Indians party like it’s 1997 after winning pennant

TORONTO — They took turns passing the trophy around. A bottle in one hand and the hardware in the other, one by one, Cleveland’s players savored their moment. They would stare at it, champagne dripping from the gold eagle that sits atop the black base, pausing for a moment before posing for photos.

In that brief personal moment, the players probably thought about all that had to happen for the Indians to reach this stage, for that trophy to be placed in their arms. Wednesday’s 3-0 win over the Blue Jays in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, a victory that clinched the franchise’s sixth AL pennant, gave the world a look at what has defined this Indians team all season long, and why it is now going to the World Series.

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“I’m just really happy that we’re standing here today,” said Indians president Chris Antonetti, as his players partied on the other side of Rogers Centre’s visitors’ clubhouse. “However we got here, I’m not sure I’ve reflected back on. But this team, the resiliency, the grit, the perseverance to overcome all that they’ve gone through over the course of the season …”

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More champagne bottles popped behind him.

“The guys we have are not focused on who’s not here,” he continued, “but focused on the guys that are here and [they] try to find a way to help them win. I think that says a lot about the team and [manager Terry Francona].”

In a little more than three weeks, the Indians’ players have soaked through the carpets of three visiting clubhouses. The plastic sheets could not save the Comerica Park clubhouse on Sept. 26, when the Tribe clinched the AL Central in Detroit. On Oct. 10, Cleveland crowded into the tight quarters of Fenway Park’s clubhouse and raged on after dispatching the Red Sox in three games in the AL Division Series.

The narrow clubhouse at Rogers Centre will now be forced to undergo some serious cleaning in the coming days after the Tribe took down Toronto’s high-powered offense in five games. Corks were strewn across the floor, as players waded through the beer and champagne in shower sandals. The ceiling dripped after the bottles were uncorked, sending celebratory bubbly spraying in all directions.

“Every time you put on this uniform, what you’re trying to do is make it to the World Series,” Indians ace Corey Kluber said. “We’re in the World Series. We’re going to be one of the last two teams playing. Our goal is to win that Series, win four games before they do. It …

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