Cleveland, OH
Seattle teammates, Northeast Ohio natives celebrate homecoming at Progressive Field
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Progressive Field is about 20 miles from Raley’s Tree Farms in Hinckley, but growing up working in the family business for Mariners outfielder Luke Raley, the ballpark might as well have been located on the other side of the moon.
“When I was at the tree lot, I didn’t talk about baseball,” Raley said. “Not for any reason other than I was there to sell Christmas trees, not talk about baseball.”
Generations of Northeast Ohioans have gotten their Christmas trees from the family’s lot on Ridge Road, but few made the connection that the 6-foot-4 lad strapping saplings to their car roofs would someday go on to have a career in the big leagues. Nowadays, Raley says it happens more often than you’d think. But when he worked on the lot, Major League Baseball was the last thing on his mind.
“It’s just one of those things that people kind of put two and two together and realize we get our trees from Raley’s Tree Farm,” he said.
Baseball is all that’s on Raley’s mind this week as his Mariners are in town for three games against the Guardians. In Tuesday’s series opener, Raley collected two hits including his first home run in his hometown ballpark. He also picked up his first career ejection after arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt in the ninth inning of Seattle’s 8-5 win.
Raley, who starred at Medina Highland High before he was drafted out of Lake Erie College by the Dodgers in 2016, said despite missing the end of the contest it has been fun coming back to Cleveland and being able to see family and friends. But there is definitely work to be done.
“Being successful is kind of the back of my mind,” Raley said. “I want to have good at-bats, want to do the right things for the team, so that’s most important.”
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Raley’s Seattle teammate, Dominic Canzone, is making his first trip to Progressive Field as a big leaguer. The Walsh Jesuit product and Sagamore Hills native said he grew up a big fan of Kenny Lofton and the late-1990s Indians teams that won six division titles in seven seasons. But the memory that stands out to him whenever he walks into the ballpark is watching Rajai Davis hit a game-tying home run in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series against Chicago.
“That was just the loudest I’ve ever heard any venue in sports to this day,” Canzone said.
In Tuesday’s series opener, Canzone went hitless in three plate appearances with a strikeout before being replaced in right field by Mitch Haniger. But like any ball player who grew up in Cleveland, the experience of taking the field at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario was special.
“I think it’s one of the most beautiful ballparks out there,” Canzone said. “They do a great job, especially with the surface. So, no complaints there and it’s been just an awesome week so far.”
Raley said it has been fun having another Clevelander along for the ride in his second trip to Progressive Field as a pro. Having an ally to defend Northeast Ohio in the clubhouse has also helped.
“It’s just kind of how things go in the clubhouse when you go back home, you get some smack talk (from other teammates),” Raley said. “It’s nice to have Dom here to defend The Land.”
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Even as the Cleveland Cavaliers begin to turn their season around, rumors of making changes are going to follow them through the trade deadline.
The obvious names mentioned have been the underperforming stars in Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland, but it turns out, those may not be the only names on the trade block.
One name who has been named in trade rumors has been long-time Cavaliers Dean Wade, who is currently serving as a fringe starter amongst injuries in Cleveland.
“I’ve been told that Dean Wade on the Cleveland Cavaliers is very likely to be moved, and he’s kind of preparing to be moved before the trade deadline,” Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints said.
In his latest NBA intel video, @BrettSiegelNBA said this about Dean Wade at the 26:00 mark:
“I’ve been told that Dean Wade on the Cleveland Cavaliers is very likely to be moved, and he’s kind of preparing to be moved before the trade deadline.”https://t.co/oYiZVZbEII — RealCavsFans.com (@realcavsfans) January 1, 2026
Siegel added he believed Wade had some value in the offseason, but the Cavaliers opted to keep hold of him into the regular season. Teams have kept their eyes on him though, and have checked if he’s available.
He added the Houston Rockets as a team that has done their research on adding a stretch big like Wade, while also naming the Denver Nuggets as a new team that could be interested after facing recent injuries.
Wade has been a member of the Cavaliers since the 2019-20 season. He has averaged 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, acting as a serviceable stretch big in Cleveland’s rotation.
He has briefly cracked the starting lineup from time to time, making 134 starts in his career so far, but hasn’t been able to hold down a long term spot in the starting unit. He has never started more than 32 games in a season.
This year, Wade has been one of the few consistently healthy players. He’s played in 33 games, starting 12, and averaged 5.9 points. His shooting splits are currently under his career averages as he’s hitting on just under 40% of his shots.
Wade fills a slightly unique role in Cleveland as a 6’ 9” big who specializes in three point shots. If he leaves, guys like Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Larry Nance Jr. will need to step up to fill those big minutes, while a guy like Max Strus would need to comeback from injury and be productive to make up for the shooting.
Wade’s time in Cleveland has been memorable. Fans will remember his historic game in 2024 where he scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to defeat the Boston Celtics 105-104. If this is the end of his time here, he should be remembered as one of Cleveland’s best role players this decade.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Some northeast Ohio Spectrum customers are experiencing outages on Wednesday afternoon after a plow truck hit a utility pole.
According to a Spectrum spokesperson, Spectrum customers in the Cleveland area are experiencing a service disruption after a salt or plow truck hit a utility pole and damaged fiber lines in Cleveland Heights.
“Our teams responded immediately and are working diligently to make the necessary repairs to restore services for our customers,” Spectrum said.
This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for updates.
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Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (20-16) vs. Detroit Pistons (25-9)
Where: Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH
When: Sunday, Jan. 4 at 2 pm EST
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, FanDuel Sports Network App, NBA League Pass
Point spread: Not yet set
Cavs injury report: Jarrett Allen – QUESTIONABLE (illness), Dean Wade – QUESTIONABLE (knee), Sam Merrill – QUESTIONABLE (left ankle sprain), Larry Nance Jr. – OUT (calf), Max Strus – OUT (foot), Chris Livingston – OUT (G League), Luke Travers – OUT (G League)
PIstons injury report: Jalen Duren – OUT (ankle), Tobias Harris – OUT (hip), Isaac Jones – OUT (G League), Bobi Klintman – OUT (G League), Caris LeVert – OUT (knee), Wendell Moore Jr. – OUT (G League)
Cavs expected starting lineup: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
Pistons expected starting lineup: Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Ronald Holland II, Isaiah Stewart
Previous matchup: The Cavs defeated the Pistons 116-95 on Oct. 27.
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