Indians beat writer plunges into Lake Erie after losing World Series bet

You better believe Cleveland Indians fans take their “BelieveLand” mantra seriously. If you doubt their now pennant-winning squad, you can expect to be called out or even challenged by the masses on the social media platforms such as Twitter.

Trust us, we know the feeling.

Fortunately, we weren’t challenged like beat writer Paul Hoynes, whose lack of faith led to him plunging into the chilly waters of Lake Erie before Game 1 against the Chicago Cubs after losing a bet with a confident Indians fan.

The story goes back to Sept. 17, when the Indians lost pitcher Carlos Carrasco for the season to a broken hand. After the game, Hoynes wrote that the Indians postseason dreams ended before they even started thanks to Carrasco’s injury and the injury to Danny Salazar, who is just now returning in the World Series.

The article drew a lot of angry responses, including from within the Indians clubhouse. Pitcher Trevor Bauer even called Hoynes a “coward” for not covering the following day’s game. Those issues quickly calmed down, but fans aren’t so quick to forget. It all led to a Twitter user who goes by the name of Matty Cleveland challenging Hoynes to take a plunge if the Indians made the World Series.

Yes, that’s the same Matty Cleveland who placed a $5 World Series bet on the Indians back in January. A bet, by the way, the Indians were not all that impressed with. That’s beside the point now though, because his latest bet with Hoynes led to a tremendous payoff on the shores of Lake Erie.

Like Matty, we take our hat off to Paul Hoynes for being an honorable man and a good sport.

We also take away a great lesson: Even when the oddmakers suggest otherwise, never bet against the 2016 Cleveland Indians.

BLS H/N: Cut 4

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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