 | For current information on this topic, see 2008 Cleveland Indians season |
| Cleveland Indians Established 1901 | |||
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| Retired Numbers | 3, 5, 14, 18, 19, 21, 42, 455 | ||
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(*Played only night and weekend games here until 1946) | |||
| Major league titles | |||
| World Series titles (2) | 1920 • 1948 | ||
| AL Pennants (5) | 1920 • 1948 • 1954 • 1995 • 1997 | ||
| Central Division titles (7) [1] | 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 2001 • 2007 | ||
| Wild card berths (0) | None | ||
[1] - In 1994, a players' strike wiped out the last eight weeks of the season and all post-season. Champions World Series: Boston Red Sox over Brooklyn Robins (4-1 Awards and honors Headline Event of the Year Murderers' Row lead New York Yankees to World Series victory Headline events of the year As a result of a players' strike the MLB season ends prematurely on August 11, 1994. The 1994 Major League baseball strike was the eighth work stoppage in Baseball history as well as the fourth in-season work stoppage Cleveland was one game out of first place in the Central Division behind Chicago when play was stopped. The Chicago White Sox are a professional Baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. No official titles were awarded in 1994. | |||
| Owner(s): Larry Dolan | |||
| Manager: Eric Wedge | |||
| General Manager: Mark Shapiro | |||
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. Lawrence J "Larry" Dolan (born February 8 1931 Cleveland Heights Ohio) is an attorney and owner of the Cleveland Indians. Eric Michael Wedge (born January 27, 1968 in Fort Wayne, Indiana) is the current manager of the Cleveland Indians Mark Shapiro (born in 1967 in Baltimore Maryland (ˈmɑrk ʃəˈpaɪroʊ is currently the General Manager and Vice President of the Cleveland Indians Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The American League Central is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball 's American League. The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League ( AL) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in Since 1994 they have played in Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field). Headline events of the year As a result of a players' strike the MLB season ends prematurely on August 11, 1994. Progressive Field is a ballpark located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and is the home of the Cleveland Indians of the American The team's spring training facility is in Winter Haven, Florida, but will move to Goodyear, Arizona in 2009. In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the Regular season. Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Goodyear ( Pima: Valin Thak) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States.
The "Indians" name originates from a request by the club owner to decide a new name, following the 1914 season. In reference to the Boston Braves (now the Atlanta Braves), the media chose "the Indians". They are nicknamed "the Tribe" and "the Wahoos". Baseball nicknames have become an integral part of the sport's culture "In no sport are nicknames more pervasive than baseball The latter is a reference to the mascot which appears in the team's logos, Chief Wahoo. Chief Wahoo is a trademarked Mascot for the Cleveland Indians baseball team The club nickname and its cartoon logo have been criticized for perpetuating Native American stereotypes, and protests have arisen from time to time. The use of Native American mascots in sports has become a contentious issue in the United States and Canada. In 1997, during the team's most recent World Series appearance, three Native American protesters were arrested, but later acquitted. For other events named "World Series" see World Series (disambiguation. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States [1]
One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Cleveland in 1901. Champions Major League Baseball American League: Chicago White Stockings National League: Pittsburgh Pirates The team actually began play in 1900, when the AL was officially a minor league. Then called the Cleveland Blues, the team played in League Park until moving permanently to Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1946. League Park was a Baseball stadium located in Cleveland Ohio. Cleveland Stadium (also known as Lakefront Stadium and Cleveland Municipal Stadium) was a Baseball and American football stadium located in Champions Major League Baseball World Series: St Louis Cardinals over Boston Red Sox (4-3 All-Star Game They have an all-time franchise record of 8,075–7,711 (. 512). The Indians are the reigning American League Central Champions. The American League Central is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball 's American League.
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Franchise history
Forest City club
Open professional baseball began in Cleveland during the 1869 season and one team was hired on salary for 1870, as in several other cities following the success of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first fully professional team. The Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869 were Baseball 's first openly all-professional team That leading Cleveland baseball club was the Forest City, a nickname of the city itself. In the newspapers before and after 1870, the team was often called the Forest Citys, in the same generic way that the team from Chicago was sometimes called The Chicagos. The Forest Citys were a short lived professional baseball team based in Cleveland Ohio in the early 1870s The Forest City club was formed about 1865, when baseball club organization and "national" association membership boomed following the Civil War.
In 1871 the Forest Citys joined the new National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, the first professional league, as did the Forest Citys of Rockford, Illinois. The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP or simply the National Association (NA was founded in 1871 and lasted through the 1875 season Rockford Forest Citys, from Rockford Illinois was one of the first professional baseball clubs Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois New York and Philadelphia had been the home cities of most top baseball clubs before the league era, but only one club from each joined the professional National Association, whose nine-city circuit was made up by four western clubs and eastern rivals in Washington, D.C., Troy, New York and Boston. The Washington Olympics were a member of the National Association, the first professional Baseball league in 1871 and 1872. The Troy Haymakers were a member of the National Association, the first professional Baseball league in 1871 and 1872 Ultimately, two of the western clubs went out of business during the first season and the Chicago Fire left that city's White Stockings impoverished, unable to field a team again until 1874. The Great Chicago Fire was a Conflagration that burned from Sunday October 8 to early Tuesday October 10 1871 killing hundreds and destroying about four square miles in The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. Cleveland was thus the NA's western outpost in 1872 and the Forest City's failed, playing a full schedule to July 19 followed only by two games versus Boston in mid-August. Events 711 - Muslim forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by their king Roderic. [2]
National League era
In 1876, the National League supplanted the N. The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the National League ( NL) is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball A. as the major professional league. Cleveland was not among its charter members, but by 1879 the league was looking for new entries and the city returned to a major circuit. The Cleveland Blues played mainly in the middle of the pack for six seasons and was ruined by trade war with the Union Association in 1884, when its three best players moved for the money: Fred Dunlap, Jack Glasscock, and Jim McCormick. The Cleveland Blues were a Major League Baseball team based in Cleveland Ohio that operated in the National League from 1879 to 1884 The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for only one season in 1884. Frederick C Dunlap ( May 21, 1859 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – December 1, 1902 in Philadelphia nicknamed "Sure John Wesley Glasscock ( July 22 1857 - February 24 1947) was an American Shortstop in Major League James McCormick ( November 3 1856 - March 10 1918) was a former right-handed Pitcher in Major League Baseball. St Louis from the U. A. took its place for 1885. That franchise only lasted a couple of years, but another St. Louis franchise would deal a devastating blow to another Cleveland team some 15 years later.
Cleveland went without major league ball for only two seasons, joining the American Association in 1887, after that league's Allegheny club had jumped to the N. This article refers to the former Baseball major league that existed from 1882 to 1891 The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. L. Cleveland followed suit in 1889, as the Association began to crumble. (It folded after 1891, and the National League acquired four of its franchises to swell to 12 teams. ) With the unique nickname Spiders, supposedly inspired by their "skinny and spindly" players, [3] Cleveland slowly became a power in the league The Spiders survived a challenge from an entry in the one-season Players' League in 1890. The Cleveland Spiders were a Major League Baseball team which played between 1887 and 1899 in Cleveland Ohio. The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (sometimes rendered as Players League) was a short-lived but The next year the Spiders moved into League Park, which would become the home of Cleveland professional ball for the next 55 years. League Park was a Baseball stadium located in Cleveland Ohio. Led by native Ohioan Cy Young, the Spiders became a contender in the mid-1890s, when they played in the Temple Cup Series (that era's World Series) twice, winning it in 1895. Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29 1867 – November 4 1955 was an American Baseball player who pitched for five different major league The Temple Cup was a Trophy awarded to the winner of a best-of-seven post-season Major League Baseball championship series that was conducted for four seasons in The team began to fade after that, and was dealt a severe blow under the ownership of the Robison brothers. Robison Field is the best-known of several names given to a former Major League Baseball park in St
The Robisons, despite already owning the Spiders, were allowed to also acquire a controlling interest in the St. Louis Cardinals franchise in 1899. The St Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards " or "the Redbirds " are a professional Baseball team based in St They proceeded to strip the Cleveland team of its best players (including Young) to help fill the St. Louis roster. The St. Louis team improved to finish above . 500. The Spiders were left with essentially a minor league lineup, and began to lose games at a record pace. Drawing almost no fans at home, they ended up playing most of their season on the road, and became known as "The Wanderers",[4] finally falling to 12th place, 84 games out of first place, with an all-time worst record of 20 wins and 134 losses. [5]
Following the 1899 season, the National League disbanded the Cleveland franchise along with three other teams in Washington, Baltimore, and Louisville. The disastrous 1899 season would actually be a step toward a new future for Cleveland fans the next year.
Seeking to capitalize on general public disillusionment with the National League, Ban Johnson changed the name of his minor league, the Western League, to the American League and shifted the WL's Grand Rapids club to Cleveland, taking over League Park in 1900. Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson ( January 5, 1864 &ndash March 28, 1931) was an American executive in Professional baseball The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League ( AL) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in League Park was a Baseball stadium located in Cleveland Ohio. [6] Although still a minor league, the new organization was ready to make its move. In 1901 the American League broke with the National Agreement and declared itself a competing Major League. The Cleveland franchise was among its eight charter members.
