Corey Kluber stood behind home plate, his right hand on his hip, his glove on his left thigh. His gaze out into the abyss could burn a hole through a brick wall. His frown, a rare display of facial fervor on the diamond, could frighten any child.
In this moment, one instance during an otherworldly performance, Kluber appeared human.
His anger bubbled over — that’s as much emotion as you’ll ever see from the Tribe hurler — after Ryan Raburn spiked away his shutout in Kansas City in late July. Kluber had squandered a perfect game in the previous frame. Now, after a consequential fielding folly, the Indians trailed and Kluber was, temporarily, on the hook. He proceeded to limit the Royals to that unearned run on two hits, with zero walks and 10 strikeouts in nine innings.
The fact that Kluber could express his most disavowing emotion during such a dominant effort tells anyone everything they need to know about his 2014 campaign, which ended with the American League Cy Young Award. Kluber is a perfectionist. He isn’t easily satisfied. He shrugged off every 14-strikeout gem. He claimed indifference about his individual accolades.
After one of his 14-strikeout efforts, Kluber sauntered back to the dugout, where pitching coach Mickey Callaway was waiting on the top step. Callaway held his hand high to praise his pitcher. Kluber came in low with his hand and Callaway lightly tapped it.
“Man, you’re not too excited,” Callaway said.
Kluber replied: “Why should I be?”
“He expects that he’s going to go out there and do that,” Callaway said. “It’s really refreshing to see.”
Kluber admitted he didn’t expect to prevail over Felix Hernandez in the balloting for the league’s premier pitcher. Maybe he felt Hernandez’s numbers would lure more voters. Maybe he maintained his ho-hum attitude toward his 18-9 record, 2.44 ERA and 269 strikeouts.
Between Triple-A and the majors, Kluber tossed 160 innings in 2013. He exceeded that total by 75 innings in 2014, and the extra frames proved to be his best. Over his final five starts, which served to keep the Indians afloat in the playoff chase, Kluber went 5-0 with a 1.12 ERA. He totaled five walks and 54 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings.
He didn’t tire, as some assumed after a sluggish start against Detroit on Labor Day. The league didn’t figure him out. He simply improved as the year went on.
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