NILES – Friday’s game between the Mahoning Valley Scrappers and West Virginia Black Bears was played in front of a 7 17 Credit Union Field-record crowd of 12,061.

The standing-room-only showing was the result of 7 17 Credit Union Financial Wellness Night in which fans received free admission, free parking and a complimentary hot dog and soft drink. The night ended with the Scrappers’ first combination fireworks and drone show.

On the field, the Scrappers did their part, coasting to a 8-2 win over the Black Bears. The top three in the Scrappers’ order – Jayden Hylton, Maddox Mihalakis and Cooper Vance – were a combined 9-of-14. Each player had three base hits.

For the second straight night, a Scrappers starter turned in a stellar performance. Alexander Llinas worked 6 1/3 innings, giving up just one earned run on three hits to pick up the win.

Friday’s game also featured an appearance by former MLB All-Star Kenny Lofton. Though he played for 11 different teams throughout his career, Lofton is most closely-associated with his time with the Cleveland Indians during the 1990s and early 2000s.

Lofton made six postseason appearances with the Indians, including a World Series appearance in 1995.

Lofton was a six-time All-Star and a four-time Golden Glove winner.

On Friday, Lofton spent more than two hours signing autographs for fans. His pre-game VIP Meet and Greet session sold out months ago. After throwing out the first pitch, Lofton signed autographs for another hour. There was still a hoard of autograph-seekers in line at the conclusion of the second autograph session.

Many fans in attendance were wearing Lofton jerseys.

“This is an awesome sight, it is very humbling to know that this many people still remember and still appreciate the effort and the results,” Lofton said. “To be fair I don’t think all of these fans are necessarily huge fans of mine, I feel like in a big way I’m here representing all of the Indians of that era.

“I was fortunate to be part of a team and part of an era that was magical in Cleveland Indians history. Sure, we were the first team in 41 years to reach the World Series. But there were a lot of other factors that made that a perfect storm between the team, the city and the fans.

The Indians of the ’90s were loaded with All-Stars and some future Hall of Famers. Lofton said that “the talent made that team easy to like,” but he believes the connection between the players and fans was solidified by the Indians’ blue collar work ethic that reflected the people of Northeast Ohio.

“I think those teams still resonate because of how hard we worked to bring a winner to Cleveland,” Lofton said. “It meant a lot to us, because the fan base at that time was unlike anything I’ve ever seen in baseball.

“We worked our butts off. We were fooling anyone who thought we were winning on talent alone, because we worked extremely hard as a team to bring a winner to Cleveland.”

Lofton said that the team’s chemistry was “off the charts.” He remains close friends with many of his former teammates.

“Oh yeah, our closeness is what made everything come together,” Lofton said. “Even today, we’re still tight. Me, Carlos (Baerga) and Albert (Belle) have a blast going back and forth on text. I get a lot of good laughs from the texts between Carlos and Albert.”

Though still a huge fan of the game, Lofton is quick to acknowledge he isn’t a fan of the current-day style of baseball which focuses heavily on analytics and the deep-dive into statistics.

“Because of all the analytics, players are put in a position where things are not natural, they’re almost playing like robots,” Lofton said. “Baseball is a spur-of-the-moment sport where everything comes natural, and when you start overthinking everything you do on the field, bad things happen.

“Honestly, I don’t like the way they are taking the natural feel of the game away from the players.”

For a short time following his playing career, Lofton served as a baserunning and outfield coach for the Indians during spring training. Though not affiliated with any organization today, Lofton said that he sometimes works with the MLB commissioner’s office as a consultant.