1901–1946: Early to middle history of the franchise
The new team was owned by coal magnate Charles Somers and tailor Jack Kilfoyl. Charles Somers aka Charles W Somers (born October 13 1868 in Newark Ohio - June 29 1934 Put-in-Bay Ohio) was an Somers, a wealthy industrialist and also co-owner of the Boston Americans, lent money to other team owners, including Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics, to keep them and the new league afloat. The Boston Red Sox are a Professional baseball team based in Boston Massachusetts, and are the reigning (2007 World Series Champions. Cornelius Alexander Mack ( December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956) born Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy, was an American The Oakland Athletics are a professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The team was originally nicknamed the "Bluebirds. " However, the players did not feel it was a macho enough image for a baseball team. Even though most headline writers shortened it to "Blues" (after the old NL Blues), the players remained unhappy. They tried to change their name to the "Bronchos" in 1902, but this nickname never caught on. Champions Major League Baseball American League: Philadelphia Athletics National League: Pittsburgh Pirates The Blues were an also-ran in their first two seasons, and also suffered from financial problems. This led Somers to seriously consider moving to either Pittsburgh or Cincinnati. [7]
Relief came in 1903, largely by accident. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Boston Americans over Pittsburgh Pirates (5-3 in the first modern World In 1901, Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, the Philadelphia Phillies star second baseman, jumped to the A's after his contract was capped at $2,400 per year–one of the highest-profile players to jump to the upstart AL. Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie or often la-ZHWAY per the Canadian French pronunciation or as he himself usually pronounced it LAJ-a-wayLee Allen in ''The American League The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a Baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that The Phillies subsequently filed an injunction to force Lajoie's return, which was granted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the court of last resort for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The injunction appeared to doom any hopes of an early settlement between the warring leagues. However, a lawyer discovered that the injunction was only enforceable in the state of Pennsylvania. Mack then agreed to trade Lajoie to the struggling Blues, who offered $25,000 salary over three years. Due to the injunction, however, Lajoie had to sit out any games played against the A's in Philadelphia. [8] Lajoie joined the Blues on June 4 and was an immediate hit, drawing 10,000 fans to League Park. Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. Soon afterward, he was named team captain, and the team was renamed the "Naps" after a newspaper conducted a write-in contest. [7]
Lajoie was named manager as well in 1905, and kept the Naps competitive. Champions World Series: New York Giants over Philadelphia Athletics (4-1 Awards and honors MLB Statistical They finished half a game short of the pennant in 1908. After that, the team began to unravel, leading Kilfoyl to sell his share of the team to Somers. Cy Young who returned to Cleveland in 1909, was ineffective for most of his three remaining years and Addie Joss passed away from tubercular meningitis prior to the 1910 season. Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29 1867 – November 4 1955 was an American Baseball player who pitched for five different major league Adrian Joss ( April Champions World Series: Philadelphia Athletics over Chicago Cubs (4-1 Awards and honors
Despite a strong lineup anchored by the potent Lajoie and Shoeless Joe Jackson, poor pitching kept the team below third place for most of the next decade, and jokes about "Naps" as a synonym for "sleeps" began to circulate. Joseph Jefferson Jackson ( July 16, 1888 &ndash December 5, 1951) nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American The team hit bottom in 1914 and 1915, finishing in the cellar both years. Somers' personal finances suffered at the same time, forcing him to send Lajoie back to Philadelphia after the 1914 season. Jackson was sold midway through the 1915 season.
With Lajoie gone, the Naps needed a new nickname. Somers asked the local newspapers to come up with a new name, and they chose "Indians. " Legend has it that the team honored Louis Sockalexis when it assumed its current name in 1915. Louis Francis "Chief" Sockalexis ( October 24, 1871 - December 24, 1913) nicknamed The Deerfoot of the Diamond, was an Sockalexis, a Native American, had played in Cleveland 1897–99. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States Research indicates that this legend is mostly untrue, and that the new name was a play on the name of the Boston Braves, then known as the "Miracle Braves" after going from last place on July 4 to a sweep in the 1914 World Series. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples In the 1914 World Series, the Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Athletics in a four-games sweep Proponents of the name acknowledged that the Cleveland Spiders of the National League had sometimes been informally called the "Indians" during Sockalexis' short career there, a fact which merely reinforced the new name. The Cleveland Spiders were a Major League Baseball team which played between 1887 and 1899 in Cleveland Ohio. The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the National League ( NL) is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball [9]
By 1916, Somers was at the end of his tether and sold the team to a syndicate headed by Chicago railroad contractor James C. Champions World Series: Boston Red Sox over Brooklyn Robins (4-1 Awards and honors "Jack" Dunn. Dunn hired a new manager, Lee Fohl, brought up two young pitchers, Stan Coveleski and Jim Bagby, and acquired Tris Speaker, who had been engaged in a salary dispute with the Red Sox. Leo Alexander Fohl ( November 28 1876 – October 30 1965) was an American manager in Major League Baseball for Stanley Anthony Coveleski (Kowalewski ( July 13, 1889, Shamokin Pennsylvania &ndash March 20, 1984) was a Major League Jim Bagby may refer to Jim Bagby Sr (1889-1954 a pitcher who played in MLB from 1912 through 1923 Jim Bagby Jr Tristram E Speaker ( April 4, 1888 - December 8, 1958) nicknamed “Spoke” (a play on his last name and “Grey Eagle” (for his prematurely The Boston Red Sox are a Professional baseball team based in Boston Massachusetts, and are the reigning (2007 World Series Champions. [10]
Tris Speaker took over the reins as player-manager in 1919, and would lead the team to a championship in 1920–but not before tragedy intervened. Player-manager is a sports term used to described a manager of a team who is also registered to play for the team Headline Event of the Year Chicago White Sox players accused of throwing World Series, resulting in the Black Sox scandal On August 16, the Indians were playing the Yankees at the Polo Grounds in New York. The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different Stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City used by Baseball 's New York Giants Shortstop Ray Chapman, who often crowded the plate, was batting against Carl Mays, who had an unusual underhand delivery. Raymond Johnson Chapman ( January 15, 1891 &ndash August 17, 1920) was an American Baseball player spending his entire Carl William Mays ( November 12 1891 &ndash April 4 1971) was one of the better right-handed Pitchers in Major League Baseball Mays' pitch hit Chapman in the head, fracturing his skull. Chapman died the next day, the first and only player fatality on the field. [11] The Indians, who at the time were locked in a tight three-way pennant race with the Yankees and White Sox,[12] were not slowed down by the death of their teammate. Rookie Joe Sewell hit . For other people and things named "Sewell", see Sewell (disambiguation 329 after replacing Chapman in the lineup.
In September 1920, the Black Sox Scandal came to a boil. The Black Sox Scandal refers to a number of events that took place around and during the play of the 1919 World Series. With just a few games left in the season, and Cleveland and Chicago neck-and-neck for first place at 94–54 and 95–56 respectively,[13][14] the Chicago owner suspended eight players. The White Sox lost 2 of 3 in their final series, while Cleveland won 4 and lost 2 in their final two series. Cleveland finished 2 games ahead of Chicago and 3 games ahead of the Yankees to win its first pennant, led by Speaker's . 388 hitting, Jim Bagby's 30 victories and solid performances from Steve O'Neill and Stan Coveleski. Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively A win is a Statistic in Major League Baseball credited to the Pitcher for the winning team who was in the game when his team last took the lead Stephen Francis O'Neill ( July 6, 1891 – January 26, 1962) was an American Catcher, manager, coach Cleveland went on to defeat the Brooklyn Robins 5–2 in the World Series for their first title, winning four games in a row after the Robins took a 2–1 Series lead. The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball team based in Los Angeles California, USA In the 1920 World Series, the Cleveland Indians beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, then known interchangeably as the Robins in reference to their manager Wilbert
The team would not reach the heights of 1920 again for 28 years. Speaker and Coveleski were aging and the Yankees were rising with a new weapon: Babe Ruth and the home run. George Herman Ruth Jr (February 6 1895 &ndash August 16 1948 also popularly known as " Babe " " The Bambino " and " The Sultan of They managed two second-place finishes but spent much of the decade in the cellar. In 1927 Dunn's widow, Mrs. George Pross (Dunn had died in 1922), sold the team to a syndicate headed by Alva Bradley. Alva Bradley (born 1884 died March 30 1953 in Delray Beach, FL aka Alva Bradley II was a businessman and baseball team executive
The Indians were a middling team by the 1930s, finishing third or fourth most years. 1936 brought Cleveland a new superstar in 17-year old picher Bob Feller, who came from Iowa with a dominating fastball. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over New York Giants (4-2 All-Star Game Robert William Andrew "Bob" Feller (born November 3, 1918 in Van Meter Iowa) nicknamed the "Heater from Van Meter" and The State of Iowa ( is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. For the American band of the same name see Fastball (band. For the game also known as fast-pitch softball see Softball. That season, Feller set a record with 17 strikeouts in a single game and went on to lead the league in strikeouts from 1938–1941. By 1940, Feller, along with Ken Keltner, Mel Harder and Lou Boudreau led the Indians to within one game of the pennant. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Detroit Tigers (4-3 All-Star Game Kenneth Fredrick Keltner (October 31 1916 – December 12 1991 was an American Third baseman in Major League who played his entire career with the Melvin Leroy Harder ( October 15 1909 — October 20 2002) nicknamed "Chief" was an American right-handed Starting Louis "Lou" Boudreau ( July 17, 1917, in Harvey Illinois &ndash August 10, 2001) was an American Major However, the team was wracked with dissension, with some players (including Feller and Mel Harder) going so far as to request that Bradley fire manager Ossie Vitt. Melvin Leroy Harder ( October 15 1909 — October 20 2002) nicknamed "Chief" was an American right-handed Starting Oscar Joseph "Ossie" Vitt ( January 4 1890 - January 31 1963) was a Major League Baseball Third baseman Reporters lampooned them as the Cleveland Crybabies. [15] Feller, who had pitched a no-hitter to open the season and won 27 games, lost the final game of the season to unknown pitcher Floyd Giebell of the Detroit Tigers. In Baseball, a no-hitter (also known as a no-hit game, or colloquially a no-no) refers to a game in which one of the teams prevented the other from getting The Detroit Tigers are a professional baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan, USA The Tigers won the pennant and Giebell never won another major league game. [16]
Cleveland entered 1941 with a young team and a new manager; Roger Peckinpaugh had replaced the despised Vitt. Roger Thorpe Peckinpaugh ( February 5 1891 &ndash November 17 1977) was an American Shortstop in Major League Baseball But the team regressed, finishing in fourth. The team would soon be depleted of two stars. Hal Trosky retired in 1941 due to migraine headaches and Bob Feller enlisted in the Navy two days after the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Harold Arthur Trosky Sr, born Harold Arthur Trojovsky ( November 11, 1912 - June 18, 1979 The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation, as it was called by the Imperial General Headquarters) was a surprise Military strike conducted by Starting third baseman Ken Keltner and outfielder Ray Mack were both drafted in 1945 taking two more starters out of the lineup. Kenneth Fredrick Keltner (October 31 1916 – December 12 1991 was an American Third baseman in Major League who played his entire career with the Raymond James Mack (born Raymond James Mlckovsky on August 31 1916 - died May 7 1969) was a Second basemen in [17]
1947–1959
In 1946 Bill Veeck formed an investment group that purchased the Cleveland Indians from Bradley's group for a reported $1. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: St Louis Cardinals over Boston Red Sox (4-3 All-Star Game William Louis Veeck Jr (ˈvɛk rhymes with "wreck" February 9 1914 &ndash January 2 1986) also known as " Sport Shirt 1 million. Among the investors was Bob Hope, who had grown up in Cleveland. Bob Hope, KBE KCSG ( May 29, 1903 &ndash July 27, 2003) was an American comedian and actor who appeared in [18] A former owner of a minor league franchise in Milwaukee, Veeck brought to Cleveland a gift for promotion. At one point, Veeck hired rubber-faced[19] Max Patkin, the "Clown Prince of Baseball" as a coach. Max Patkin ( January 10 1920 - October 30 1999) was an American Baseball player and Clown, best known as the Patkin's appearance in the coaching box was the sort of promotional stunt that delighted fans but infuriated the American League front office.
