Teammates help Hannahan get home in pinch

When Indians third baseman Jack Hannahan needed a lift, his teammates stepped up in a big way.

Hannahan's wife went into labor this month while the team was in Boston. The journeyman ballplayer was desperate to get back to Cleveland, but the next available flight wasn't until the next morning.

The Indians then pitched in to secure a private plane that got Hannahan home in time for the birth of his first child, John Jack Hannahan V.

''He needed to be there,'' pitcher Justin Masterson said before Wednesday night's game at the Chicago White Sox. ''It's a team game. You have to help each other out on the field and off the field.

''It wasn't one guy. Every single person threw in to help out. It's pretty impressive.''

Hannahan's wife had a difficult pregnancy. She was confined to bed rest after 24 weeks, so Hannahan spent his nights at the hospital after home games. John Jack Hannahan V weighed two pounds, 12 ounces when he was born at 3:11 a.m. on August 5.

''He's a little miracle,'' said Hannahan, who added that John is doing great and will remain in the hospital for another two months.

The Indians tried to keep the kind gesture quiet, but news trickled out in the past couple days, and Hannahan delivered a public thank you before Wednesday's game.

''It just tells you about this team that we have,'' Hannahan said. ''That the guys would do that for me I think speaks volumes about the character of our team.

''I've played on four different big league teams and that just doesn't happen on any team. It takes a great group of guys to do that.''