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With the Minnesota Twins in 2000 Matt Lawton was one of the most promising players in baseball. Coming off an All-Star season, he was a player ready to become one of the games biggest stars. Then halfway through the 2001 season, the Twins dealt Lawton to the New York Mets, and his journey into baseball obscurity began. His batting average was 47 points lower in New York than it was with the Twins that year. As soon as the off-season came the Mets unloaded Lawton to the Tribe in exchange for fanfavorite Robbie Alomar. Needless to say, Cleveland fans had high expectations for Matt. Disappointment set in after the 2002 campaign (Lawton’s first in Cleveland), during which Matt showed a lack of effort, hitting a measly .236 (down from his .305 average in Minnesota). It was obvious that Lawton was upset about being in Cleveland, a town and a team that he felt was below him. Since then Lawton has continued his indifferent approach toward the game, always acting as if it was beneath him to play for another “rebuilding” team. Most fans seemed to be praying that Matt would get over himself just long enough to put together a decent half-season of baseball so he could be traded. Prayers have been answered. As of this writing Matt is hitting .315 (a high for his career), and approaching the game with a discipline and love that hasn’t been seen from him since his All-Star season of 2000. It began when Matt showed up at Winter Haven this spring in the best shape of his career. Since that point, Lawton has slowly but surely become the disciplined, smart hitter that he was supposed to evolve into years ago. In the process, Matt has begun to win over the Cleveland faithful. The only question left now is whether Matt is playing this well because he wants to leave Cleveland, a town that he has always seemed to think that he was too good for, or because he sincerely wants to do his part to lead our Tribe back to glory. Though Lawton’s motives can be debated, one thing is obvious: Matt is back and better than ever. |
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