Recognizing that he had acquired a solid team, Veeck soon abandoned the aging, small and lightless League Park to take up full-time residence in massive Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Cleveland Stadium (also known as Lakefront Stadium and Cleveland Municipal Stadium) was a Baseball and American football stadium located in Prior to 1947 the Indians played most of their games at League Park, and occasionally played weekend games at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. League Park was demolished in 1951, although a portion of the original ticket booth remains. [20]
Making the most of the cavernous stadium, Veeck had a portable center field fence installed, which he could move in or out depending on how the distance favored the Indians against their opponents in a given series. The fence moved as much as 15 feet (5 m) between series opponents. Following the 1947 season, the American League countered with a rule change that fixed the distance of an outfield wall for the duration of a season. The massive stadium did, however, permit the Indians to set the all-time one game regular-season attendance record in 1954 at over 84,000.
Under Veeck's leadership, one of Cleveland's most significant achievement was breaking the color barrier in the American League by signing Larry Doby, formerly a player for the Negro League's Newark Eagles in 1947, eleven weeks after Jackie Robinson signed with the Dodgers. The baseball color line, sometimes called the " Gentleman's Agreement " was the policy unwritten for nearly its entire duration which excluded African The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League ( AL) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby ( December 13, 1923 – June 18, 2003) was an American professional Baseball player The Newark Eagles was a professional Negro League Baseball team that played in the second Negro National League from Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4-3 All-Star Game Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (January 31 1919 – October 24 1972 was a Baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball team based in Los Angeles California, USA Similar to Robinson, Doby battled racism on and off the field but posted a . 301 batting average in 1948, his first full season. A power-hitting center fielder, Doby led the American League twice in homers.
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In 1948, needing pitching for the stretch run of the 1948 pennant race, Veeck turned to the Negro League again and signed pitching great Satchel Paige amid much controversy. Part of the History of baseball in the United States series The Negro leagues were American professional Baseball leagues Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige ( July 7, 1906 He appeared in the Major League All-Star Game in both 1952 and 1953. Barred from Major League Baseball during his prime, Veeck's signing of the aging star in 1948 was viewed by many as another publicity stunt. At an official age of 42, Paige became the oldest rookie in Major League baseball history, and the first black pitcher. Paige soon proved he could still pitch and ended the year with a 6–1 record with a 2. 48 ERA, 45 strikeouts and two shutouts.
In 1948, veterans Boudreau, Keltner, and Joe Gordon had career offensive seasons, while newcomers Larry Doby and Gene Bearden also had standout seasons. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cleveland Indians over Boston Braves (4-2 All-Star Game Joseph Lowell Gordon ( February 18 1915 &ndash April 14, 1978) nicknamed "Flash" in reference to the comic-book character Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby ( December 13, 1923 – June 18, 2003) was an American professional Baseball player Henry Eugene "Gene" Bearden ( September 5, 1920 &ndash March 18, 2004) was a left-handed Knuckleball Pitcher The team went down to the wire with the Boston Red Sox, winning a one-game playoff, the first in American League history, to go to the World Series. The Boston Red Sox are a Professional baseball team based in Boston Massachusetts, and are the reigning (2007 World Series Champions. The 1948 World Series matched the Cleveland Indians against the Boston Braves. In the series, the Tribe defeated the Boston Braves four games to two for their first championship in 28 years. Boudreau won the American League MVP Award. The Most Valuable Player Award (commonly known as the MVP award is an annual award given to one outstanding player in each league of Major League Baseball.
The Indians would appear in a film the following year titled The Kid From Cleveland. The year 1949 in film involved some significant events Events Top grossing films (U The Kid from Cleveland is a 1949 film which told the story of a "troubled teenaged fan " being helped by his favorite Baseball team - the The film portrayed the team helping out a "troubled teenaged fan"[21] and featured many members of the Indians organization.
In 1949 Cleveland again contended before falling to third place. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4-1 All-Star Game On September 23, 1949, Bill Veeck and the Indians buried their 1948 pennant in center field the day after they were mathematically eliminated from the pennant race. Events 1122 - Concordat of Worms. 1459 - Battle of Blore Heath, the first major battle of the English Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Later in 1949, Veeck's first wife divorced him. With most of his money tied up in the Indians, Veeck as forced to sell the team to a syndicate headed by insurance magnate Ellis Ryan. Ryan was forced out in 1953 in favor of Myron Wilson, who in turn gave way to William Daley in 1956. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4-2 All-Star Game Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4-3 Don Larsen, MVP Despite this turnover in the ownership, a powerhouse team comprised of Feller, Doby, Minnie Miñoso, Luke Easter, Bobby Avila, Al Rosen, Early Wynn, Bob Lemon, and Mike Garcia continued to contend through the early 1950s. Saturnino Orestes Armas Miñoso Arrieta, commonly referred to as Minnie Miñoso ( mean-YO-so, commonly pronounced minn-OH-so by media (born November Luke Easter may refer to Luke Easter (baseball player, former baseball star in both Major League Baseball and Negro league baseball Luke Easter Roberto Francisco "Beto" Ávila González ( April 2, 1924 &ndash October 26, 2004) was a Major League Baseball Second Albert Leonard Rosen (born February 29, 1924, in Spartanburg South Carolina) nicknamed " Al " " Flip " and the Early Wynn Jr, familiarly known as "Gus" Wynn, ( January 6, 1920 &ndash April 4, 1999) was a right-handed Baseball Robert Granville Lemon ( September 22, 1920 &ndash January 11, 2000) was an American right-handed Pitcher in Major Edward Miguel "Mike" Garcia ( November 17 1923 &ndash January 13 1986) was an American right-handed Pitcher in However, Cleveland only won a single pennant in the decade, finishing second to the New York Yankees five times. The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in New York City, New York.
Their best season of the era came in 1954, when the Indians won a then-record 111 games and returned to the World Series against the New York Giants. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Giants over Cleveland Indians (4-0 All-Star Game The 1954 World Series matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion Cleveland Indians. The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in, that currently play in the National League West Division. The team could not bring home the title, however, ultimately being upset by the Giants in a sweep. The series was notable for Willie Mays famous over-the-shoulder catch off the bat of Vic Wertz in Game 1. Willie Howard Mays Jr (born May 6 1931 is a retired American Baseball player who played the majority of his career with the New York and San Francisco Giants The Catch refers to a memorable defensive Baseball play by Willie Mays on September 29,, during Game 1 of the 1954 World Series between the Victor Woodrow Wertz ( February 9 1925 – July 7 1983) was a Major League Baseball First baseman and Outfielder
1960–1993: The curse of Rocky Colavito
From 1959 to 1993, the Indians managed one third-place and five fourth-place finishes but spent the rest of the time in the American League cellar. Frank 'Trader' Lane was an early culprit in the construction of what became a running joke in baseball for three decades. For the former footballer see Frankie Lane Frank Lane ( February 1 1896 - March 19 1981) was an The team's ill-advised trades under a number of general managers would haunt the team. Managers general managers and owners of the Cleveland Indians Baseball team Managers General managers Owners See also
Constant ownership changes did not help the Indians. In 1963, Daley's syndicate sold the team to a group headed by general manager Gabe Paul[7] Three years later, Paul sold the Indians to Vernon Stouffer[22] of the Stouffer's frozen-food empire. Gabriel Howard Paul ( January 4 1910 — April 26 1998) was an American executive in Major League Baseball who served as Vernon B Stouffer, ( 22 August 1901 - 26 July 1974) owned a national chain of restaurants motor inns and food-service operations and the Stouffer's is a brand of frozen prepared foods available in the United States and Canada. Prior to Stouffer's purchase, the team was rumored to be relocated due to poor attendance. Despite the potential for a financially strong owner, Stouffer had some non-baseball related financial setbacks and consequently, the team was cash-poor. In order to solve some financial problems, Stouffer had made an agreement to play a minimum of 30 home games in New Orleans. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana After rejecting an offer from George Steinbrenner and former Indian Al Rosen, Stouffer sold the team in 1972 to a group led by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Nick Mileti. George Michael Steinbrenner III (born July 4, 1930 in Rocky River Ohio) is an American Billionaire businessman and the principal Albert Leonard Rosen (born February 29, 1924, in Spartanburg South Carolina) nicknamed " Al " " Flip " and the The Cleveland Cavaliers (also known as the Cavs) are a professional Basketball team based in Cleveland Ohio. Nick Mileti (born 1931 was during the 1970s the owner of the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Crusaders hockey team the Coliseum Steinbrenner went on to buy the Yankees in 1973. [23]
Only five years later, Mileti's group sold the team for $11 million to a syndicate headed by trucking magnate Steve O'Neill and which included Gabe Paul, who had been an executive with the Indians, Reds and Yankees. O'Neill's death in 1983 led to the team going on the market once more. His son, Patrick O'Neill, did not find a buyer until real estate magnates Richard and David Jacobs purchased the team in 1986. Richard E "Dick" Jacobs is the Chairman and Chief executive officer of The Richard E
The 30 Year Slump
The 30+ year slump began for the Indians with the club's most infamous trade; which involved slugging right fielder and fan favorite,[24] Rocky Colavito. Rocco Domenico "Rocky" Colavito Jr (born August 10, 1933 in New York City) is a former Right fielder in Major League Baseball Just before Opening Day in 1960 Colavito was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Harvey Kuenn. Opening Day is warmly regarded in North American tradition as the beginning of a new Major League Baseball season Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over New York Yankees (4-3 Bobby Richardson, The Detroit Tigers are a professional baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan, USA Harvey Edward Kuenn ( December 4, 1930 – February 28, 1988) was an American player coach and manager It was a blockbuster trade that swapped the 1959 AL home run co-champion (Colavito) for the AL batting champion (Kuenn). Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Chicago White Sox (4-2 Larry Sherry, MVP After the trade, Colavito hit over 30 home runs four times and made three All Star Teams for Detroit and later the Kansas City Athletics before returning to Cleveland in 1965. The Oakland Athletics are a professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Minnesota Twins (4-3 Sandy Koufax, MVP Kuenn, on the other hand, would play only one season for the Indians before departing in a trade for an aging Johnny Antonelli and Willie Kirkland. John August Antonelli (born April 12, 1930 in Rochester New York) is a former left-handed Starting pitcher who played for the Boston and Willie Charles Kirkland (born February 17, 1934 in Siluria Alabama) is a former Right fielder in Major League Baseball who played Akron Beacon Journal columnist Terry Pluto documented the decades of woe that followed the trade in his book The Curse of Rocky Colavito. The Akron Beacon Journal is a morning Newspaper in Akron Ohio, and published by Black Press Ltd Terry Pluto (born in Cleveland, Ohio) is an award-winning sportswriter who primarily writes columns for the Cleveland Plain Dealer The Curse of Rocky Colavito is a phenomenon that supposedly prevents the Cleveland Indians baseball team from winning be it the World Series, the American League [25]
In the 1960s, the team also sent budding stars Tommy John, Luis Tiant, and Lou Piniella packing, receiving little in return. Thomas Edward John Jr (born May 22 1943 in Terre Haute Indiana) is a former left-handed Pitcher in Major League Baseball whose 288 Luis Tiant (/luˈis tiˈant/ born November 23, 1940 ? in Marianao, Cuba) (then part of Havana Province, born Luis Clemente Tiant Louis Victor Piniella (pɨˈnɛlə born August 28, 1943, in Tampa Florida, United States) is the current manager of the Chicago At one point, Lane even traded Harry Chiti to the New York Mets, receiving him back as the player to be named later after 15 days. Harry Chiti ( November 16, 1932 – January 31, 2002) was a Catcher in Major League Baseball. "Mets" redirects here For the medical term see Metastasis.
