North: Why Cleveland Indians should thank LeBron

I always thought that every city had its own sports stories, and I never believed a great player or one team could influence other players or teams in the same town.

But now I am starting to think that isn't always the case.

For instance, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers won the city's first NBA title in June, chasing away any ghosts for a town that had been without a professional championship since the Browns won in 1964.

I also suspect most people didn't expect to hear much from Cleveland until the basketball season started again.

Now I'm going to say something that seems far-fetched, but hey that's me!

If LeBron didn't win the title this year with the Cavaliers, can we be sure the Indians would be hosting Game 1 of the World Series? Isn't it just possible they were drafting off the wind of the Cavs championship and believing Cleveland was no longer the “most tortured sports city,” as it was labeled by ESPN in 2004?

I believe LeBron has had a little something to do with the Indians' success.

Why? Because baseball, of all professional sports, is not just a physical game. It is the most mental of games and perhaps the Cavs helped the Indians mentally in their quest for a world championship.

Don't get me wrong — you still have to have the talent and the right manager. I believe that Cleveland's 22-year-old shortstop Francisco Lindor is the best player in the American League. And listen up Cubs fans: I have him right there with the 24-year-old Kris Bryant, who is probably the National League's best player.

Cleveland also has a roster of talented athletes, such as pitcher Corey Kluber, second baseman Jason Kipnis, and catcher Roberto Perez, all managed by the very successful Terry Francona.

Let me remind you that Francona managed four years in the minors for the Chicago White Sox, including one year with the Birmingham Barons, managing Michael Jordan during his baseball career.

If Francona wins a World Series with the Indians, I have to consider him one of the top five managers of all time!

Yes, I know Theo Epstein gets much of the credit as the general manager for the Boston Red Sox, ending their 86-year drought without winning. But Francona deserves some credit too because the duo won the World Series in Boston in 2004 and in 2007.

If the Cubs can put the Los Angeles Dodgers away, the storyline gets even better because the two former allies, Francona managing the Indians and Epstein as president of Baseball Operations with the Cubs, would be facing each other in the World Series.

And with Cleveland going for the ring, I have to give an assist to the city of Cleveland, the Cavs, the fans, the owners, the players, the trainers and, as crazy as it may seem, to LeBron James.

• Follow Mike North on Twitter @north2north. His column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.