On opening day attention is often focused on the sellout crowd filling every available space in Progressive Field but this year it will be the empty spot at the top of Section 183 that will be tough to ignore. The spot that once housed the bleacher seat of John Adams who passed away in January.
“It's going to have a somber feeling to it,” said Guardians Vice President of Communications Curtis Danburg. “Knowing that he's passed on it's going to have even more meaning to the fans as well as the organization on Opening Day.”
To honor Adams the team will observe a moment of silence at the start of the game Friday and wear a patch with his initials separated by a pair of his bass drum mallets. There will also be a poignant moment before the Guardians come up to bat for the first time when Slider will take Adams’ actual drum back to its familiar perch.
“Middle of the first inning Slider we'll be up there at his normal location up in the top of the bleachers banging on the drum and getting people fired up,” Danburg said.
The team also plans to use a recording of Adams rally beat when appropriate. “We recorded his sound of his drum a few years back and we were able to leverage that the past couple of years especially in the postseason. We created a graphic on the scoreboard and used the actual sound to make sure that the drum is still part of the experience.”
No fan will ever fill Adams void, that’s why his bench seat was permanently removed and appropriately placed last year in Heritage Park where fans can still celebrate his memory.
“We took the actual bench that he sat in all these years since the Opening Day of '94 and then built this replica bronze drum to commemorate and have him be a part of the ballpark for years to come,” Danburg said.
