CLEVELAND -- It is the end of an era, as once again, a banner of LeBron James has been removed from the side of the Sherwin-Williams building Tuesday after he announced his decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for a second time in his career and join the Los Angeles Lakers.
No plans have yet been announced as to a replacement for the banner at the corner of Huron and Ontario, but here are five current or recently retired athletes who deserve consideration for the honor.
INDIANS SHORTSTOP FRANCISCO LINDOR
Since being promoted from Triple-A Columbus in the summer of 2015, Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor has built a strong legion of fans with his standout performances, both at the plate and in the field, and because of his seemingly ever-present smile.
In 498 games over three-plus years with the Indians, Lindor has collected 583 hits in 1,984 at-bats with 123 doubles, 11 triples, 83 home runs, 321 runs scored, 273 RBI and 181 walks against 318 strikeouts. Lindor has a .294 career batting average with .353 on-base, .492 slugging and .845 on-base-plus-slugging percentages.
A two-time American League All-Star who very well may earn a third nod by the end of the week, Lindor leads the team with 27 doubles and has 23 home runs with 55 runs batted in and 73 runs scored over 82 games played. Lindor is hitting .298 (101 of 339) with .373 on-base and .581 slugging percentages through the first half of the year.
UFC CHAMPION STIPE MIOCIC
Perhaps no one embodies the fighting spirit of Cleveland better than UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.
Owner of the UFC record for the most consecutive defenses of the heavyweight championship, Miocic is on a six-fight winning streak heading into Saturday night’s bout against Daniel Cormier at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Miocic is 18-2 in his professional career and 12-2 in 14 bouts under the UFC banner.
And when Miocic is not preparing for a fight inside The Octagon, he is taking up the fight for his community.
Euclid-born and a product of Eastlake North High School, Miocic is fiercely proud of his Cleveland roots and brings that with him to work every day as a firefighter/paramedic for Oakwood Village and Valley View.
“I love Cleveland, and they’re awesome,” Miocic said of Clevelanders. “What a great city.”
INDIANS INF JOSE RAMIREZ
Infielder Jose Ramirez continues to show why the Indians had faith in him during his struggles in the early part of his career.
In 82 games this season, Ramirez has a .298 batting average with .402 on-base, .612 slugging and 1.014 on-base-plus-slugging percentages. Ramirez has 93 hits in 312 at-bats with 24 doubles and 24 home runs, the latter of which rank among the top five in the American League.
Ramirez’s success in 2018 follows what was a memorable 2017 season, which ended with him as a finalist for the American League Most Valuable Player Award after he had 174 hits, including 27 home runs and a Major League-best 51 doubles, with 76 RBI, 98 runs scored and a .315 batting average.
A native of Bani, Dominican Republic, the 5-foot-9, 190-pound Ramirez got 21 hits in 37 at-bats over a seven-day period in late June and raised his batting average by 36 points. Ramirez smacked 10 doubles, one triple and three home runs with seven RBI and 12 runs scored, all while leading the Indians to a six-game winning streak during the same stretch.
Ramirez had at least one double in seven straight games, including multiple two-base hits in three games.
During the Indians’ American League-record 22-game winning streak, Ramirez smacked 30 hits, including 11 doubles, one triple and eight home runs, in 71 at-bats with 17 runs scored, as well as .460 on-base and .944 slugging percentages.
FORMER BROWNS OL JOE THOMAS
Selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, former Cleveland Browns left tackle Joe Thomas earned 10 consecutive invitations to the Pro Bowl, and went 10 for 10 in all-star game nods over his first decade in the league.
With that selection, Thomas became the first Browns player ever selected to participate in 10 Pro Bowls.
Thomas joined an elite group of athletes with the 10th straight selection, as defensive tackle Merlin Olsen (Los Angeles Rams), defensive back/running back Mel Renfro (Dallas Cowboys), running back Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions) and linebacker Lawrence Taylor (New York Giants) are the only other players who went 10 for 10 in Pro Bowl appearances over their first decade in the NFL.
Olsen, Renfro, Sanders and Taylor are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Prior to a torn triceps tendon this past October, Thomas played 10,363 consecutive snaps, which is believed to be the longest such streak in NFL history.
As a tribute to Thomas, “10,363” will be added to The Ring of Honor this season.
INDIANS RHP COREY KLUBER
The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, Kluber continues to set the standard for the Indians’ pitching staff.
This season, Kluber is 12-4 with a 2.64 earned run average in 18 starts for the Indians. Over 119.1 innings of work, he has allowed just 91 hits and 13 walks against 120 strikeouts. Opposing batters are hitting just .208 against Kluber this season.
During the 2017 season, Kluber struck out 265 hitters against just 36 walks with 141 hits and 51 earned runs allowed over 203.2 innings of work. Kluber posted an 18-4 record and American League-best 2.25 ERA on the way to leading the Indians to a second straight AL Central Division Championship.
The AL Pitcher of the Month for June, August and September last year, Kluber struck out at least seven batters in 16 of his last 19 games of the regular season.
Throughout the month of August, Kluber posted a 5-1 record with 54 strikeouts and only six runs allowed over 46.0 innings of work. Although Kluber surrendered six home runs, he allowed only 10 earned runs and 23 hits.
As a follow-up to the strong August showing, Kluber went 5-0 in six September starts as the Indians built an AL-record 22-game winning streak and clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season. Kluber allowed only four earned runs, three home runs and three walks against 50 strikeouts over 43.0 innings of work.