While the Cleveland Indians battle it out with the Kansas City Royals for last place in their division, the team is leading in one area: environmental awareness.
The Tribe has instituted a number of sustainability changes in their ballpark over the past few years... And it's only fitting that those changes are taking place at Cleveland's Progressive Field.
The Indian's have teamed up with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to overhaul the baseball experience: from the ballpark... to the players... to the fans. They launched a joint ad campaign posing the question to fans, "Our Tribe is Green... Are You in the Tribe?"
"We have a wide breadth of activity and efforts in greening and sustainability," said Brad Mohr, assistant director of ballpark operations for the Indians.
"We have a comprehensive recycling program. We are the first American League club to install solar power. And we are trying to add a new green feature each year."
They've been recycling ever since the park opened in 1994, when it was known as Jacob's Field. The initiative has picked up speed every year since, racking up 150 tons of materials recycled over the course of last season.
In 2007, they had 42 solar panels installed in the upper deck. Since then, they have generated over 21,000 kilo-watt hours — enough to power 400 television sets across the stadium.
And this year, the team plans on composting organic waste — including grass clippings and food. 
Their beer cups are even made of compostable corn starch.
Considering the fact that the average baseball game generates monumental amounts of trash, waste, and emissions, the steps the Indians are taking are a long time coming.
But it's not simply the baseball operations folks that need to make these changes happen; the fans themselves need to become more aware of their actions and their effect on the environment.
In order to raise fan consciousness, the Indians hosted a Green Awareness Day last month. It invited several eco-friendly organizations to hold a range of activities promoting a sustainable lifestyle to fans.
To get kids thinking about the environment early, the Great Lakes Sciences Center brought a solar powered remote control car to zip around. The local zoo showed up with a colorful demonstration using zoo animal feces to introduce fans to composting, appropriately titled "Zoo-Poo."
But the activities weren't limited to the quirky and fun... Cleveland State University provided a wind turbine demonstration and EcoCar held a contest to see how could engineer the most environmentally-friendly car.
Perhaps most exciting for fans was the free gift bestowed upon Cleveland's fans that day: a green colored Indian's cap made from recycled plastic bottles collected at the stadium.
"It's a cool idea and a pretty cool hat," Mohr remarked. "It may not change the world on its own, but it's still a cool hat."
Those words ring true for the entire project; it may not change the world completely, but it's a cool, inventive project that will pay off for the park and the team's fans.
And it's already cut the park's trash pickups by half.
"That's where we see the financial difference, that and in recycling, avoiding trash being hauled away," he said. "Green initiatives are here to stay because they save teams money."
Now, if they can just find a way into the playoffs, they'll finally have themselves a sustainable fanbase!*
Be Well,
Jimmy Mengel
*I joke because I feel their pain: my beleaguered Baltimore Orioles are currently the worst team in all of baseball!
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