The 1970s were little better with the Indians trading away several future stars, including Graig Nettles, Dennis Eckersley, Buddy Bell and 1971 Rookie of the year Chris Chambliss, for a number of players who made no impact. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. Graig Nettles (born August 20, 1944, in San Diego California) (nicknamed Puff) is a former Major League Baseball Third baseman Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3 1954 nicknamed "Eck" is a former American Major League Baseball player David Gus "Buddy" Bell (born August 27 1951 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania) is a former Third baseman and manager in Major Carroll Christopher Chambliss (born December 26, 1948, in Dayton Ohio) is a retired Major League Baseball player who played from - for the
The team was unable to move out of the cellar with losing seasons between 1969 and 1975. One highlight was the acquisition of Gaylord Perry in 1972. Gaylord Jackson Perry (born September 15 1938 in Williamston North Carolina) is a former right-handed Pitcher in Major League Baseball Labor strife and more moving 1972 was tainted by a players' strike over pension and salary arbitration The Indians traded fireballer 'Sudden Sam' McDowell for Perry, who became the first Indian pitcher to win the Cy Young Award. Samuel Edward Thomas "Sam" McDowell (born September 21, 1942 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania) is a former Pitcher in Major League In Baseball, the Cy Young Award is an honor given annually to the best Pitcher in Major League Baseball (one each for American and National In 1975, Cleveland broke another color barrier with the hiring of Frank Robinson as Major League Baseball's first African American manager. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Boston Red Sox (4-3 Pete Rose, MVP Frank Robinson (born August 31, 1935 in Beaumont Texas) is a Hall of Fame former Major League Baseball player African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa Robinson served as player-manager and would provide a franchise highlight when he hit a pinch hit home run on Opening Day. For other uses see Pinch hitter (cricket. In Baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Opening Day is warmly regarded in North American tradition as the beginning of a new Major League Baseball season But the high profile signing of Wayne Garland, a 20-game winner in Baltimore, proved to be a disaster after Garland suffered from shoulder problems and went 28–48 over five years. Marcus Wayne Garland (born October 26, 1950 in Nashville Tennessee) was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1973 to 1981 for the Baltimore The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. [26] The team failed to improve with Robinson as manager and he was fired in 1977. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-2 Reggie Jackson,
The 1970s also featured the infamous Ten Cent Beer Night at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Sports Illustrated is an American Sports Magazine owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Ten Cent Beer Night was an ill-fated promotion held by the American League 's Cleveland Indians during a game against the Texas Rangers at Cleveland The ill-conceived promotion at a 1974 game against the Texas Rangers ended in a riot by fans and a forfeit by the Indians. Champions Major League Baseball 1974 World Series: Oakland Athletics over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-1 Rollie Fingers The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in Arlington Texas, United States, representing the Dallas-Ft [27]
There were bright spots in the 1980s. In May of 1980, Len Barker threw a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays, joining Addie Joss as the only other Indian pitcher to do so. Leonard Harold Barker III (born July 7, 1955 in Fort Knox Kentucky) better known as Len Barker, is a former Major League Baseball A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a Pitcher (or combination of pitchers pitches a victory that lasts a minimum The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 'Super Joe' Charbonneau won the American League Rookie of the Year award. Joseph Charboneau (born June 17, 1955 in Belvidere Illinois) was a Major League Baseball player for the Cleveland Indians and is In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to one player from each league as voted upon by the Baseball Writers Association of America Unfortunately, Charboneau was out of baseball by 1982 after falling victim to back injuries and Barker never became a consistently dominant starting pitcher.
Eventually, the Indians traded Barker to the Atlanta Braves for Brett Butler and Brook Jacoby who would become mainstays for the team for the remainder of the decade. Brett Morgan Butler (born June 15, 1957 in Los Angeles California) is a former Center fielder in Major League Baseball who played Brook Wallace Jacoby (born November 23, 1959 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania) is a former Major League Baseball Third baseman. Butler and Jacoby were joined by Joe Carter, Mel Hall, Julio Franco and Cory Snyder who brought new hope to fans in the late 1980s. Joseph Christopher Carter (born March 7 1960 in Oklahoma City Oklahoma) is a former Right fielder in Major League Baseball who played Melvin Hall Jr (born September 16, 1960 in Lyons New York) is a former Major League Baseball player from 1981 to 1996 for the Chicago Julio César Robles Franco (born August 23 1958, in Hato Mayor, Dominican Republic) is a former Major League Baseball Infielder James Cory Snyder (born November 11, 1962 in Inglewood California) is a former Major League Baseball player for the Cleveland Indians
After a rare winning season in 1986, Sports Illustrated, with Carter and Snyder pictured on the cover, boldly predicted the Indians to win the American League East in 1987. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Mets over Boston Red Sox (4-3 Ray Knight, MVP Sports Illustrated is an American Sports Magazine owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. The American League East Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Minnesota Twins over St Instead, the team went on to lose 101 games and finish with the worst record in baseball, a fate attributed to the Sports Illustrated cover jinx. The Sports Illustrated Jinx is a myth that states that individuals or teams who appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated magazine will experience bad luck at
Organizational Turn Around
In 1989, a fictional Cleveland Indians baseball team was portrayed in the movie Major League, which depicted a hapless Cleveland ball club going from worst to first by the end of the film. Events Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton Georgia for $20 million Major League is a 1989 American Comedy film written and directed by David S
Since their 1986 purchase, the Jacobs brothers had pushed for a new stadium to replace Cleveland Stadium. While it had been a symbol of the Indians' glory years in the late 1940s and early 1950s, during the hard times of the past 30 years games were often swallowed up by the cavernous environment. In May 1990, Cuyahoga County voters passed an excise tax on sales of alcohol and cigarettes in the county. Cuyahoga County (pronounced /ˌkaɪəˈhɔgə/ or /ˌkaɪəˈhoːgə/ is a County located in the state of Ohio, United States. A Pigovian tax (also spelled Pigouvian tax) is a Tax levied to correct the negative externalities of a market activity The tax proceeds would be used to finance the building of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex which would include Jacobs Field and Gund Arena for the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team. The Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex, located in Cleveland Ohio, consists of Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs field which houses the Cleveland Indians Progressive Field is a ballpark located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and is the home of the Cleveland Indians of the American Quicken Loans Arena (also referred to as "The Q") is a multipurpose Arena in downtown Cleveland Ohio, USA The Cleveland Cavaliers (also known as the Cavs) are a professional Basketball team based in Cleveland Ohio.
The team's fortunes started to turn in 1989, ironically with a very unpopular trade. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Oakland Athletics over San Francisco Giants (4-0 Dave Stewart, The team sent power-hitting outfielder Joe Carter to the San Diego Padres for two unproven players, Sandy Alomar, Jr. and Carlos Baerga. Joseph Christopher Carter (born March 7 1960 in Oklahoma City Oklahoma) is a former Right fielder in Major League Baseball who played The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego California since their founding in 1969 Santos "Sandy" Alomar Jr, or in the Spanish naming system Santos Alomar Velázquez (born June 18, 1966 in Salinas Puerto Rico Carlos Obed Baerga Ortiz (born November 4 1968 in Santurce San Juan Puerto Rico) better known plainly as Carlos Baerga, is a former Major League Baseball Alomar made an immediate impact, not only being elected to the All-Star team but also winning Cleveland's fourth Rookie of the Year award and a Gold Glove. The 1990 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 61st playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL and National League In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to one player from each league as voted upon by the Baseball Writers Association of America For the award given to amateur boxers see Golden Gloves. In American Baseball, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to Baerga would become a three-time All-Star with solid offensive numbers.
Indians general manager John Hart made a number of moves that would finally bring success to the team. John Henry Hart (born July 21, 1948) is an American Major League Baseball executive In 1991, he hired former Indian Mike Hargrove to manage and traded catcher Eddie Taubensee to the Houston Astros who, with a glut of outfielders, were willing to part with Kenny Lofton. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Minnesota Twins over Atlanta Braves (4-3 Jack Morris, MVP Dudley Michael Hargrove (born October 26, 1949 in Perryton Texas) is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. In Baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager (or more formally the field manager) this individual controls matters Edward Kenneth Taubensee (born October 31, 1968 in Beeville Texas) is a former Catcher in Major League Baseball. The Houston Astros are a Professional baseball team based in Houston Texas. Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967 in East Chicago Indiana) is a veteran Major League Baseball Outfielder. Lofton finished second in AL Rookie of the Year balloting with a . 285 average and 66 stolen bases. In Baseball, a stolen base occurs when a Baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the Pitcher is delivering the ball to Home plate
The Indians were named "Organization of the Year" by Baseball America[28] in 1992, in response to the appearance of offensive bright spots and an improving farm system. In sports a farm team, feeder team or nursery club, generally refers to a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players with an
The team suffered a tragedy during spring training of 1993, when a boat carrying pitchers Steve Olin, Tim Crews, and Bob Ojeda crashed into a pier. In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the Regular season. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Philadelphia Phillies (4-2 Paul Molitor, Steven Robert Olin ( October 4, 1965 - March 22, 1993) was a right-handed submarining Relief pitcher for the Cleveland Stanley Timothy Crews ( April 3, 1961 - March 23, 1993) was born in Tampa Florida. Robert Michael Ojeda (born December 17, 1957) is a former Major League Baseball left-handed Pitcher who pitched for the Boston Red Sox Olin and Crews were killed, and Ojeda was seriously injured. (Ojeda missed the rest of the season, and would retire the following year). [29]
By the end of the 1993 season, the team was in transition, leaving Cleveland Stadium and fielding a talented nucleus of young players. Many of those players came from the Indians' new AAA farm team, the Charlotte Knights, who won the International League title that year. The Charlotte Knights are a Minor league baseball team representing Charlotte North Carolina. The International League ( IL) is a Minor league baseball league which operates in the eastern United States.
