
men and women who knew Warfield.
"Jimmy was our heart and soul," said ex-Indians catcher
Sandy Alomar Jr., whose fondness for Warfield never
faded even after Alomar moved on to the White Sox in
2000. "He kept guys together."
Warfield, though, was more than the locker room's glue.
He was a selfless man of character, of spirit and of wit. No
man anywhere left as many good friends behind as Jimmy
Warfield, whose reward, one Indians broadcaster said,
would come in heaven.
"He would give you the shirt off his back," said Kenny
Lofton, another former Indian whose appreciation for
Warfield bordered on worship. "And if you needed an
extra arm, he'd take his off and give it to you."
Warfield, whose death was announced before the Tribe's
5-4 loss, never let life's hardships bring his spirits crashing
to the ground. Like anybody who lives a full life, he had his
brushes with the worst aspects of it, but he didn't dwell on
any of it overly much.
"He was mugged two times in Oakland at gunpoint and
pistol-whipped both times," said Travis Fryman, who spoke
for his Indians teammates. "But Jimmy never said a negative
thing about the men other than they probably needed the
money more than he did."
That's the Jimmy Warfield that people who befriended him
came to love. That's the Jimmy Warfield they will surely
remember, even as they mourn.
"He wanted the best for everybody," said Alomar, who
first met Warfield in the late 1980s. "Rookies, 10-year
veterans, he gave everybody the same treatment.
"I have so much respect for that."
Respect was a theme that ran through all the public tributes
to Warfield on Tuesday. The Indians held a moment of
silence before the game, and they plan other memorials for a
man who spent almost half of his life with the organization.
"There was not a more respected or well-liked man in this
organization than Jimmy Warfield," general manager Mark
Shapiro said. "Jimmy's outgoing and positive personality
was a beacon of light for the countless individuals he
came in contact with on a daily basis."
Nobody disputed Shapiro's praise. They simply heaped
more praise onto it.
"You can't find anybody better than Jimmy Warfield,"
Omar Vizquel said. "I still don't believe he's gone."