CLEVELAND: A KitchenAid 14-piece cutlery set. A natural Acacia serving bowl — large. A ceramic Chip & Dip platter. A toaster that can toast four slices at once. A butter dish and gravy boat, both in white. Bath towels, sheets and place settings.
Ryan Merritt and his fiancee, Sarah Brushaber, are getting them all. And in part, it’s thanks to some appreciative Indians fans.
Just before Merritt took the mound as the Indians’ starter in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, fans found their online wedding registry at TheKnot.com and it began to spread around social media.
Merritt, largely a no-name rookie and the least-experienced starting pitcher in LCS history, virtually came out of nowhere to shut down the Blue Jays over 4⅓ scoreless innings. That set the tone as the Indians went on to a 3-0 win that clinched a spot in the World Series.
As Merritt was being covered in champagne in the clubhouse, fans celebrating the World Series berth were taking care of the wedding registry. As of Friday, there were only a few items left. Pillows, a soap caddy, wine glasses — they’re all on their way to the happy couple courtesy of some thrilled baseball fans.
“At first I thought it was all a joke. It’s the last thing I thought was going to come out of all of this,” Merritt said Friday. “I hope there’s some things left for my friends to buy. I might have to register for some other stuff for them to buy something.
“It’s great. You just get the support that I’m getting from the Cleveland fans and that they not only care about my career but they care about my personal life, too, so it’s pretty emotional. It’s really cool. It’s awesome.”
Merritt was introduced to Brushaber through Indians minor-league pitcher Mitch Brown. They are to be married in January in Brushaber’s home state of Minnesota. They might have to increase the guest list.
“I don’t know. If more people want to come, I guess they can come,” Merritt said, smiling. “I don’t care who shows up, I guess.”
Merritt, 24 with a Texas twang, isn’t a complicated guy. He likes playing Clash of Clans — a strategy game — on his iPad. He seems more nervous talking to reporters than on the mound with nearly 50,000 screaming fans in the stands. Teammates joke with him that he doesn’t know any baseball history, the names of the opponents or even what the World Series even is.
“I know what the World Series is,” he said, again smiling. “I know who I’m facing when they come in the box and what country we’re in. I knew we were in Canada the other day. It’s all a joke and in good fun, I hope.”
Something that probably wasn’t known to many people around the country watching Game 5 was Merritt’s name. He was a new face to the national baseball scene and someone even Indians fans probably needed to look up. Merritt’s name isn’t even on one of the ALCS championship T-shirts.
That won’t be an issue now.
Merritt dropped in curveballs at 70 mph and froze some of the better hitters in baseball with his mid-80s fastball, mixed in with some terrific command. Blue Jays star outfielder Jose Bautista said Merritt would be “shaking in his boots” to face them, but they couldn’t hit him.
The Indians had some fun with Bautista’s comment. Trevor Bauer tweeted out a picture of a champagne bottle in a cowboy boot. Corey Kluber tweeted a Photoshopped image of Merritt in cowboy boots on the mound.
In many ways, Merritt earned respect in the Indians’ clubhouse with his performance. Even before the champagne bottles were popped, several players were yelling for Merritt to give a speech.
“Guys had a lot of support for Merritt,” Jason Kipnis said. “He had a good start under his belt. He had the mystery of the unknown playing in his favor. He did an unbelievable job.”
Merritt quickly went from a Triple-A pitcher to making his first career major-league start in late September to throwing in front of very few people in the Arizona Instructional League, just to stay ready, to taking the mound in Game 5 of the ALCS. For most of the postseason, he threw on one of the fields at the team facility in Arizona.
Merritt wasn’t supposed to be on the ALCS roster. It took Bauer slicing his finger on a drone to change the Indians’ plans and make him available. He certainly earned that spot, and his name isn’t a mystery any longer.
“Pretty emotional,” Merritt said when asked what the past few days have been like. “Everything comes at you pretty fast. A lot more fans, a lot more calls, texts, a lot of notifications on Facebook, but it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve just been trying to enjoy it and not let any of it change me or anything, just be myself and just enjoy this moment.”
Merritt’s role in the World Series is still unknown but, for one night, he was the kid who played a role in getting the Indians there for the first time in 19 years.
He’ll always have that. And come January, thanks to his friends and fans, he’ll have plenty of new linens, shower curtains and pillows, too.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