1994–2001: A New Beginning
Indians General Manager John Hart and team owner Richard Jacobs managed to turn the team's fortunes around. Progressive Field is a ballpark located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and is the home of the Cleveland Indians of the American John Henry Hart (born July 21, 1948) is an American Major League Baseball executive Richard E "Dick" Jacobs is the Chairman and Chief executive officer of The Richard E The Indians opened Jacobs Field in 1994 with the aim of improving on the prior season's sixth-place finish. Progressive Field is a ballpark located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and is the home of the Cleveland Indians of the American The Indians were only one game behind the division-leading Chicago White Sox on August 12 when a players strike wiped out the rest of the season. The Chicago White Sox are a professional Baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The 1994 Major League baseball strike was the eighth work stoppage in Baseball history as well as the fourth in-season work stoppage
1995 season: A first since 1954
Having contended for the division in the aborted 1994 season, Cleveland sprinted to a 100–44 record (18 games were lost to player/owner negotiations) in 1995 winning its first ever divisional title. Veterans Dennis Martinez, Orel Hershiser and Eddie Murray combined with a young core of players including Albert Belle, Jim Thome, Manny Ramírez and Charles Nagy to lead the league in team batting average as well as team ERA. José Dennis Martínez Ortiz (born May 14, 1955 in Granada, Nicaragua) better known as Dennis Martínez, was the first Nicaraguan Orel Leonard Hershiser IV (born September 16, 1958) is a former Right-handed Pitcher in Major League Baseball. Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24 1956 in Los Angeles California) is a former Major League Baseball First baseman who was known as one of the most Albert Jojuan Belle (born August 25, 1966) is a former American Major League Baseball Outfielder for the Cleveland Indians James Howard "Jim" Thome (ˈtʰoʊˌmeɪ born August 27 1970 in) is a Major League Baseball Designated hitter for the Chicago White Sox Manuel "Manny" Aristides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30 1972 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican-American professional Charles Harrison Nagy (born on May 5, 1967 in Bridgeport Connecticut) is a former Major League Baseball all-star Right-handed Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively In Baseball statistics, earned run average ( ERA) is the Mean of Earned runs given up by a Pitcher per nine Innings pitched
After defeating the Boston Red Sox in the Division Series and the Seattle Mariners in the ALCS, Cleveland clinched a World Series berth, for the first time since 1954. The Boston Red Sox are a Professional baseball team based in Boston Massachusetts, and are the reigning (2007 World Series Champions. The American League Division Series ( ALDS) the opening round of the 1995 American League playoffs began on Tuesday October 3, and ended on The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The American League Championship Series ( ALCS) the second round of the 1995 American League playoffs matched the Central Division champion Cleveland For other events named "World Series" see World Series (disambiguation. The World Series ended in disappointment with the Indians falling in six games to the Atlanta Braves. On June 12, 1995, the Indians began a record-breaking 455-game home sellout streak that would span parts of seven seasons, ending on April 4, 2001. Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Events 1581 - Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. The 455 straight sellouts are still a Major League record. The team's success even led comedian Drew Carey to quip, "Finally it's your team that sucks!" [30]
The Tribe repeated as AL Central champions in 1996, but lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the Division Series. Drew Allison Carey (born May 23 1958 is an American Comedian, Actor and Game show host. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves (4-2 John Wetteland, MVP The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The American League Division Series ( ALDS) the opening round of the 1996 American League playoffs began on Tuesday October 1, and ended on Notably in 1996, tickets for every home game for the Indians sold out within 10 minutes of going on sale.
1997 season: Two outs away
In 1997 Cleveland started slow but finished with an 86–75 record. The Cleveland Indians season was a season in American Baseball. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar Taking their third consecutive AL Central title, the Tribe defeated the heavily-favored New York Yankees in the Division Series, 3–2. The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in New York City, New York. The American League Division Series ( ALDS) the opening round of the 1997 American League playoffs began on Tuesday September 30, and ended After defeating the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS, Cleveland went on to face the Florida Marlins in the World Series which featured the coldest game in World Series history. The 1997 American League Championship Series pitted the Cleveland Indians, who won coming back against the defending World Series champion The Florida Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami Gardens Florida. The 1997 World Series featured the Cleveland Indians, who were playing in their second World Series in three years With the series tied after game six, the Indians went into the ninth inning of Game 7 with a 2–1 lead, but Jose Mesa allowed the Marlins to tie the game. José Ramón Nova Mesa (may have been born on May 22, 1966 (see Controversies in Pueblo Viejo, Azua, Dominican Republic) is a In the eleventh inning, Edgar Rentería drove in the winning run giving the Marlins their first championship. Edgar Enrique Rentería (pronounced as ˌɾenteˈɾia (born August 7 1975 in Barranquilla, Colombia) is a Shortstop in Major League Baseball
Cleveland became the first team to lose the World Series after carrying the lead into the bottom of the ninth inning of the seventh game. In his 2002 autobiography, Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel blamed Jose Mesa for the loss, which led to a feud between the players. Omar Enrique Vizquel Gonzalez (born April 24, 1967 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball Shortstop playing [31]
1998–2001
In 1998, the Indians made the playoffs for the fourth straight year, and defeated the wild-card Boston Red Sox three games to one in the first round. Headline events of the year Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr However, in the ALCS,they ran into a juggernaut in the form of the 114-win New York Yankees who defeated the Indians in six games. The American League Championship Series, the second round of the 1998 American League playoffs was played between the Eastern Division champion New York Yankees Following the season, the Indians acquired bullpen left-hander Ricardo Rincón from Pittsburgh and signed free agent second baseman Roberto Alomar, brother of catcher Sandy Alomar. Ricardo Rincón Espinoza (born April 13, 1970 in Cuitláhuac, Veracruz, Mexico) is a Relief pitcher for the New York Roberto Alomar Velázquez (born February 5 1968 in Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a former Major League Baseball player (- considered by many to be one of the
Cleveland won the Central Division again in 1999. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves (4-0 Mariano Rivera, MVP After taking a two games to none lead over the Red Sox in the Division Series, the team was eliminated, losing the next three games. The American League Division Series ( ALDS) the opening round of the 1999 American League playoffs began on Tuesday October 5, and ended on An injury to starter Dave Burba in game three forced Hargrove to go to his bullpen in the 5th inning. Unfortunately, four pitchers, including presumed game four starter Jaret Wright, surrendered nine runs in relief. Jaret Samuel Wright (born December 29, 1975 in Anaheim California) is a Starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who is currently As a result of Wright's appearance, and the exclusion of a long reliever/emergency starter from the playoff roster, both Bartolo Colón and Charles Nagy were forced to start on only three days rest (after lengthy starts in Games 1 and 2). Bartolo Colón (born May 24 1973 in Altamira, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball Starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox Charles Harrison Nagy (born on May 5, 1967 in Bridgeport Connecticut) is a former Major League Baseball all-star Right-handed The Indians lost game four 23–7 and game five 12–8. Four days later, longtime manager Mike Hargrove was dismissed. Dudley Michael Hargrove (born October 26, 1949 in Perryton Texas) is a former Major League Baseball player and manager.
In 2000, the Indians had a 44–42 start but caught fire after the All Star break and went 46–30 the rest of the way to finish 90–72. Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Caribbean World Series: The team had one of the league's best offenses that year and a defense that yielded three gold gloves. However, it was not enough as they ended up five games behind the Chicago White Sox in the Central division and missed the wild card by one game to the Seattle Mariners. The Chicago White Sox are a professional Baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The term wild card refers broadly to a Tournament or Playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington, United States. Mid-season trades brought Bob Wickman and Jake Westbrook to Cleveland, and free agent Manny Ramírez departed for Boston after the season. Robert Joe Wickman (born February 6, 1969 in Green Bay Wisconsin) is a former Major League Baseball Relief pitcher. Jacob Cauthen Westbrook (born September 29, 1977 in Athens, Georgia) is a Right-handed Starting pitcher for the Manuel "Manny" Aristides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30 1972 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican-American professional
The season was notable in that the Indians set a Major League record for most pitchers used in a single season. Colon, Burba, and Chuck Finley posted strong seasons and the bullpen was solid. Charles Edward "Chuck" Finley (born November 26, 1962 in Monroe, Louisiana) is a former Left-handed Starting pitcher But with Jaret Wright and Charles Nagy spending months on the disabled list, the team could not solidify the final two spots in the rotation. Other starting pitchers that season combined for a total of 346 2/3 innings and 265 earned runs for an ERA of 6. 88.
In 2000, Larry Dolan bought the Indians for $323 million from Richard Jacobs, who, along with his late brother David, had paid $35 million for the club in 1986. Lawrence J "Larry" Dolan (born February 8 1931 Cleveland Heights Ohio) is an attorney and owner of the Cleveland Indians.
2001 saw a return to the playoffs. Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Caribbean World Series: After the departures of Manny Ramírez and Sandy Alomar, Jr., the Tribe signed former-MVP Juan González, who helped the Indians win the Central division with a 91–71 record. Manuel "Manny" Aristides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30 1972 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican-American professional Santos "Sandy" Alomar Jr, or in the Spanish naming system Santos Alomar Velázquez (born June 18, 1966 in Salinas Puerto Rico The Most Valuable Player Award (commonly known as the MVP award is an annual award given to one outstanding player in each league of Major League Baseball. Juan Alberto González Vázquez (born October 20, 1969 in Arecibo Puerto Rico) nicknamed "Juan Gone" or "Igor" is a Professional
One of the highlights came on August 5, 2001, when the Indians completed the biggest comeback in MLB History. Cleveland rallied to close a 14–2 deficit in the sixth inning to defeat the Seattle Mariners 15–14 in 11 innings. The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The Mariners, who won a record 116 games that season had a strong bullpen and Indians manager Charlie Manuel had already pulled many of his starters with the game seemingly out of reach. Charles Fuqua Manuel (born January 4, 1944, in Northfolk, West Virginia) is the current Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies
Seattle and Cleveland met in the first round of the playoffs, with the Indians taking a two games to one lead. The American League Division Series ( ALDS) the opening round of the 2001 American League playoffs began on Tuesday October 9, and ended on However, with Freddy Garcia, Jamie Moyer and a strong bullpen, the Mariners won Games 4 and 5 to deny the Indians their first playoff series victory since 1998.
