CLEVELAND, Ohio — Wrestlers in the WWE compete for a championship belt. The golfer with the best score at The Masters gets to don an exclusive green jacket when all is said and done. But the top starting pitcher in the Cleveland Indians clubhouse after each series? He’s the King of the Hill.

And he gets to wear a crown to prove it.

Following Sunday’s scintillating 10-strikeout performance, Tribe starter Mike Clevinger told reporters that the team’s starting pitchers hold court after each series to determine who had the best outing. Each nominee is allowed to state his case, and time is allowed for rebuttals before a consensus is reached.

The crown is then awarded and Clevinger documents the occasion with a photo. Trevor Bauer keeps track of the particulars on a spreadsheet (naturally), and Shane Bieber is always lurking in the background when the ceremony takes place.

Clevinger earned the crown earlier this week after tossing seven shutout innings against Chicago in a no-decision during the Tribe’s home opener. On Sunday, he conferred the regal headdress upon Bauer.

Both pitchers were removed early from their starts against Toronto last week, but Bauer did not surrender a single hit through seven innings and 117 pitches. Clevinger exited his start after five innings of one-hit ball when his back tightened up.

The shenanigans should not surprise anybody. Bauer and Carlos Carrasco famously spent the 2017 season fashioning replicas of each teammate out of baseballs and Gatorade cups. Cleveland’s clubhouse is loose, but the veterans know when to get serious and when it’s necessary to blow off steam. We’re looking at you, JoBu.

And Indians starting pitchers are a highly competitive group within the room, frequently discussing how when one of them has a good outing it pushes the other four to try and top him. Adding a clubhouse gag trophy can inspire camaraderie and help participants keep their competitive edge sharp over the course of a long season.

The competition has pushed Cleveland’s new dynamic duo to new heights already, recording strikeouts and limiting opposing hitters to record-low performances.

“That’s a momentum killer for the other teams, especially when you’re seeing your guys go up just to walk right back to the dugout over and over again for a series,” Clevinger said. “That has to wear on you mentally at some point. It’s good to have the staff to be loaded like this.”

The friendly competition also includes Carlos Carrasco and Corey Kluber, but it’s mostly Bauer, Clevinger and Bieber who keep track of the standings.

Through three series, Bauer has won the crown twice, taking honors in Minnesota after seven innings and one hit allowed in Cleveland’s only win so far against the Twins. But it’s Clevinger who’s had the more dominant numbers between the two.

While both Bauer and Clevinger have been ridiculously good in both of their starts, Clevinger has the upper hand in ERA, WHIP, strikeouts and walks allowed. Bauer has the edge in opponents’ batting average, innings pitched and hits allowed.

But at this point, comparing Bauer and Clevinger is like choosing between Captain America and Iron Man. They’re both pitching like superheroes, and Tribe fans are just lucky to be on their side.

After Trevor Bauer became the first pitcher to begin a season with two straight starts of 5+ IP and no more than one TOTAL hit, rotation mate Mike Clevinger is the FIRST pitcher to start a season w/ consecutive games of 5+ IP, one or fewer hit allowed AND 10+ Ks.



That’s wild. — Jason Catania (@JayCat11) April 7, 2019

Next up is a three-game series in Detroit where Clevinger and Bieber will have to watch Bauer defend his crown against Kluber and Carrasco. Then it will be up for grabs again when the road trip moves on to face (ironically) the Royals in Kansas City and (also ironically) Seattle, which is located in King County, Washington.