Cleveland Indians

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Franchise Season Summaries 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Previously known as Cleveland Bronchos (1901), Cleveland Blues (1902), and Cleveland Naps (1903-1914) Franchise Record: (through 2007) 8302-7946 World Series Titles: 2 (1920, 1948) American League Pennants: 5 (1920, 1948, 1954, 1995, 1997) Playoffs: 10 (1920, 1948, 1954, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2007) Franchise Players: Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker, Earl Averill, Lou Boudreau, Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, Larry Doby, Albert Belle

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Contents 1 The Cleveland Indians 2 Hall of Famers who played or managed for Cleveland 3 Retired Numbers 4 Awards 5 Famous Feats 6 Further Reading

[edit] The Cleveland Indians

One of the American League’s original teams, the Cleveland Indians have had a history of intermittent success and long periods of ineptitude. The team won their first World Series in 1920, then didn't make the Fall Classic again for 28 years. The 1948 season is the most fondly remembered by Indians fans, as the team won the American League's first ever tiebreaking playoff game (against the Boston Red Sox) and took the World Series in six games from the Boston Braves. They won the pennant again in 1954 with a then-AL-record 111 wins, but were swept in the World Series by the New York Giants.

There followed a period of horrible doldrums. Team management traded slugger Rocky Colavito for Harvey Kuenn before the 1960 season. Colavito had led the league in home runs in 1959, Kuenn in batting average. Kuenn had a decent season in 1960, but missed 28 games and was traded after the season ended. Colavito went on to be a star with other teams, making the All-Star game in four of the next five years. Only six times between 1960 and 1993 did the team have a winning record; only once in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s did they finish as high as third (Of the 24 teams in existence when the leagues went to divisional play in 1969, only the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers franchise went longer before making postseason play).

Over time, Municipal Stadium was allowed to deteriorate and there were rumors that the team would be moved to another city. However, new ownership sparked a revival of interest, and the team moved into new Jacobs Field in 1994. Though the 1994 season was unfinished because of the MLB labor dispute, in 1995 the Indians won the AL Central Division title, and won it again in five of the next six seasons. They won the AL pennant in 1995 and 1997, but lost the Series in both years.

[edit] Hall of Famers who played or managed for Cleveland

• Earl Averill
• Lou Boudreau
• Steve Carlton
• Stan Coveleski
• Larry Doby
• Dennis Eckersley
• Bob Feller
• Elmer Flick
• Joe Gordon
• Walter Johnson
• Addie Joss
• Ralph Kiner
• Nap Lajoie
• Bob Lemon
• Al Lopez
• Eddie Murray
• Hal Newhouser
• Phil Niekro
• Satchel Paige
• Gaylord Perry
• Sam Rice
• Frank Robinson
• Joe Sewell
• Billy Southworth
• Tris Speaker
• Hoyt Wilhelm
• Dick Williams
• Dave Winfield
• Early Wynn
• Cy Young

[edit] Retired Numbers

• 3 Earl Averill
• 5 Lou Boudreau
• 14 Larry Doby
• 18 Mel Harder
• 19 Bob Feller
• 21 Bob Lemon
• 42 Jackie Robinson

[edit] Awards

American League MVP:

• Al Rosen 1953
• Lou Boudreau 1948
• "Tioga" George Burns 1926

American League Cy Young Award:

• Cliff Lee 2008
• C.C. Sabathia 2007
• Gaylord Perry 1972

American League Rookie of the Year Award:

• Sandy Alomar Jr. 1990
• Joe Charboneau 1980
• Chris Chambliss 1971
• Herb Score 1955

American League Manager of the Year Award:

• Eric Wedge 2007
• Mike Hargrove 1995

[edit] Famous Feats

Perfect game:

• Len Barker: May 15, 1981
• Addie Joss: October 2, 1908

Unassisted Triple Play:

• Asdrubal Cabrera 2008
• Bill Wambsganss 1920 - World Series Game 5
• Neal Ball 1909

Two Home Runs in the Same Inning:

• Carlos Baerga 1993 (One batting right-handed, one batting left-handed)

[edit] Further Reading

• Jonathan Knight: Classic Tribe: The 50 Greatest Games in Cleveland Indians History, Kent State University Press, Kent, OH, 2009.
• Franklin Lewis: The Cleveland Indians, Kent State University Press, Kent, OH, 2006 (first edition 1949).
• James E. Odenkirk: "A Bitter Rivalry recalled: The Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees, 1947-1956", in The National Pastime, SABR, Volume 28 (2008), pp. 78-86.
• Terry Pluto: The Curse of Rocky Colavito: A loving look at a thirty-year slump, Fireside Books, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, 1995.
• Terry Pluto: Dealing: The Cleveland Indians' New Ballgame, Gray & Company, Publishers, Cleveland, OH, 2007.
• Russell Schneider: Whatever Happened to Super Joe?: Catching Up with 45 Good Old Guys from the Bad Old days of the Cleveland Indians, Gray & Company, Publishers, Cleveland, OH, 2007.