2001–present: The Shapiro years
In the 2001 offseason, GM John Hart resigned and his assistant Mark Shapiro took the reins. John Henry Hart (born July 21, 1948) is an American Major League Baseball executive Mark Shapiro (born in 1967 in Baltimore Maryland (ˈmɑrk ʃəˈpaɪroʊ is currently the General Manager and Vice President of the Cleveland Indians Shapiro moved to rebuild by dealing aging veterans for younger talent. He traded Roberto Alomar to the New York Mets for a package that included outfielder Matt Lawton and prospects Alex Escobar and Billy Traber. Roberto Alomar Velázquez (born February 5 1968 in Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a former Major League Baseball player (- considered by many to be one of the "Mets" redirects here For the medical term see Metastasis. Matthew Lawton III (born November 3, 1971 in Gulfport Mississippi) is a former Right fielder in Major League Baseball who played Alexander José Escobar (born September 6, 1978 in Valencia Carabobo State, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball Outfielder William Henry "Billy" Traber Jr (born September 18, 1979 in Torrance California) is a Left-handed Pitcher for the When the team fell out of contention in mid-2002, Shapiro fired manager Charlie Manuel and traded pitching ace Bartolo Colón for prospects Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, and Grady Sizemore, acquired Travis Hafner from the Rangers for Ryan Drese and Einar Diaz, and picked up Coco Crisp from the St. Louis Cardinals for aging starter Chuck Finley. Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Caribbean World Series: Charles Fuqua Manuel (born January 4, 1944, in Northfolk, West Virginia) is the current Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies Bartolo Colón (born May 24 1973 in Altamira, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball Starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox Brandon Emil Phillips (born June 28, 1981 in Raleigh North Carolina) is a Second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds. Clifton Phifer "Cliff" Lee (born August 30, 1978 in) is a Left-handed Starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians in Grady Sizemore III (born August 2, 1982 in Seattle, Washington) On June 27, 2002, Sizemore was part of a six-player Travis Lee Hafner (ˈhæfnɚ (born June 3, 1977 in Jamestown North Dakota) is a Left-handed hitting Designated hitter in The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in Arlington Texas, United States, representing the Dallas-Ft Ryan Thomas Drese (born April 5, 1976 in San Francisco California) is a Major League Baseball Pitcher who currently plays for Covelli Loyce "Coco" Crisp (born November 1, 1979 in Los Angeles California) is a Major League Baseball Center fielder The St Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards " or "the Redbirds " are a professional Baseball team based in St Charles Edward "Chuck" Finley (born November 26, 1962 in Monroe, Louisiana) is a former Left-handed Starting pitcher Jim Thome left after the season, to go the Phillies for a larger contract. James Howard "Jim" Thome (ˈtʰoʊˌmeɪ born August 27 1970 in) is a Major League Baseball Designated hitter for the Chicago White Sox
Young Indians teams finished far out of contention in 2002 and 2003 under new manager Eric Wedge. Headline event of the year The Florida Marlins become World Series champions holding off a dynastic New York Yankees team 4 games to Eric Michael Wedge (born January 27, 1968 in Fort Wayne, Indiana) is the current manager of the Cleveland Indians They posted strong offensive numbers in 2004 but still struggled with a bullpen that blew more than 20 saves. Headline events of the year The Boston Red Sox win their first World Series since, ending the Curse of the Bambino. In Baseball, a save (abbreviated SV or S) is credited to a Pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances A highlight of the season was a 22–0 victory over the New York Yankees on August 31, one of the worst defeats suffered by the Yankees in team history. The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in New York City, New York. Events 1056 - Byzantine Empress Theodora becomes ill dying suddenly a few days later without children to succeed the Throne [32]
In early 2005, the offense got off to a poor start. 2005 Major League Baseball season Headline events of the year Chicago White Sox swept the Houston Astros to win the World Series After a brief July slump, the Indians caught fire in August, and cut a 15. 5 game deficit in the Central Division down to 1. 5 games. However, the season came to a heartbreaking end as the Indians went on to lose six of their last seven games, five of them by one run, missing the playoffs by only two games.
In 2006 the Indians made several roster changes, while retaining its nucleus of young players. 2006 Major League Baseball season|2006 Nippon Professional Baseball season Headline Event of the Year The 2006 World Baseball Classic is a surprise success In the offseason, a the Indians sent Coco Crisp, David Riske and Josh Bard to Boston in exchange for third base prospect Andy Marté, catcher Kelly Shoppach, pitcher Guillermo Mota, and PTBNL Randy Newsom, and traded Arthur Rhodes to Philadelphia for outfielder Jason Michaels. Covelli Loyce "Coco" Crisp (born November 1, 1979 in Los Angeles California) is a Major League Baseball Center fielder David Richard Riske (ˈɹɪski born October 23, 1976 in Renton Washington) is a Relief pitcher who plays for the Milwaukee Brewers Joshua David Bard (born March 30, 1978 in Ithaca, New York) is a Catcher in Major League Baseball who is currently The Boston Red Sox are a Professional baseball team based in Boston Massachusetts, and are the reigning (2007 World Series Champions. Andy Manuel Marté (born October 21, 1983 in Villa Tapia, Dominican Republic) is a Third baseman in Major League Baseball Kelly Brian Shoppach (pronounced SHOP-ick (born April 29, 1980 in) is a Major League Baseball Catcher for the Cleveland Indians Guillermo Reynoso Mota (born July 25, 1973 in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball Relief The concept of the "player to be named later" is most often associated with Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball trades Arthur Lee Rhodes Jr (born October 24, 1969 in Waco Texas) is a Left-handed Major League Baseball Relief pitcher for The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Jason Drew "J-Mike" Michaels (born May 4, 1976 in Tampa, Florida) is an Outfielder for the Pittsburgh Shapiro signed Paul Byrd and Jason Johnson to replace Kevin Millwood and Scott Elarton and dealt veterans Bob Wickman, Ben Broussard, and Ronnie Belliard after the Indians had fallen out of contention. Paul Gregory Byrd (born December 3, 1970 in Louisville, Kentucky) is a Major League Baseball Right-handed Starting Jason Michael Johnson (born October 27, 1973 in Santa Barbara California) is a Right-handed Major League Baseball Starting pitcher Kevin Austin Millwood (born December 24, 1974 in Gastonia North Carolina) is a Right-handed Starting pitcher who plays for the Vincent Scott Elarton (born February 23, 1976 in Lamar Colorado) is a Right-handed Pitcher in Major League Baseball Robert Joe Wickman (born February 6, 1969 in Green Bay Wisconsin) is a former Major League Baseball Relief pitcher. Benjamin Isaac Broussard (born September 24, 1976 in Beaumont Texas) is a Major League Baseball First baseman with the Ronald "Ronnie" Belliard (born April 7 1975 in Bronx, New York) is a Second baseman of Dominican descent The team had a solid offensive season, led by career years from Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore. Travis Lee Hafner (ˈhæfnɚ (born June 3, 1977 in Jamestown North Dakota) is a Left-handed hitting Designated hitter in Grady Sizemore III (born August 2, 1982 in Seattle, Washington) On June 27, 2002, Sizemore was part of a six-player Hafner, despite missing a month after being hit by a pitch, tied the single season grand slam record with six, set in 1987 by Don Mattingly. In the Sport of Baseball, a grand slam (or just slam for short is a Home run hit with all the bases occupied by baserunners, thereby Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Minnesota Twins over St Donald Arthur Mattingly (nicknamed " Donnie Baseball " and " The Hit Man " (born April 20, 1961) is the Los Angeles Dodgers The team hit a combined 14 grand slams to tie a record set by the Oakland A's in 2000. The Oakland Athletics are a professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Caribbean World Series: Despite the solid offensive performance, the bullpen struggled with a Major League worst 23 blown saves, and the Indians finished a disappointing fourth. In Baseball, a save (abbreviated SV or S) is credited to a Pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances
In 2007, Shapiro signed veteran help for the bullpen and outfield in the offseason. Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Minor League Baseball Veterans Aaron Fultz, and Joe Borowski joined Rafael Betancourt in the Indians bullpen. Richard Aaron Fultz (born September 4, 1973 in) is a Major League Baseball Relief pitcher who currently plays for the Uni-President Lions Joseph Thomas Borowski (born May 4, 1971 in Bayonne, New Jersey) is a Right-handed Relief pitcher who is currently a Rafael José Betancourt (born April 29, 1975 in Cumaná, Sucre State, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball Shapiro also signed right fielder Trot Nixon and left fielder David Dellucci to short term contracts for veteran leadership. Christopher Trotman "Trot" Nixon (born April 11, 1974 in) is a Major League Baseball Outfielder for the New York Mets David Michael Dellucci (born October 31, 1973 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is an Outfielder for the Cleveland Indians The Indians improved significantly over the prior year and went into the All-Star break in second place. The team brought back Kenny Lofton for his third stint with the team in late July. Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967 in East Chicago Indiana) is a veteran Major League Baseball Outfielder. The Indians finished with a 96–66 record for their 7th Central Division title in 13 years and their first post-season trip since 2001.
The Indians began their playoff run by defeating the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series, 3 games to 1 and jumped out to a three games to one lead over the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series. The American League Division Series ( ALDS) the opening round of the 2007 American League playoffs began on Wednesday October 3 and ended The American League Championship Series ( ALCS) the second round of the 2007 American League playoffs began on October 12 and ended on The season ended in disappointment when Boston swept the final three games to advance to the 2007 World Series. The 2007 World Series, the 103rd edition of Major League Baseball 's championship series, began on Wednesday October 24 and ended on Sunday October
Despite the loss, Cleveland players took home a number of awards. Grady Sizemore, who had a . Grady Sizemore III (born August 2, 1982 in Seattle, Washington) On June 27, 2002, Sizemore was part of a six-player 995 fielding percentage and only two errors in 405 chances, won the Gold Glove award, Cleveland's first since 2001. In Baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly For the award given to amateur boxers see Golden Gloves. In American Baseball, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to Indians Pitcher C.C. Sabathia won the second Cy Young Award in team history with a 19–7 record, a 3. In Baseball, the Cy Young Award is an honor given annually to the best Pitcher in Major League Baseball (one each for American and National 21 ERA and an MLB leading 241 innings pitched. In Baseball, innings pitched (IP are the number of Innings a Pitcher has completed measured by the number of batters and Baserunners Eric Wedge was awarded the first Manager of the Year Award in team history. For manager award presented by The Sporting News see The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award, and for English Football manager awards see FA Premier League Manager
Season-by-Season Results
Radio and television
The Indians' flagship radio station is WTAM, a news/talk station located at 1100 AM. This article lists the results of every season of the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball. The Cleveland Indians are currently heard on the radio on Flagship station WTAM 1100 AM (with select games on WMMS) WTAM is an AM radio station in Cleveland Ohio broadcasting on 1100 kHz with 50000 watts Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan are the radio announcers. Tom Hamilton, a native of Waterloo Wisconsin, is the chief radio announcer for the Cleveland Indians Major League Baseball team and a Big Ten James Michael "Mike" Hegan (born July 21, 1942 in Cleveland Ohio) is a former Major League Baseball player and a Radio Select games can be heard on WMMS 100. WMMS (1007 FM) is a Radio station in Cleveland Ohio, with a rich history of broadcasting both locally and nationally 7 FM when there is a conflict with Cleveland Cavaliers basketball games, which air on WTAM. The Cleveland Cavaliers (also known as the Cavs) are a professional Basketball team based in Cleveland Ohio. If the Cavaliers are in the playoffs, all conflicted Indians games go to WMMS.
The television rights are held by SportsTime Ohio, a network launched in 2006 by the Indians. SportsTime Ohio ( STO) is a regional sports Television network in Cleveland and northern Ohio launched in 2006 2006 Major League Baseball season|2006 Nippon Professional Baseball season Headline Event of the Year The 2006 World Baseball Classic is a surprise success Matt Underwood and Rick Manning form the announcing team for the telecasts for 138 games. Matt Underwood (born May 10, 1968) is the play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Indians telecasts on SportsTime Ohio. Richard Eugene Manning (born September 2 1954 in Niagara Falls New York) is a former Center fielder in Major League Baseball who Twenty games a year are shown on over the air TV, originating on NBC affiliate WKYC Channel 3, with sports director Jim Donovan joining Manning in the broadcast booth. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's WKYC-TV, channel 3 is an NBC -affiliated television station located in Cleveland Ohio, owned by the Gannett Company. Jim Donovan (born July 17, 1956, in Boston Massachusetts) is an American radio and television personality who serves as sports director for WKYC-TV Broadcast games are also carried on WWHO 53, Columbus; WLIO 35 Lima; WICU-TV 12 (or WSEE-TV 35) Erie, PA; WNGS 67, Buffalo, NY; WYFX-LP 62, Youngstown/WFXI-CA 17 Mercer, PA; and BCSN Toledo. WWHO is the Columbus Ohio television affiliate for The CW television network WLIO, NBC Lima is the NBC television affiliate in Lima Ohio. It broadcasts its analog signal on UHF channel 35 and its digital WICU-TV is a television station based in Erie Pennsylvania. It serves as the local NBC affiliate WSEE-TV is a CBS -affiliated Television station with its studios at 1220 Peach Street in downtown Erie Pennsylvania. WNGS 67 (branded as RTN 11) is a Television station licensed to Springville New York, serving the Buffalo television market WYFX-LP is the FOX affiliate in Youngstown, Ohio. It broadcasts on channel 62 as a low-power station WYFX-LP is the FOX affiliate in Youngstown, Ohio. It broadcasts on channel 62 as a low-power station See also BCSN and Black College Sports Network. Buckeye Cable Sports Network is a Regional sports network founded in
Past Indians broadcasters include Tom Manning, Jack Graney (the first ex-baseball player to become a play-by-play announcer), Jack Corrigan (now with the Colorado Rockies), Jimmy Dudley who received the Ford Frick Award in 1997, Ken Coleman, Joe Castiglione, Van Patrick, Joe Tait, Bruce Drennan, Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Harry Jones, Rocky Colavito and Herb Score, who called Indians' baseball for 38 seasons. this article is about the comicbook character - for the American criminal see Tom Manning (prisoner Tom Manning is a fictional John Gladstone Graney ( June 10 1886 – April 20 1978) was a Canadian Left fielder in Major League Baseball James R "Jimmy" Dudley ( September 27 1909 &ndash February 12 1999) was an American Sportscaster, best known The Ford C Frick Award is an award bestowed annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the United States to a Broadcaster for "major contributions Kenneth R Coleman ( April 22 1925 - August 21 2003) was an American Radio and Television Sportscaster This article is for Joe Castiglione the broadcaster For Joe Castiglione the Athletic Director see Joe Castiglione (athletic director. Van Patrick (1916–1974 was a sports broadcaster, most notably for the Detroit Lions. Joe Tait (born May 15, 1937 in Evanston IL) is the radio Play by play Announcer for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the Bruce Drennan is an American sportscaster in Cleveland, Ohio. James Timothy "Mudcat" Grant (born August 13, 1935 in Land O' Lakes Florida) is a former Major League Baseball Pitcher For other persons of a similar name see Harry Jones (disambiguation. Rocco Domenico "Rocky" Colavito Jr (born August 10, 1933 in New York City) is a former Right fielder in Major League Baseball Herbert Jude Score (born June 7, 1933 in Rosedale New York) is a former Major League Baseball Pitcher and Announcer.
Baseball Hall of Famers
- Affiliation according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
- Names in Bold Inducted as Indians
- * Has no insignia on his cap due to playing at a time when caps bore no insignia. Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie or often la-ZHWAY per the Canadian French pronunciation or as he himself usually pronounced it LAJ-a-wayLee Allen in ''The American League A baseball card is a type of Trading card relating to baseball usually printed on some type of Paper stock or card stock Howard Earl Averill ( May 21, 1902 - August 16, 1983) was an American player in Major League Baseball who was a Center Louis "Lou" Boudreau ( July 17, 1917, in Harvey Illinois &ndash August 10, 2001) was an American Major Steven Norman Carlton (born December 22, 1944 in Miami Florida) is a former left-handed Pitcher in Major League Baseball, from to Stanley Anthony Coveleski (Kowalewski ( July 13, 1889, Shamokin Pennsylvania &ndash March 20, 1984) was a Major League Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby ( December 13, 1923 – June 18, 2003) was an American professional Baseball player Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3 1954 nicknamed "Eck" is a former American Major League Baseball player Robert William Andrew "Bob" Feller (born November 3, 1918 in Van Meter Iowa) nicknamed the "Heater from Van Meter" and Elmer Harrison Flick ( January 11, 1876 - January 9, 1971) was an American player in Major League Baseball from until Adrian Joss ( April Ralph McPherran Kiner (born October 27, 1922) is an American former Major League Baseball player and current Announcer. Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie or often la-ZHWAY per the Canadian French pronunciation or as he himself usually pronounced it LAJ-a-wayLee Allen in ''The American League Robert Granville Lemon ( September 22, 1920 &ndash January 11, 2000) was an American right-handed Pitcher in Major Alfonso Ramon "Al" Lopez ( August 20 1908 &ndash October 30 2005) was an American Catcher and manager Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24 1956 in Los Angeles California) is a former Major League Baseball First baseman who was known as one of the most Harold "Prince Hal" Newhouser ( May 20, 1921 – November 10, 1998) was a professional Major League Baseball Pitcher Philip Henry Niekro (born April 1, in Blaine Ohio) is a former Pitcher in Major League Baseball and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige ( July 7, 1906 He appeared in the Major League All-Star Game in both 1952 and 1953. Gaylord Jackson Perry (born September 15 1938 in Williamston North Carolina) is a former right-handed Pitcher in Major League Baseball Edgar Charles "Sam" Rice ( February 20, 1890 - October 13 1974) was an American Right fielder in Major Frank Robinson (born August 31, 1935 in Beaumont Texas) is a Hall of Fame former Major League Baseball player For other people and things named "Sewell", see Sewell (disambiguation William Harrison Southworth (March 9 1893 &ndash November 15 1969 was an American Right fielder, Center fielder and manager in Major League Baseball Tristram E Speaker ( April 4, 1888 - December 8, 1958) nicknamed “Spoke” (a play on his last name and “Grey Eagle” (for his prematurely James Hoyt Wilhelm ( July 26, 1922 in Huntersville North Carolina - August 23, 2002 in Sarasota Florida) was an American Richard Hirschfeld Williams (born May 7 1929 in St Louis Missouri) is a former Left fielder, Third baseman, manager, coach and David Mark Winfield (born October 3 1951 in St Paul, Minnesota) is an American former Major League Baseball player who is a member of both the Baseball Early Wynn Jr, familiarly known as "Gus" Wynn, ( January 6, 1920 &ndash April 4, 1999) was a right-handed Baseball Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29 1867 – November 4 1955 was an American Baseball player who pitched for five different major league
Retired numbers
 The Fans Retired 2001 |  Bob Feller SP, Coach Retired 1957 |  Earl Averill CF Retired 1975 |  Larry Doby CF, Coach Retired 1994 |  Bob Lemon 3B, SP, Coach Retired 1998 |
 Lou Boudreau SS, M Retired 1970 |  Mel Harder SP, Coach Retired 1990 |  Jackie Robinson 2B Retired 1997 |
Jackie Robinson's number 42 is retired throughout Major League Baseball. Robert William Andrew "Bob" Feller (born November 3, 1918 in Van Meter Iowa) nicknamed the "Heater from Van Meter" and Howard Earl Averill ( May 21, 1902 - August 16, 1983) was an American player in Major League Baseball who was a Center Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby ( December 13, 1923 – June 18, 2003) was an American professional Baseball player Robert Granville Lemon ( September 22, 1920 &ndash January 11, 2000) was an American right-handed Pitcher in Major Louis "Lou" Boudreau ( July 17, 1917, in Harvey Illinois &ndash August 10, 2001) was an American Major Melvin Leroy Harder ( October 15 1909 — October 20 2002) nicknamed "Chief" was an American right-handed Starting Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (January 31 1919 – October 24 1972 was a Baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The number 455 was honored after the Indians sold out 455 consecutive games between 1995 and 2001, which is currently an MLB record.
