CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians will use a pinch-drummer for their home opener.
With longtime drummer and ballpark fixture John Adams recovering from heart surgery and unable to attend his first opener in Cleveland in 48 years, Black Keys drummer and lifelong Indians fan Patrick Carney will fill in and pound away from the left-field bleachers at Progressive Field during Monday’s game against Detroit.
“When I found out that John Adams wouldn’t be able to make Opening Day in Cleveland for the first time in almost 50 years, I reached out to the team,” Carney said. “I share John’s love of baseball and the Cleveland Indians franchise, and drumming for him during the home opener when he can’t physically be there feels like a meaningful way to show John the love and respect he deserves.
“I want to be there for John.”
The Indians said Adams, who first started banging away on his drum in 1973, will bestow drumming duties and his bleacher seat for the day to Carney during an in-game video presentation.
A rocking duo from Akron, the Black Keys (Carney and lead singer Dan Auerbach) have produced plenty of their own hits, such as “Lonely Boy,” “Gold on the Ceiling,” “Little Black Submarines” and ‘Tighten Up.”