History of the Cleveland Indians - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

1894–1946: Beginning to middle

The Grand Rapids Rustlers was founded in Michigan in 1894 and were in the Western League. In 1900 the team moved to Cleveland and was named The Cleveland Lake Shores. Around the same time Ban Johnson changed the name of his minor league (Western League) to the American League. In 1900 the American League was still considered a minor league. In 1901 Cleveland renamed itself the "Bluebirds" when the American League broke with the National Agreement and declared itself a competing Major League. The Cleveland franchise was among its eight charter members.

The new team was owned by coal magnate Charles Somers

Charles Somers

Charles Somers aka Charles W. Somers, was an American executive in Cleveland, Ohio's coal industry who also achieved prominence in Major League Baseball...

and tailor Jack Kilfoyl. Somers, a wealthy industrialist and also co-owner of the Boston Americans

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

, lent money to other team owners, including Connie Mack

Connie Mack (baseball)

Cornelius McGillicuddy, Sr. , better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball player, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds records for wins , losses , and games managed , with his victory total being almost 1,000 more...

's Philadelphia Athletics

Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

, to keep them and the new league afloat. Players didn't think the name "Bluebirds" was suitable for a baseball team. Writers frequently shortened it to "Blues" ③ due to the players' all-blue uniforms, but the players didn't like this name either. The players themselves tried to change the name to "Broncos" in , but it never really caught on.

The Bluebirds suffered from financial problems in their first two seasons. This led Somers to seriously consider moving to either Pittsburgh or Cincinnati. Relief came in 1902 as a result of the conflict between the National and American Leagues. In 1901, Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie

Nap Lajoie

Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie , also known as Larry Lajoie, was an American Major League Baseball second baseman. He was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island...

, the Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

' star second baseman

Second baseman

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 player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...

, 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. The Phillies subsequently filed an injunction to force Lajoie's return, which was granted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. 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, partly to thank Somers for his past financial support, agreed to trade Lajoie to the then-moribund 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. Lajoie arrived in Cleveland on June 4 and was an immediate hit, drawing 10,000 fans to League Park. Soon afterward, he was named team captain, and the team was renamed the "Naps" after a newspaper conducted a write-in contest.

Lajoie was named manager in , and the team's fortunes improved somewhat. They finished half a game short of the pennant in 1908. However, the success did not last and Lajoie resigned during the 1909 season as manager but remained on as a player.

After that, the team began to unravel, leading Kilfoyl to sell his share of the team to Somers. Cy Young

Cy Young

Denton True "Cy" Young was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. During his 22-year baseball career , he pitched for five different teams. Young was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937...

, who returned to Cleveland in 1909, was ineffective for most of his three remaining years and Addie Joss

Addie Joss

Adrian Joss was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched his entire nine-year baseball career for the Cleveland Bronchos/Naps .-Early life:...

died from tubercular meningitis prior to the season.

Despite a strong lineup anchored by the potent Lajoie and Shoeless Joe Jackson

Shoeless Joe Jackson

Joseph Jefferson Jackson , nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball in the early part of the 20th century...

, poor pitching kept the team below third place for most of the next decade. One reporter referred to the team as the Napkins, "because they fold up so easily". In 1912 the teams name was changed to "Cleveland Molly McGuires" after the coal miners who where trying to establish a union and were regarded as "heroes". The name lasted only three years. The team hit bottom in 1914 and 1915, finishing in the cellar both years.

1915 brought significant changes to the team. Lajoie, nearly 40 years old was no longer a top hitter in the league, batting only .258 in 1914. With Lajoie engaged in a feud with manager Joe Birmingham

Joe Birmingham

Joseph Leo Birmingham was a baseball player. Birmingham was an outfielder who occasionally played the infield for the Cleveland Naps. He was a mediocre hitter, but he had one of the strongest throwing arms and he was a fine defensive center fielder...

, the team sold Lajoie back to the A's.

With Lajoie gone, the Molly McGuires now 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

Louis Sockalexis

Louis Francis "Chief" Sockalexis , nicknamed The Deerfoot of the Diamond, was an American baseball player...

when it assumed its current name in 1915. Sockalexis, a Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

, had played in Cleveland 1897–99. Research indicates that this legend is mostly untrue, and that the new name was a play on the name of the Boston Braves

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

, then known as the "Miracle Braves" after going from last place on July 4 to a sweep in the 1914 World Series

1914 World Series

In the 1914 World Series, the Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Athletics in a four-game sweep.A contender for greatest upset of all time, the "Miracle Braves" were in last place on July 4, then roared on to win the National League pennant by games and sweep the stunned Athletics...

. Proponents of the name acknowledged that the Cleveland Spiders

Cleveland Spiders

The Cleveland Spiders were a Major League Baseball team which played between 1887 and 1899 in Cleveland, Ohio. The team played at National League Park from 1889 to 1890 and at League Park from 1891 to 1899.- 1887-1891 :...

of the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

had sometimes been informally called the "Indians" during Sockalexis' short career there, a fact which merely reinforced the new name.

At the same time, Somers' business ventures began to fail, leaving him deeply in debt. With the Indians playing poorly, attendance and revenue suffered. Somers decided to trade Jackson midway through the 1915 season for two players and $31,500, one of the largest sums paid for a player at the time.

By , Somers was at the end of his tether, and sold the team to a syndicate headed by Chicago railroad contractor James C. "Jack" Dunn. Manager Lee Fohl, who had taken over in early 1915, acquired two minor league pitchers, Stan Coveleski

Stan Coveleski

Stanley Anthony Coveleski was a Major League Baseball player during the 1910s and 1920s. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969....

and Jim Bagby

Jim Bagby, Sr.

James Charles Jacob Bagby, Sr. was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Bagby was the first pitcher to hit a home run in a modern World Series, and one of the last three pitchers to win over 30 games in one season .-Biography:A native of Barnett, Georgia, Bagby began...

and traded for center fielder Tris Speaker

Tris Speaker

Tristram E. Speaker , nicknamed "Spoke" and "The Grey Eagle", was an American baseball player. Considered one of the best offensive and defensive center fielders in the history of Major League Baseball, he compiled a career batting average of .345 , and still holds the record of 792 career doubles...