Current roster
Cleveland Indians roster | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active (25-man) roster | Inactive (40-man) roster | Coaches/Other | |||||||
Starting rotation
Bullpen
| Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Designated hitters
| Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Designated hitters
| Manager
Coaches
60-day disabled list
| ||||||
Minor league affiliations
- AAA: Buffalo Bisons, International League
- AA: Akron Aeros, Eastern League
- Advanced A: Kinston Indians, Carolina League
- A: Lake County Captains, South Atlantic League
- Short Season A: Mahoning Valley Scrappers, New York-Penn League
- Rookie: GCL Indians, Gulf Coast League
- Rookie: DSL Indians, Dominican Summer League
See also
- Native American mascot controversy
- Cleveland Indians Season by Season Records
- Indians award winners and league leaders
- Indians statistical records and milestone achievements
- Indians managers and ownership
- List of sports team names derived from Indigenous peoples
References
- ^ Court TV Verdicts: Ohio v. Bellecourt
- ^ http://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Y_1872.htm
- ^ Schneider, Russell (2001). Paul Gregory Byrd (born December 3, 1970 in Louisville, Kentucky) is a Major League Baseball Right-handed Starting Aaron Steven Laffey (born April 15, 1985 in Cumberland Maryland) is a Major League Baseball Starting pitcher for the Cleveland Clifton Phifer "Cliff" Lee (born August 30, 1978 in) is a Left-handed Starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians in Jeremy Bryan Sowers (born May 17, 1983 in St Clairsville, Ohio) is a Left-handed Major League Baseball Starting See Dr Rick Bauer of the United States Soap opera Guiding Light. Rafael José Betancourt (born April 29, 1975 in Cumaná, Sucre State, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball Joseph Thomas Borowski (born May 4, 1971 in Bayonne, New Jersey) is a Right-handed Relief pitcher who is currently a Vincent Scott Elarton (born February 23, 1976 in Lamar Colorado) is a Right-handed Pitcher in Major League Baseball Masahide (Masa Kobayashi (小林 雅英 born May 24, 1974 in Ōtsuki, Yamanashi, Japan) is a Major League Baseball Edward José Mujica (born May 10, 1984 in Valencia, Venezuela) is a Right-handed Relief pitcher for the Cleveland Rafael Jerome Pérez (born March 15, 1982 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Left-handed Relief pitcher for Yamid Salcedo Haad (born September 2 1977 in Cartagena, Colombia) is a Catcher for the Cleveland Indians. Kelly Brian Shoppach (pronounced SHOP-ick (born April 29, 1980 in) is a Major League Baseball Catcher for the Cleveland Indians Jamey Blake Carroll (born February 18, 1974) is a Major League Baseball Infielder for the Cleveland Indians. Ryan Francis Garko (born January 2, 1981 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a First baseman for the Cleveland Indians Andy Manuel Marté (born October 21, 1983 in Villa Tapia, Dominican Republic) is a Third baseman in Major League Baseball Jhonny Antonio Peralta (born May 28, 1982 in Santiago, Dominican Republic) is a Baseball player who is currently the starting Jorge Luis Velandia Macias (born January 12, 1975 in Caracas Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball Shortstop for the Tampa Shin-Soo Choo ( born July 13, 1982 in Busan, South Korea) is a Major League Baseball Outfielder for the Cleveland David Michael Dellucci (born October 31, 1973 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is an Outfielder for the Cleveland Indians Louis Ben Francisco (born October 23, 1981 in Santa Ana, California) is an Outfielder for the Cleveland Indians of Franklin Rafael Gutiérrez (born February 21, 1983 in Caracas Venezuela) is an Outfielder who plays for the Cleveland Indians Grady Sizemore III (born August 2, 1982 in Seattle, Washington) On June 27, 2002, Sizemore was part of a six-player Fausto C Carmona (born December 7, 1983 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Right-handed Pitcher for the Jensen D Lewis (born May 16, 1984 in Cincinnati Ohio) is a Major League Baseball Relief pitcher who currently plays for the Scott Edwin Lewis (born September 26 1983 in West Covina California) is an American Major League Baseball Starting pitcher for the Thomas Raymond Mastny (born February 4, 1981 in Bontang, Indonesia) is a Major League Baseball Right-handed Relief Adam Wain Miller (born November 26, 1984 in Plano, Texas) is a Right-handed Pitcher who is currently a top prospect Brian John Slocum (born March 27, 1981 in New Rochelle, New York) is a Right-handed Pitcher in the Cleveland Víctor Jesús Martínez (born December 23, 1978 in Ciudad Bolívar, Bolívar, Venezuela) is a switch-hitting Wyatt Reeder Toregas (born December 2, 1982 in Fairfax Virginia) is an American baseball player in the Cleveland Indians organization Robert Michael Aubrey (born April 15, 1982 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is an American Baseball player for the Cleveland Joshua LaRoy Barfield (born December 17, 1982 in Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela) is a Second baseman for the Cleveland Asdrúbal José Cabrera (born November 13, 1985 in Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela) is a switch hitting Infielder for the Bradley Michael Snyder (born May 25, 1982 in Sandusky, Ohio) is an Outfielder in the Chicago Cubs organization of Travis Lee Hafner (ˈhæfnɚ (born June 3, 1977 in Jamestown North Dakota) is a Left-handed hitting Designated hitter in Eric Michael Wedge (born January 27, 1968 in Fort Wayne, Indiana) is the current manager of the Cleveland Indians Jeffrey William Datz (born November 28, 1959 in Camden New Jersey) is an American former Major League Baseball player and current Luis Isaac (born June 19, 1946 in Rio Piedres, Puerto Rico) is a former Minor League Baseball player and coach. Dennis Malavé (b January 6, 1980 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball Bullpen Catcher for the Luis Antonio (Pedraza Rivera (born January 3, 1964 in Cidra Puerto Rico) is a former Infielder in Major League Baseball, playing Derek Shelton is an American and current Major League Baseball hitting coach for the Cleveland Indians. Joel Patrick Skinner (born February 21, 1961 in La Jolla California) is a former catcher in Major League Baseball and is currently the third Daniel Lawrence "Dan" Williams (born on September 3, 1966 in San Gabriel, California) is a former professional Baseball Carl Blake Willis (born December 28, 1960 in Danville Virginia) was a Relief pitcher for the Detroit Tigers (1984 Cincinnati Jacob Cauthen Westbrook (born September 29, 1977 in Athens, Georgia) is a Right-handed Starting pitcher for the 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. This article is about the minor league baseball franchise for other teams named Buffalo Bisons see Buffalo Bisons (disambiguation. The International League ( IL) is a Minor league baseball league which operates in the eastern United States. The Akron Aeros are a Minor league baseball team based in Akron Ohio, USA. The Eastern League is a Minor league baseball league which operates primarily in the northeastern United States, although it has had a team in Ohio The Kinston Indians are a minor league Baseball team in Kinston North Carolina. The Carolina League is a Minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic region of the United States. The Lake County Captains are a Minor league baseball team in Eastlake Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. The South Atlantic League or "Sally League" is a Minor league baseball League which operates mostly in the Southeastern United States, The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a minor league Baseball club based in Niles Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River. The New York - Penn League is a Minor league baseball league which operates in the northeastern United States. The Gulf Coast Indians are a Minor league baseball team in Winter Haven Florida mnaged by Rouglas Odor. The Gulf Coast League is a Minor league baseball league which operates in Florida. The Dominican Summer League is a branch of affiliated Minor league baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The use of Native American mascots in sports has become a contentious issue in the United States and Canada. This article lists the results of every season of the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball. Awards Most Valuable Player Lou Boudreau (1948 George Team records of the Cleveland Indians baseball team Single-season records Batting Batting average: Shoeless Joe Jackson,. Managers general managers and owners of the Cleveland Indians Baseball team Managers General managers Owners See also The following is a list of sports team names and mascots derived from Indigenous peoples, including generically used terms those named after specific peoples and words Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia. Sports Publishing LLC, 9. ISBN 1582613761.
- ^ Hittner, Arthur (2003). Honus Wagner: The Life of Baseball's Flying Dutchman. McFarland & Company. ISBN 0786418117.
- ^ Bob Diskin, Special to ESPN.com, A pitcher worthy of a trophy
- ^ Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union Tribune, Baseball's moving experience, June 20, 2005
- ^ a b c Purdy, Dennis (2006). The Team-by-Team Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball. New York City: Workman. The City of New York Workman Publishing Company is a publisher of primarily non-fiction print and audio books along with calendars with annual sales of over $25 million ISBN 0761139435.
- ^ Seymour, Harold (1960). Baseball. Oxford University Press, US, 214–215. ISBN 0195001001.
- ^ (Pluto, 1999)
- ^ Schneider, Russell (2001). Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia. Sports Publishing LLC, 23–24. ISBN 1582613761.
- ^ Report of Chapman's Death, New York Times, 8/18/1920
- ^ Historical Standings - Monday, Aug 16, 1920 - Baseball-Reference.com
- ^ 1920 Cleveland Indians Schedule by Baseball Almanac
- ^ 1920 Chicago White Sox Schedule by Baseball Almanac
- ^ Cleveland Crybabies Article, C. Phillip Francis
- ^ Lisa DeMaio Brewer, Wilkes, N.C. Record
- ^ Schneider, Russell (2001). Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia. Sports Publishing LLC, 52. ISBN 1582613761.
- ^ Schneider, Russell (2001). Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia. Sports Publishing LLC, 56, 346. ISBN 1582613761.
- ^ Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, Induction of Max Patkin
- ^ Cleveland Indians.com League Park may glisten once again
- ^ The Kid from Cleveland (1949)
- ^ http://www.hrm.uh.edu/home.asp?PrintPage=1&PageID=187
- ^ Schneider, Russell (2001). Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia. Sports Publishing LLC, 352. ISBN 1582613761.
- ^ Borsvold, David (1960). The Cleveland Indians: Cleveland Press Years, 1920-1982. Arcadia Publishing, 81. ISBN 0738523259.
- ^ Gietschier, Steve. "The Curse of Rocky Colavito: A Loving Look at a Thirty-Year Slump. - book reviews", 1994-9-25. Retrieved on 2008-06-10. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1190 - Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Sally River while leading an army to Jerusalem
- ^ Schneider, Russell (2005). More Tales From the Tribe Dugout. Sports Publishing, LLC. ISBN 1582616809.
- ^ Robinson, James G. 10-Cent Beer Night. Retrieved on 2006-08-11. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 2492 BC - Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation
- ^ The Official Site of The Cleveland Indians: History: Indians History
- ^ Jayson Stark, ESPN.com
- ^ Pluto, Terry. [accessed at http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Cleveland%20Indians Our Tribe: A Baseball Memoir]. Simon & Schuster, 214–215. ISBN 0-684-84505-9.
- ^ ESPN.com: MLB - Vizquel-Mesa feud hits a high point
- ^ Vizquel's six hits tie AL record. ESPN (2004-08-31). "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Events 1056 - Byzantine Empress Theodora becomes ill dying suddenly a few days later without children to succeed the Throne Retrieved on 2008-06-08. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 68 - The Roman Senate accepts emperor Galba. 536 - St Silverius becomes Pope (probable
- Lewis, Franklin (2006). "The Cleveland Indians". The Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-885-2
- Quirk, James & Rodney D. Fort (1992). "Pay Dirt: The Business of Professional Team Sports". Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01574-0
- Cleveland Indians. Indians History Overview: The early years. http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/cle/history/cle_history_overview.jsp. Retrieved Sep 2, 2004.
External links
- Cleveland Indians official web site
- 1954 Cleveland Indians
- Cleveland Indians 1998 Annual Report, the last filed with the SEC
- Sports E-Cyclopedia
| Preceded by Cincinnati Reds 1919 | World Series Champions Cleveland Indians 1920 | Succeeded by New York Giants 1921 and 1922 |
| Preceded by New York Yankees 1947 | World Series Champions Cleveland Indians 1948 | Succeeded by New York Yankees 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 |
| Preceded by Chicago White Sox 1919 | American League Champions Cleveland Indians 1920 | Succeeded by New York Yankees 1921 and 1922 |
| Preceded by New York Yankees 1947 | American League Champions Cleveland Indians 1948 | Succeeded by New York Yankees 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 |
| Preceded by New York Yankees 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 | American League Champions Cleveland Indians 1954 | Succeeded by New York Yankees 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 |
| Preceded by Toronto Blue Jays 1992 and 1993 | American League Champions Cleveland Indians 1995 | Succeeded by New York Yankees 1996 |
| Preceded by New York Yankees 1996 | American League Champions Cleveland Indians 1997 | Succeeded by New York Yankees 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 |
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