CLEVELAND \u2014\u00a0Streaks are a fundamental part of baseball. The Cleveland Guardians are continuing an impressive streak on Friday with their 33rd consecutive sold out home opener at Progressive Field.<\/p>\n
That streak, though, has nothing on Edward Lachowski’s.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Edward Lachowski is attending his 72nd straight Cleveland baseball home opener on Friday
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Lachowski’s streak started in 1955 when he attended the home opener at Cleveland Municipal Stadium after his shift as a scorecard seller
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Lachowski recalls listening to the Cleveland Indians win the 1948 World Series and hopes to be there when the franchise wins its next World Series<\/p>\n
The walls of Lachowski\u2019s Macedonia home are filled with Cleveland baseball history.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 1948, I was seven and my dad was listening to the World Series on the radio,\u201d said Lachowski. \u201cThat\u2019s when I kind of understood what baseball was all about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lachowski\u2019s love for Cleveland baseball began listening to the team win its last championship 78 years ago. It hasn\u2019t faded even though there\u2019s been some heartbreak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 1954 they won 111 games,\u201d Lachowski said. \u201cThey lost four in a row to the New York Giants in the World Series. You talk about people dying in the family and stuff, but that\u2019s my worst thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Born out of that heartbreak was something incredible, as Lachowski attended his first Cleveland home opener in 1955.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a scorecard seller at Gate A at the old stadium,\u201d Lachowski stated. \u201cWe were able to go anywhere and sit after our shift. That\u2019s how it all started.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lachowski has attended every Cleveland home opener since. Friday\u2019s home opener at Progressive Field will be the 72nd in a row that he\u2019s attended.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to keep it going,\u201d he said. \u201cNow that it\u2019s so long. I often think about if I was sick in bed or something and I\u2019d make the kids take me somehow. Maybe just for an hour, or an inning, or a batter. Anything just to keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like most long streaks, there have been some close calls along the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 1994, when Jacobs Field opened its doors. Lachowski and his son initially didn\u2019t have tickets to the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe decided to try and keep my streak open,\u201d said Lachowski. \u201cI remember my son telling me to stand by the gate and that he\u2019d be right back. He came back, and he had two tickets. It kept me going.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not even the pandemic-shortened MLB season in 2020 could stop Lachowski from continuing his streak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the pandemic you weren\u2019t allowed in the park,\u201d Lachowski said. \u201cThey took me in a wheelchair. I sat right outside by the main gate with my hand inside the gate so that I was there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Continuing the streak is something Lachowski couldn\u2019t do without his family especially after losing mobility in his legs and right arm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKathy, my daughter Erin and my grandson Kyle take me,\u201d he said. \u201cThat means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lachowski\u2019s daughter, Kathy Martin, said seeing her dad\u2019s streak continue means everything to the family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been amazing and hard,\u201d said Martin. \u201cWe rearrange our lives for this. I\u2019d like to keep it going until he can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each Opening Day in Cleveland is a chance for Lachowski to relive great memories and make new ones.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the biggest day of the year for baseball in Cleveland,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s emotional. It\u2019s been the biggest day ever since I was a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lachowski said one of the best things about opening day is the hope it brings to the city of Cleveland. He hopes he\u2019ll be able to see the team deliver its first championship since back when he was 7-years-old and listening on the radio with his father.<\/p>\n
\u201cI might have to live to be 100,\u201d Lachowski stated. \u201cI\u2019m going to stay healthy enough. I\u2019m going to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cleveland Guardians host the Chicago Cubs in this year\u2019s home opener on Friday, April 3. First pitch at Progressive Field is set for 4:10 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND \u2014\u00a0Streaks are a fundamental part of baseball. The Cleveland Guardians are continuing an impressive streak on Friday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660749,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2290],"tags":[556,560,5,135,16756,41253,169,1944,11140,6265,14984,16757,185,558,1542],"class_list":{"0":"post-660748","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baseball","8":"tag-app-sports","9":"tag-app-top-stories","10":"tag-baseball","11":"tag-cleveland","12":"tag-ctv","13":"tag-jack-berney","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-ohio","16":"tag-ohio-cleveland-top-stories","17":"tag-ohio-columbus-top-stories","18":"tag-ohio-roh-top-stories","19":"tag-ohio-what-you-need-to-know","20":"tag-sports","21":"tag-top-stories","22":"tag-vod"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116340875047195047","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}