, who was engaged in a salary dispute with the Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

. All three would ultimately become key players in bringing a championship to Cleveland.
Speaker took over the reins as player-manager in , and would lead the team to a championship in 1920. On August 16, the Indians were playing the Yankees at the Polo Grounds

Polo Grounds

The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...

in New York. Shortstop Ray Chapman

Ray Chapman

Raymond Johnson Chapman was an American baseball player, spending his entire career as a shortstop for Cleveland....

, who often crowded the plate, was batting against Carl Mays

Carl Mays

Carl William Mays was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1929. Despite impressive career statistics, he is primarily remembered for throwing a beanball on August 16, 1920, that struck and killed Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians, making Chapman one of two people to die...

, who had an unusual underhand delivery. It was also late in the afternoon and the infield would have been in shadow with the center field area (the batters' background) bathed in sunlight. As well, at the time, "part of every pitcher's job was to dirty up a new ball the moment it was thrown onto the field. By turns, they smeared it with dirt, licorice, tobacco juice; it was deliberately scuffed, sandpapered, scarred, cut, even spiked. The result was a misshapen, earth-colored ball that traveled through the air erratically, tended to soften in the later innings, and as it came over the plate, was very hard to see."

In any case, Chapman did not move reflexively when Mays' pitch came his way. The pitch hit Chapman in the head, fracturing his skull. Chapman died the next day, becoming the only player to sustain a fatal injury from a pitched ball. The Indians, who at the time were locked in a tight three-way pennant race with the Yankees and White Sox, were not slowed down by the death of their teammate. Rookie Joe Sewell

Joe Sewell

Joseph Wheeler Sewell was a Major League Baseball infielder for the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees...

hit .329 after replacing Chapman in the lineup.

In September 1920, the Black Sox Scandal

Black Sox Scandal

The Black Sox Scandal took place around and during the play of the American baseball 1919 World Series. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were banned for life from baseball for intentionally losing games, which allowed the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series...

came to a boil. 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, 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

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

, Jim Bagby's 30 victories

Win (baseball)

In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...

and solid performances from Steve O'Neill

Steve O'Neill

Stephen Francis O'Neill was an American catcher, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball.Born to Irish immigrants in Minooka, Pennsylvania , O'Neill was one of six brothers who escaped a life in the coal mines by playing in the major leagues...

and Stan Coveleski. Cleveland went on to defeat the Brooklyn Robins 5–2 in the World Series

1920 World Series

-Game 1:Tuesday, October 5, 1920 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York-Game 2:Wednesday, October 6, 1920 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York-Game 3:Thursday, October 7, 1920 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York-Game 4:...

for their first title, winning four games in a row after the Robins took a 2–1 Series lead. The Series included three memorable "firsts", all of them in Game 5 at Cleveland, and all by the home team. In the first inning, right fielder Elmer Smith hit the first Series grand slam. In the fourth inning, Jim Bagby

Jim Bagby, Sr.

hit the first Series home run by a pitcher. And in the top of the fifth inning, second baseman Bill Wambsganss

Bill Wambsganss

William Adolf Wambsganss was a second baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1914 through 1926, Wambsganss played for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Athletics...

executed the first (and only, so far) unassisted triple play in World Series history, in fact the only Series triple play of any kind.

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

Babe Ruth

George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...

and the home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

. 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

Alva Bradley , aka Alva Bradley II, was a businessman and baseball team executive.Bradley was born to a wealthy family in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of M.A. Bradley and grandson of his namesake, Captain Alva Bradley. He graduated Cornell in 1908...

.

The Indians were a middling team by the 1930s, finishing third or fourth most years. brought Cleveland a new superstar in 17-year old pitcher Bob Feller

Bob Feller

On December 8, 1941, Feller enlisted in the Navy, volunteering immediately for combat service, becoming the first Major League Baseball player to do so following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7. Feller served as Gun Captain aboard the USS Alabama, and missed four seasons during his service...

, who came from Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

with a dominating fastball

Fastball

The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...

. 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. According to Fundamentals of Physics

Fundamentals of Physics

Fundamentals of Physics is a calculus-based physics textbook by David Halliday, Robert Resnick, and Jearl Walker. The textbook is currently in its ninth edition and is published in a five-volume set. The current version is a revised version of the original textbook Physics by Halliday and Resnick,...

( 4 ed., Wiley

Wiley

Wiley may refer to:* Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town* Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany* Wiley College, a college in Texas founded by Isaac Wiley* Wiley Rein LLP, a U.S. Law Firm...

, 1993 ), by David Halliday

David Halliday

David Halliday may refer to:* David Halliday , Scottish professional footballer* David Halliday , American physicist and textbook author...

, Robert Resnick

Robert Resnick

Robert Resnick is a well-respected physics educator and author of physics textbooks.He was born in Baltimore, Maryland on January 11, 1923 and graduated from the Baltimore City College high school in 1939. He received his B.A. in 1943 and his Ph.D. in 1949, both in physics from Johns Hopkins...

and Jearl Walker

Jearl Walker

Jearl Walker is a physicist noted for his book Flying Circus of Physics, first published in 1975; the second edition was published in June 2006...

, on page 30, Chapter Two, " Motion along a Straight Line ", Joe Sprinz

Joe Sprinz

Joseph Conrad Sprinz was a Major League Baseball catcher who played for three seasons. He played for the Cleveland Indians from 1930 to 1931 and the St...

, at the time in question, a member of the San Francisco Ball Club

San Francisco Seals

San Francisco Seals can refer to:*San Francisco Seals , a Pacific Coast League team from 1903–1957*San Francisco Seals , a Western Hockey League team from 1961–1967 that entered the National Hockey League in the fall of 1967, as the California Seals*San Francisco Seals , also known as the San...

, and formerly of the Indians, attempted to beat the World Record

World record

A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...

for catching a baseball dropped from a great height, set by members of the 1938 Cleveland Indians, who had done so at 700 feet, with balls dropped from a building. On a day in 1939, Sprinz had a blimp hover overhead at 800 feet, from which were to be dropped balls for him to catch. On his fifth attempt, a baseball entered his glove at what could be estimated to be up to 154 mph. It slammed his glove hand into his face with such force, that he broke his upper jaw in twelve places, fractured five of his teeth, and was rendered unconscious. He also dropped the ball. By , Feller, along with Ken Keltner

Ken Keltner

Kenneth Frederick Keltner was an American professional baseball player. He played almost his entire Major League Baseball career as a third baseman with the Cleveland Indians, until his final season when he played 13 games for the Boston Red Sox. He batted and threw right-handed...

, Mel Harder

Mel Harder

Melvin Leroy Harder , nicknamed "Chief", was an American, right-handed, starting pitcher and coach in Major League Baseball, who played his entire career with the Cleveland Indians. He spent 36 seasons overall with the Indians, as a player from 1928 to 1947 and as one of the game's most highly...

and Lou Boudreau

Lou Boudreau

Louis "Lou" Boudreau was an American Major League Baseball player and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970...

led the Indians to within one game of the pennant. However, the team was wracked with dissension, with some players (including Feller and Mel Harder

Mel Harder

) going so far as to request that Bradley fire manager Ossie Vitt

Ossie Vitt

Oscar Joseph "Ossie" Vitt , was a Major League Baseball third baseman in the American League for the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox . Vitt later became manager of the Cleveland Indians , where he sometimes clashed with his players.-Playing career:Ossie Vitt was a product of the sandlots of...

. Reporters lampooned them as the Cleveland Crybabies. Feller, who had pitched a no-hitter

No-hitter

A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown 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

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

. The Tigers won the pennant and Giebell never won another major league game.

Cleveland entered 1941 with a young team and a new manager; Roger Peckinpaugh

Roger Peckinpaugh

Roger Thorpe Peckinpaugh was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians , New York Yankees , Washington Senators and Chicago White Sox...

had replaced the despised Vitt; but the team regressed, finishing in fourth. Cleveland would soon be depleted of two stars. Hal Trosky

Hal Trosky

Harold Arthur Trosky, Sr., born Harold Arthur Trojovsky , was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox . Trosky was born in Norway, Iowa. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.Trosky had a career .302 batting average, with a...

retired in 1941 due to migraine headaches and Bob Feller enlisted in the Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

two days after the Attack on Pearl Harbor

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

. Starting third baseman Ken Keltner

Ken Keltner

and outfielder Ray Mack

Ray Mack

Raymond James Mack was a second baseman in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1946 with the Cleveland Indians and in 1947 with the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs...

were both drafted in 1945 taking two more starters out of the lineup.

1947–1959

In Bill Veeck

Bill Veeck

William Louis Veeck, Jr. , also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was a native of Chicago, Illinois, and a franchise owner and promoter in Major League Baseball. He was best known for his publicity stunts to raise attendance. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis...

formed an investment group that purchased the Cleveland Indians from Bradley's group for a reported $1.6 million. Among the investors was Bob Hope

Bob Hope

Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...

, who had grown up in Cleveland, and former Tigers slugger, Hank Greenberg

Hank Greenberg

Henry Benjamin "Hank" Greenberg , nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank" or "The Hebrew Hammer," was an American professional baseball player in the 1930s and 1940s. A first baseman primarily for the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg was one of the premier power hitters of his generation...

.
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 Max Patkin

Max Patkin

Max Patkin was an American baseball player and clown, best known as the Clown Prince of Baseball ....

, the "Clown Prince of Baseball" as a coach. 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. 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.

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 then record for the largest crowd to see a Major League baseball game. On October 10, 1948, Game 5 of the World Series

1948 World Series

The 1948 World Series matched the Cleveland Indians against the Boston Braves. The Braves had won the National League pennant for the first time since the "Miracle Braves" team of . The Indians spoiled a chance for the only all-Boston World Series by winning a one-game playoff against the Boston...

against the Boston Braves drew over 84,000. The record stood until the Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

drew a crowd in excess of 92,500 to watch Game 5 of the 1959 World Series

1959 World Series

The 1959 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers beating the American League champion Chicago White Sox, four games to two. It was the first pennant for the White Sox in 40 years . They would have to wait until 2005 to win another championship...

at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...

against the Chicago White Sox

Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...

.

Under Veeck's leadership, one of Cleveland's most significant achievements was breaking the color barrier

Baseball color line

The color line in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Organized Baseball, or the major leagues and affiliated minor leagues, until Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization for the 1946 season...

in the American League

American League

The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

by signing Larry Doby

Larry Doby

Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball....

, formerly a player for the Negro League's Newark Eagles

Newark Eagles

The Newark Eagles was a professional Negro league baseball team that played in the second Negro National League from 1936 to 1948.- Formation :...

in , eleven weeks after Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...

signed with the Dodgers. 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.

In 1948, needing pitching for the stretch run of the pennant race, Veeck turned to the Negro League again and signed pitching great Satchel Paige

Satchel Paige

Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige was an American baseball player whose pitching in the Negro leagues and in Major League Baseball made him a legend in his own lifetime...

amid much controversy. 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 , veterans Boudreau, Keltner, and Joe Gordon had career offensive seasons, while newcomers Larry Doby

Larry Doby

Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball....

and Gene Bearden

Gene Bearden

Henry Eugene "Gene" Bearden was a left-handed knuckleball pitcher in Major League Baseball who completed a remarkable rookie season by closing out the Cleveland Indians' last World Series championship in 1948....

also had standout seasons. The team went down to the wire with the Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

, winning a one-game playoff, the first in American League history, to go to the World Series. In the series, the Indians defeated the Boston Braves four games to two for their first championship in 28 years. Boudreau won the American League MVP Award.

The Indians would appear in a film the following year

1949 in film

The year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...

titled The Kid From Cleveland
The Kid from Cleveland
The Kid from Cleveland is a 1949 sports drama film starring George Brent, Lynn Bari and Russ Tamblyn. Directed by Herbert Kline, the film was released by Republic Pictures.-Plot:...

, in which Veeck had an interest. The film portrayed the team helping out a "troubled teenaged fan" and featured many members of the Indians organization. However, filming during the season cost the players valuable rest days leading to fatigue towards the end of the season. That season, Cleveland again contended before falling to third place. 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.

Later in 1949, Veeck's first wife (who had a half-stake in Veeck's share of the team) divorced him. With most of his money tied up in the Indians, Veeck was forced to sell the team to a syndicate headed by insurance magnate Ellis Ryan. Ryan was forced out in in favor of Myron Wilson, who in turn gave way to William Daley in . Despite this turnover in the ownership, a powerhouse team composed of Feller, Doby, Minnie Miñoso, Luke Easter, Bobby Avila

Bobby Avila

Roberto Francisco Ávila González to Maria Gonzalez and Jorge Avila, was a Major League Baseball second baseman and right-handed batter who played for the Cleveland Indians , Baltimore Orioles , Boston Red Sox , Milwaukee Braves and Tigres del México...

, Al Rosen

Al Rosen

Albert Leonard Rosen , nicknamed "Al", "Flip", and the "Hebrew Hammer", is a former American professional baseball player who was a third baseman and right-handed slugger in the Major Leagues for ten seasons in tthe 1940s and 1950s.He played his entire 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians in...

, Early Wynn

Early Wynn

Early Wynn Jr. , nicknamed "Gus", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During a 25-year baseball career, he pitched for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox...

, Bob Lemon

Bob Lemon

Robert Granville Lemon was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976....

, and Mike Garcia continued to contend through the early 1950s. However, Cleveland only won a single pennant in the decade, finishing second to the New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

five times.

The best season in franchise history came in , when the Indians finished the season with a record of 111-43 (.721). That mark set an American League record for wins which stood for 44 years until the New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

won 114 games in 1998. The Indians 1954 winning percentage of .721 is still an American League record. The Indians returned to the World Series

1954 World Series

The 1954 World Series matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion Cleveland Indians. The Giants swept the Series in four games to win their first championship since , defeating the heavily favored Indians, who had won an AL-record 111 games in the...

to face the New York Giants

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing 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

Willie Mays

Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...

' famous over-the-shoulder catch off the bat of Vic Wertz

Vic Wertz

Victor Woodrow Wertz was a Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder. He had a seventeen year career from 1947 to 1963. He was signed as a free agent by the Detroit Tigers in 1942 and played for the Tigers, St...

in Game 1.

1960–1993: The 30-year slump

From 1960 to 1993, the Indians managed one third-place finish (in 1968) and six fourth-place finishes (in 1960, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1990, and 1992) but spent the rest of the time at or near the bottom of the standings.

Frank Lane becomes general manager

The Indians hired general manager Frank Lane

Frank Lane

Frank Lane was an American executive in professional baseball, most notably serving as a general manager in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox, St...

, known as "Trader" Lane, away from the St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

in 1957. Lane over the years had gained a reputation as a GM who loved to make deals. With the White Sox, Lane had made over 100 trades involving over 400 players in seven years. In a short stint in St. Louis, he traded away Red Schoendienst

Red Schoendienst

Albert Fred "Red" Schoendienst is an American Major League Baseball coach, former player and manager, and 10-time All-star. After a 19-year playing career with the St...

and Harvey Haddix

Harvey Haddix

Harvey Haddix, Jr. was a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher who played with the St. Louis Cardinals , Philadelphia Phillies , Cincinnati Redlegs , Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles . Haddix was born in Medway, Ohio, located just outside of Springfield...

. Lane summed up his philosophy when he said that the only deals he regretted were the ones that he didn't make.

One of Lane's early trades in Cleveland was to send Roger Maris

Roger Maris

Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...

to the Kansas City Athletics

Oakland Athletics

in the middle of 1958. Indians executive Hank Greenberg

Hank Greenberg

was not happy about the trade and neither was Maris, who said that he could not stand Lane. After Maris broke Babe Ruth's home run record, Lane defended himself by saying he still would have done the deal because Maris was unknown and he received good ballplayers in exchange.

After the Maris trade, Lane acquired 25-year old Norm Cash

Norm Cash

Norman Dalton Cash was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who spent almost his entire career with the Detroit Tigers...

from the White Sox for Minnie Miñoso and then traded him to Detroit before he ever played a game for the Indians; Cash went on to hit over 350 home runs for the Tigers. The Indians received Steve Demeter

Steve Demeter

Stephen Demeter is a former United States Major League Baseball third baseman who played for two seasons. He played for the Detroit Tigers in 1959 and the Cleveland Indians in 1960 and was a fixture of the Rochester Red Wings teams of the mid-1960s, hitting 272 minor league home runs.-External...

in the deal, who would have only five at-bats for Cleveland.

Curse of Rocky Colavito

In 1960, Lane made the trade that would define his tenure in Cleveland when he dealt slugging right fielder and fan favorite Rocky Colavito

Rocky Colavito

Rocco Domenico "Rocky" Colavito, Jr. is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the Cleveland Indians. He wore a #6, #7 or #21 jersey during his MLB career...

to the Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers

for Harvey Kuenn

Harvey Kuenn

Harvey Edward Kuenn was an American player, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. As a shortstop and outfielder, he played with the Detroit Tigers , Cleveland Indians , San Francisco Giants , Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies . He batted and threw right-handed...

just before Opening Day

Opening Day

Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball and most of the minor leagues, this day falls during the first week of April. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book...

in .
It was a blockbuster trade that swapped the AL home run co-champion (Colavito) for the AL batting champion (Kuenn). After the trade, however, Colavito hit over 30 home runs four times and made three All-Star teams for Detroit and Kansas City before returning to Cleveland in . Kuenn, on the other hand, would play only one season for the Indians before departing for San Francisco

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

in a trade for an aging Johnny Antonelli

Johnny Antonelli

John August Antonelli is an American former left-handed starting pitcher who played for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves, New York and San Francisco Giants, and Cleveland Indians....

and Willie Kirkland

Willie Kirkland

Willie Charles Kirkland is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the San Francisco Giants , Cleveland Indians , Baltimore Orioles and Washington Senators...

. Akron Beacon Journal
Akron Beacon Journal
The Akron Beacon Journal is a four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States, and published by Black Press Ltd.. It is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper places a strong emphasis on local news and business...

columnist Terry Pluto

Terry Pluto

Terry Pluto is an award-winning sportswriter who primarily writes columns for The Plain Dealer, and formerly for the Akron Beacon Journal about Cleveland sports and religion. He has been named Ohio Sportswriter of the Year eight times...

documented the decades of woe that followed the trade in his book The Curse of Rocky Colavito. Despite being attached to the curse, Colavito said that he never placed a curse on the Indians but that the trade was prompted by a salary dispute with Lane.

Lane also engineered a unique trade of managers in mid-season 1960, sending Joe Gordon to the Tigers in exchange for Jimmy Dykes

Jimmy Dykes

James Joseph Dykes was an American third and second baseman, manager and coach in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Sox from 1918 to 1939...

. Lane left the team in 1961, but ill-advised trades continued. In 1965, the Indians traded pitcher Tommy John

Tommy John

Thomas Edward John Jr. is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball whose 288 career victories rank as the seventh highest total among left-handers in major league history...

, who would go on to win 288 games in his career, and 1966 Rookie of the Year Tommy Agee to the White Sox to get Colavito back.

1969 Move to the East Division

Lou Piniella

Louis Victor Piniella is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He has been nicknamed "Sweet Lou," both for his swing as a major league hitter and, facetiously, to describe his demeanor as a player and manager...

, the 1969 Rookie of the Year and Luis Tiant

Luis Tiant

Luis Clemente Tiant Vega , born November 23, 1940 in Marianao, Cuba, , is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians , Minnesota Twins , Boston Red Sox , New York Yankees , Pittsburgh Pirates and California Angels...

, who was selected to two All-Star Games after leaving, both left. At one point, Cleveland even traded Harry Chiti

Harry Chiti

Harry Chiti was an American catcher in Major League Baseball. From 1950 through 1962, he played for the Chicago Cubs , Kansas City Athletics , Detroit Tigers and New York Mets . A native of Kincaid, Illinois, Chiti batted and threw right-handed...

to the New York Mets

New York Mets

The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

, only to receive him back as the player to be named later after 15 days. The 1970s were little better, with the Indians trading away several future stars, including Graig Nettles

Graig Nettles

Graig Nettles , nicknamed "Puff", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins , Cleveland Indians , New York Yankees , San Diego Padres , Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos .Nettles was one of the best...

, Dennis Eckersley

Dennis Eckersley

Dennis Lee Eckersley , nicknamed "Eck", is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. Eckersley had success as a starter, but gained his greatest fame as a closer, becoming the first of only two pitchers in Major League history to have both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in a career .He...

, Buddy Bell

Buddy Bell

David Gus "Buddy" Bell is a former third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. After an 18-year career with four teams, most notably the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, he managed the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals for three seasons each...

and 1971 Rookie of the Year Chris Chambliss

Chris Chambliss

Carroll Christopher Chambliss is a former Major League Baseball player who played from to for the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves...

, for a number of players who made no impact.

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

Gabe Paul

Gabriel Howard Paul was an American executive in Major League Baseball who served as general manager of three teams and, perhaps most famously, as president of the New York Yankees under George Steinbrenner during the 1970s....

. Three years later, Paul sold the Indians to Vernon Stouffer

Vernon Stouffer

Vernon B. Stouffer, owned a national chain of restaurants, motor inns, and food-service operations and the Cleveland Indians from 1966-72. He played a key part in developing frozen foods and microwavable foods. His company Stouffer's was valued at $21.5 million when it was merged with Litton...

, of the Stouffer's

Stouffer's

Stouffer's is a brand of frozen prepared foods available in the United States and Canada. Stouffer's is known for such popular fare as meatloaf, salisbury steak, lasagna, macaroni and cheese, and ravioli. It also produces a line of reduced-fat products under the banner Lean...

frozen-food empire. 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 with a view to a possible move there. After rejecting an offer from George Steinbrenner

George Steinbrenner

George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...

and former Indian Al Rosen

Al Rosen

, Stouffer sold the team in 1972 to a group led by Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...

and Cleveland Barons owner Nick Mileti

Nick Mileti

Nick James Mileti was, during the 1970s, the owner of the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Crusaders hockey team, the Coliseum at Richfield and radio station "3WE" WWWE AM/1100 ....

. Steinbrenner went on to buy the New York Yankees in 1973.

Only five years later, Mileti's group sold the team for $11 million to a syndicate headed by trucking magnate Steve O'Neill and including former general manager and owner Gabe Paul. 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

Richard Jacobs

Richard E. "Dick" Jacobs was the chairman and chief executive officer of The Richard E. Jacobs Group, a real estate development company that he co-founded with his brother David H. Jacobs. The company builds and leases shopping centers, offices, and hotels...

and David Jacobs purchased the team in 1986.

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

Gaylord Perry

Gaylord Jackson Perry is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1962-1983 for eight different teams in his career. During a 22-year baseball career, Perry compiled 314 wins, 3,534 strikeouts, and a 3.11 earned run average...

in . The Indians traded fireballer "Sudden Sam" McDowell

Sam McDowell

Samuel Edward Thomas McDowell , is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball, with the first 11 coming for the Cleveland Indians before a 1971 trade to the San Francisco Giants, followed by stints with the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates...

for Perry, who became the first Indian pitcher to win the Cy Young Award

Cy Young Award

The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...

. In , Cleveland broke another color barrier with the hiring of Frank Robinson

Frank Robinson

Frank Robinson , is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He played from 1956–1976, most notably for the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. He is the only player to win league MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues...

as Major League Baseball's first African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

manager. Robinson served as player-manager and would provide a franchise highlight when he hit a pinch hit home run on Opening Day

Opening Day

. But the high profile signing of Wayne Garland

Wayne Garland

Marcus Wayne Garland was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1973 to 1981 for the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians. Garland's best season came in 1976 when he posted a win–loss record of 20–7...

, a 20-game winner in Baltimore

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

, proved to be a disaster after Garland suffered from shoulder problems and went 28–48 over five years. The team failed to improve with Robinson as manager and he was fired in . In 1977, pitcher Dennis Eckersley

Dennis Eckersley

threw a no-hitter against the California Angels. The next season, he would be dealt to the Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

where he won 20 games in 1978 and another 17 in 1979.

The 1970s also featured the infamous Ten Cent Beer Night

Ten Cent Beer Night

Ten Cent Beer Night was a promotion held by Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians during a game against the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on June 4, 1974....

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The ill-conceived promotion at a game against the Texas Rangers

Texas Rangers (baseball)

The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...

ended in a riot by fans and a forfeit by the Indians.

There were more bright spots in the 1980s. In May 1981, Len Barker

Len Barker

Leonard Harold Barker III , better known as Lenny Barker or Len Barker, is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He pitched the tenth perfect game in baseball history. Barker pitched for the Texas Rangers , Cleveland Indians , Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers...

threw a perfect game

Perfect game

A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...

against the Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

, joining Addie Joss as the only other Indian pitcher to do so. "Super Joe" Charbonneau

Joe Charboneau

Joseph Charboneau was a Major League Baseball player for the Cleveland Indians and is one of the most often-cited examples of a flash in the pan or of baseball's fabled sophomore jinx....

won the American League Rookie of the Year award. Unfortunately, Charboneau was out of baseball by 1983 after falling victim to back injuries and Barker, who was also hampered by injuries, never became a consistently dominant starting pitcher.

Eventually, the Indians traded Barker to the Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves

for Brett Butler and Brook Jacoby

Brook Jacoby

Brook Wallace Jacoby is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and the current hitting coach of the Cincinnati Reds. Jacoby played in the major leagues from 1981 through 1992, and in Japan in 1993. He batted and threw right-handed. His father Brook Wallace Jacoby Sr...

, who would become mainstays of the team for the remainder of the decade. Butler and Jacoby were joined by Joe Carter

Joe Carter

Joseph Christopher Carter is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from to . Carter is most famous for hitting a walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays....

, Mel Hall

Mel Hall

Melvin Hall Jr. is a former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1996 with the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and San Francisco Giants. He also played in Japan from 1993-1995...

, Julio Franco

Julio Franco

Julio César Robles Franco is a former Major League Baseball infielder and designated hitter. In , Franco was the oldest active player in the major leagues at the age of 49....

and Cory Snyder

Cory Snyder

James Cory Snyder is a former Major League Baseball player for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1986 to 1994. Snyder's best season came in 1987 with the Indians when he hit 33 home runs and had 82 runs batted in...

, which brought new hope to fans in the late 1980s.

After a rare winning season in , Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

, with Carter and Snyder pictured on the cover, boldly predicted the Indians to win the American League East

American League East

The American League Eastern Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions . This division was created before the start of the 1969 season along with the Western Division...

in . 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

Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx

The Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx is an urban legend that states that individuals or teams who appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated magazine will subsequently be jinxed...

.

Cleveland's struggles over the 30-year span were highlighted in the 1989 film Major League
Major League (film)
Major League is a 1989 American satire comedy film written and directed by David S. Ward, starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, James Gammon, and Corbin Bernsen. Made for US$11 million, Major League grossed nearly US$50 million in domestic release...

, which comically depicted a hapless Cleveland ball club going from worst to first by the end of the film.

Organizational turnaround

Throughout the 1980s, Indians owners had pushed for a new stadium. Cleveland Stadium had been a symbol of the Indians' glory years in the 1940s and 1950s. However, during the lean years even crowds of 40,000 were swallowed up by the cavernous environment. The old stadium was not aging gracefully; chunks of concrete were falling off in sections and the old wooden pilings now petrified. In 1984, a proposal for a $150 million domed stadium was defeated in a referendum 2–1.

Finally, in May 1990, Cuyahoga County

Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Cuyahoga County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. It is the most populous county in Ohio; as of the 2010 census, the population was 1,280,122. Its county seat is Cleveland. Cuyahoga County is part of Greater Cleveland, a metropolitan area, and Northeast Ohio, a...

voters passed an excise tax

Pigovian tax

A Pigovian tax is a tax levied on a market activity that generates negative externalities. The tax is intended to correct the market outcome. In the presence of negative externalities, the social cost of a market activity is not covered by the private cost of the activity...

on sales of alcohol and cigarettes in the county. The tax proceeds would be used to finance the building of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex

Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex

The Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex is a multipurpose campus located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It comprises two sports facilities, a transitional space known as Gateway Plaza, and two parking garages...

which would include Jacobs Field

Jacobs Field

Progressive Field is a ballpark located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and is the home of the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball and the American League. Along with Quicken Loans Arena, it is part of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex...

and Gund Arena

Quicken Loans Arena

Quicken Loans Arena , is a multi-purpose arena, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States....

for the Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...

basketball team. The team had new ownership and a new stadium on the way. They now needed a winning team.

The team's fortunes started to turn in , ironically with a very unpopular trade. The team sent power-hitting outfielder Joe Carter

Joe Carter

to the San Diego Padres

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...

for two unproven players, Sandy Alomar, Jr.

Sandy Alomar, Jr.

Santos "Sandy" Alomar, Jr., or in the Spanish-language naming system Santos Alomar Velázquez , is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played for the San Diego Padres , Cleveland Indians , Chicago White Sox and , Colorado Rockies , Texas Rangers , Los Angeles Dodgers , and New York Mets...

and Carlos Baerga

Carlos Baerga

Carlos Obed Baerga Ortiz is a former Major League Baseball player. After spending most of his career as a second baseman, he was used at various positions late in his career.-Cleveland Indians:...

. Alomar made an immediate impact, not only being elected to the All-Star team

1990 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The 1990 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 61st playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 10, 1990 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, the home of the...

but also winning Cleveland's fourth Rookie of the Year

MLB Rookie of the Year Award

In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is annually given to one player from each league as voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America . The award was established in 1940 by the Chicago chapter of the BBWAA, which selected an annual winner from 1940 through 1946...

award and a Gold Glove

Gold Glove Award

The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League and the American League , as voted by the...

. Baerga would become a three-time All-Star with consistent offensive production.

Indians general manager John Hart

John Hart (baseball)

John Henry Hart is an American Major League Baseball executive. In addition, he is the former general manager of the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers; now he currently serves as senior adviser, baseball operations, for the Rangers...

made a number of moves that would finally bring success to the team. In , he hired former Indian Mike Hargrove

Mike Hargrove

Dudley Michael Hargrove is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. He is currently employed as an advisor with the Cleveland Indians....

to manage

Manager (baseball)

In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

and traded catcher Eddie Taubensee

Eddie Taubensee

Edward Kenneth Taubensee is a former catcher in Major League Baseball.Taubensee played for three different ballclubs during his career: the Cleveland Indians , Houston Astros , and Cincinnati Reds . He made his major league debut on May 18, 1991, and played his final game on October 7, 2001...

to the Houston Astros

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

who, with a surplus of outfielders, were willing to part with Kenny Lofton

Kenny Lofton

Kenneth Lofton is a former Major League Baseball outfielder known for his great speed on the base paths as well as in the field, award-winning defensive play , timely hitting, and playful spirit. He batted and threw left-handed...

. Lofton finished second in AL Rookie of the Year balloting with a .285 average and 66 stolen bases.

The Indians were named "Organization of the Year" by Baseball America in 1992, in response to the appearance of offensive bright spots and an improving farm system

Farm team

In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...

.

The team suffered a tragedy during spring training

Spring training

In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...

of , when a boat carrying pitchers Steve Olin

Steve Olin

Steven Robert Olin was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for four seasons in the American League with the Cleveland Indians. In 195 career games, Olin pitched 273 innings and posted a win–loss record of 16–19, with 48 saves, 118 games finished, and a 3.10 earned...

, Tim Crews

Tim Crews

Stanley Timothy Crews was a Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched six seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers -- to . He was granted free agency after the 1992 season and signed with the Cleveland Indians on January 22, 1993....

, and Bob Ojeda

Bob Ojeda

Robert Michael Ojeda is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. Ojeda is best remembered as an anchor in the 1986 World Series Champion New York Mets starting rotation , and for being the lone survivor of a March 22, boating accident that killed fellow Cleveland Indians pitchers...

crashed into a pier. Olin and Crews were killed, and Ojeda was seriously injured. (Ojeda missed most of the season, and would retire the following year).

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

AAA (baseball)

Triple-A refers to the highest level of play in minor league baseball in the United States and Mexico.-Purpose:Triple-A teams' main purpose is to prepare players for the Major Leagues:...

farm team, the Charlotte Knights

Charlotte Knights

The Charlotte Knights are a minor league baseball team representing Charlotte, North Carolina. The team, which plays in the International League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox of the American League...

, who won the International League

International League

The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...

title that year.

New beginning

Indians General Manager John Hart

John Hart (baseball)

and team owner Richard Jacobs

Richard Jacobs

managed to turn the team's fortunes around. The Indians opened Jacobs Field in 1994 with the aim of improving on the prior season's sixth-place finish. The Indians were only one game behind the division-leading Chicago White Sox

Chicago White Sox

on August 12 when a players strike wiped out the rest of the season. The strike also led to an absurdity: The Minnesota Twins traded Winfield to the Cleveland Indians at the trade waiver deadline on August 31 for a "player to be named later." The 1994 season had been halted two weeks earlier (it was eventually canceled a month later on September 14), so Winfield did not get to play for the Indians that year and no player was ever named in exchange. To settle the trade, Cleveland and Minnesota executives went to dinner, with the Indians picking up the tab. This makes Winfield the only player in major league history to be traded for a dinner.

1995 season: 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

Dennis Martínez

José Dennis Martínez Emilia , nicknamed "El Presidente" , is a former Major League Baseball pitcher...

, Orel Hershiser

Orel Hershiser

Orel Leonard Hershiser IV is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is currently an analyst for Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and a professional poker player for...

and Eddie Murray

Eddie Murray

Eddie Clarence Murray , nicknamed "Steady Eddie", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and designated hitter. He was known as one of the most reliable and productive hitters of his era. Murray is regarded as one of the best switch hitters ever to play the game...

combined with a young core of players including Albert Belle

Albert Belle

Albert Jojuan Belle is a former American Major League Baseball outfielder for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Baltimore Orioles...

, Jim Thome

Jim Thome

James Howard "Jim" Thome is a Major League Baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is the eighth player to hit 600 home runs in the major leagues. He is widely considered a future Hall of Famer.-Cleveland Indians :...

, Manny Ramírez

Manny Ramírez

Manuel "Manny" Arístides Ramírez Onelcida is a retired Dominican-American professional baseball outfielder. He was recognized for great batting skill and power, a nine-time Silver Slugger and one of 25 players to hit 500 career home runs. Ramirez's 21 grand slams are third all-time, and his 28...

and Charles Nagy

Charles Nagy

Charles Harrison Nagy is an American former Major League Baseball All-Star right-handed pitcher who played for 14 seasons in the major leagues from to , mostly with the Cleveland Indians, and currently serves as the pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks.-Early life and amateur career:Nagy...

to lead the league in team batting average

Batting average

as well as team ERA

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

.

After defeating the Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

in the Division Series

1995 American League Division Series

-Seattle Mariners vs. New York Yankees:-Game 1, Tuesday, October 3:Jacobs Field in Cleveland, OhioAfter a 39-minute rain delay, Game 1 got underway with two veterans, Roger Clemens and Dennis Martínez, starting the opener. The Red Sox jumped in front first in the third on John Valentin's two run...

and the Seattle Mariners

Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...

in the ALCS

1995 American League Championship Series

-Game 1:Tuesday, October 10, 1995 at Kingdome in Seattle, WashingtonThe Indians called on the veteran Dennis Martinez for Game 1. The Mariners rode the arm of Bob Wolcott. Wolcott got off to a shaky start by walking three straight hitters to open the game. But he would get out of the bases loaded...

, Cleveland clinched a World Series

World Series

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

berth, for the first time since 1954. The World Series ended in disappointment with the Indians falling in six games to the Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves

. The Indians repeated as AL Central champions in , but lost to the Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles

in the Division Series

1996 American League Division Series

-Texas Rangers vs. New York Yankees:-Game 1, October 1:Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, MarylandIt was Baltimore's first playoff game since the clinching Game 5 of the 1983 World Series. For the Indians, it was their second consecutive division title. Charles Nagy and David Wells matched...

. Notably in 1996, tickets for every home game for the Indians sold out before opening day.

1997 season: two outs away!

In 1997 Cleveland started slow but finished with an 86–75 record. Taking their third consecutive AL Central title, the Indians defeated the heavily-favored New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

in the Division Series

1997 American League Division Series

-Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees:-Game 1, October 1:Kingdome in Seattle, WashingtonThe Orioles had gone wire-to-wire and the Mariners had won the AL West for the second time in the decade. In Game 1, both teams had their best on the mound: Mike Mussina for the Orioles and Randy Johnson for...

, 3–2. After defeating the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS

1997 American League Championship Series

-Game 1:Wednesday, October 8, 1997 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland-Game 2:Thursday, October 9, 1997 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland...

, Cleveland went on to face the Florida Marlins

Florida Marlins

The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...

in the World Series

1997 World Series

-Game 1:Saturday, October 18, 1997 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami Gardens, FloridaThe first World Series game in the state of Florida, Game 1 featured a youngster and a veteran facing each other on the mound...

which featured the coldest game in World Series history. With the series tied after game six, the Indians went into the ninth inning of Game 7 with a 2–1 lead, but closer Jose Mesa

José Mesa

José Ramón Nova Mesa [MAY-sah] is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. His nickname was "Joe Table," the literal translation of his name in the English language....

allowed the Marlins to tie the game. In the eleventh inning, Edgar Rentería

Edgar Rentería

Edgar Enrique Rentería Herazo , nicknamed "The Barranquilla Baby," is a Colombian professional baseball shortstop. He throws and bats right-handed. Previously, he has played for the Florida Marlins, the St...

drove in the winning run giving the Marlins their first championship.

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

Omar Vizquel

Omar Enrique Vizquel González , nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman. Vizquel has played for the Seattle Mariners , the Cleveland Indians , the San Francisco Giants , the Texas Rangers and the Chicago White Sox...

blamed Jose Mesa for the loss, which led to a feud between the players.

1998–2001

In , the Indians made the playoffs for the fourth straight year. After defeating the wild-card Boston Red Sox three games to one in the first round of the playoffs

1998 American League Division Series

-Cleveland Indians vs. Boston Red Sox:-Game 1, September 29:Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkScott Brosius was the hero of Game 1, as Todd Stottlemyre faced David Wells. In the bottom of the second, Stottlemyre yielded two runs when Brosius singled in Jorge Posada after Chad Curtis doubled and...

, Cleveland lost the 1998 ALCS

1998 American League Championship Series

-Game 1:Tuesday, October 6, 1998 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkCleveland came in as heavy underdogs, but also were the defending American League Champions. In Game 1, the Yankees got off to a good start, by hitting four straight singles in the bottom of the first to score two runs...

in six games to the New York Yankees, who had come into the playoffs with 114 wins in the regular season.

For the season, Cleveland added relief pitcher Ricardo Rincón

Ricardo Rincón

Ricardo Rincón Espinoza was a Major League Baseball relief pitcher.Rincón was a left-handed specialist who spent nearly his entire career as a middle reliever and setup pitcher. In his 10-year career, Rincón never started a game and only accumulated 21 saves...

and Roberto Alomar

Roberto Alomar

Roberto "Robbie" Alomar Velázquez is a former Major League Baseball player , regarded by many as one of the best second basemen in MLB history. During his career he won more Gold Gloves than any other second baseman in history, and also won the second-most Silver Slugger Awards for a second...

, brother of catcher Sandy Alomar, and won the Central Division title for its fifth consecutive playoff appearance. The team scored 1,009 runs, becoming the first (and to date only) team since the 1950 Boston Red Sox to score more than 1,000 runs in a season. This time, Cleveland did not make it past the first round, losing the Division Series

1999 American League Division Series

-Cleveland Indians vs. Boston Red Sox:-Game 1, October 5:Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkThe Yankees once again swept the Rangers and held them to one run through three games. In Game 1, Aaron Sele went against Orlando Hernández...

to the Red Sox, despite taking a two-games-to-none lead in the series. In game three, Indians starter Dave Burba went down with an injury in the 4th inning. Four pitchers, including presumed game four starter Jaret Wright

Jaret Wright

Jaret Samuel Wright is an American former Major League Baseball starting pitcher, who played 10 years for five teams. He is the son of former major league pitcher Clyde Wright.-Early life and education:...

, surrendered nine runs in relief. Without a long reliever or emergency starter on the playoff roster, Hargrove started both Bartolo Colón

Bartolo Colón

Bartolo Colón is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He played in Major League Baseball from 1997 to 2009 and again in 2011...

and Charles Nagy

Charles Nagy

in games four and five on only three days rest. The Indians lost game four 23–7 and game five 12–8. Four days later, Hargrove was dismissed as manager.

In , 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. The team had one of the league's best offenses that year and a defense that yielded three gold gloves. However, they ended up five games behind the Chicago White Sox

Chicago White Sox

in the Central division and missed the wild card

Wild card (sports)

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.-International sports:...

by one game to the Seattle Mariners

Seattle Mariners

. Mid-season trades brought Bob Wickman

Bob Wickman

Robert Joe Wickman is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Wickman played for the New York Yankees , Milwaukee Brewers , Cleveland Indians , Atlanta Braves , and Arizona Diamondbacks . He batted and threw right-handed...

and Jake Westbrook

Jake Westbrook

Jacob Cauthen "Jake" Westbrook is an American Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher currently with the St. Louis Cardinals. He is known as a sinker ball pitcher and has also hit a grand slam home run....

to Cleveland, and free agent Manny Ramírez

Manny Ramírez

departed for Boston after the season.

The Indians set a Major League record for most pitchers used in a single season. Colon, Burba, and Chuck Finley

Chuck Finley

Charles Edward "Chuck" Finley is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1986-2002 for three different teams, but pitched primarily with the California Angels...

posted strong seasons, and the bullpen was solid. 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 346⅔ innings and 265 earned runs for an ERA of 6.88.

In 2000, Larry Dolan

Larry Dolan

Lawrence J. Dolan is an attorney and the owner of the Cleveland Indians.-Education:Dolan attended St. Ignatius High School and got his law degree from University of Notre Dame in 1956...

bought the Indians for $320 million from Richard Jacobs, who, along with his late brother David, had paid $45 million for the club in 1986. The sale set a record at the time for the sale of a baseball franchise.

saw a return to the playoffs. After the departures of Manny Ramírez

Manny Ramírez

and Sandy Alomar, