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The Cleveland Indians started playing baseball in 1901 and began their history with a 54-82 season. The Indians improved dramatically and finished with winning records in six of the next seasons.
The Indians became truly competitive toward the end of the 1910’s. The Indians had a strong team with outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson and second baseman Napoleon Lajoie before the end of the decade, but were unable to win. Tris Speaker and pitchers San Coveleski and Jim Bagby came together for two second place finishes at the end of the decade and an AL Pennant in 1920. The pennant put them in the World Series with the Robins, who they beat 5 games to 2.
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The team fell to the middle or bottom of the league after the World Series, but began collecting talented players like pitcher Bob Feller, third baseman Ken Keltner, pitcher Mel Harder, and shortstop Lou Boudreau. The team, talented as it was, was a calamity in the locker room. Before the team could mature World War II came and several key players left for war.
The Indians made a strong comeback in 1948, winning their second pennant and second World Series. Boudreau, Keltner, and second baseman Joe Gordon came back from the war and had career seasons. The team tied the Boston Red Sox for first place and beat them in a one game playoff. The Indians went on to defeat the Braves in six games.
The Indians continued to contend in the ‘50s with players like Feller, Minnie Minoso, Larry Doby, Luke Easter, Bobby Avila, and Bob Lemon, and captured another pennant in 1954. The club won 111 games that season, but lost in the World Series, being swept by the Giants.
Forty years of struggle followed as the team first failed to repeat for the pennant and then struggled to reach .500 on an annual basis. The team traded away talented players and fan favorites like Rocky Colavito.
The Indians’ turn around began in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s as the organization began collected a talented roster that included Sandy Alomar Jr., Carlos Baerga, and Kenny Lofton. The farm system produced Albert Belle, Jim Thome, Manny Rameriz, and Charles Nagy. The young players were joined by acquisitions of veteran players like Dennis Martinez, Orel Hershiser, and Eddy Murray.
The loaded team finished second in 1994 before reeling off six AL Central titles in seven years and back-to-back pennants in 1995 and 1996. The club, unable to win a World Series began to rebuild the team, trading top players or letting them go in free agency.
The Cleveland Indians are once again expected to win the American League Central. The teams returns much of its league best pitching staff and improved its bullpen so it could handle the powerful offense of division foe Detroit. The team came within one game of the World Series, but one plenty of individual awards. C.C. Sabathia won his first Cy Young award, Eric Wedge was named the AL Manager of the Year, Mark Shapiro was chosen by The Sporting News as the general manager of the year, and Grady Sizemore won his first gold glove in centerfield.
The starting pitching staff has the best 1-2 punch in baseball with C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmon, both 19-game winners, returning. The rest of the rotation is not nearly as strong, but Jake Westbrook, Paul Byrd, and Cliff Lee should pitch well enough to keep the division title in Cleveland. The bullpen really bulked up with closer Joe Borowski, who will have plenty of chances to improve on his 45-save season last year. The middle relievers should be able to hold any close game s for him, with Rafael Betancourt and Jensen Lewis posting low ERAs and ridiculously low walk to strike out ratios last year.
The offense may not be as explosive as the Detroit Tigers, but Victor Martinez provides plenty of power at catcher and can actually hit for average. The rest of the infield may lack experience, but should bring enough hitting to keep the Indians in any game. Casey Blake is the most explosive of the bunch, with potential for a 30 home run, 100 RBI season. Ryan Garko provides much needed power at first base and may hit for .300 and Jhonny Peralta packed shored up the questionable short stop position with 21 home runs and solid defense. The outfield’s only real offensive threat is centerfielder Grady Sizemore, who leads off the lineup, can hit for power, but has a low on base percentage for a batter leading off the game.
The Cleveland Indians' schedule will bring plenty of great baseball action to Jacobs Field this summer, as the ball club tries to reignite the dominance that the team began in the early 90s. They hope that they can bring back the franchises first World Series crown since 1948.
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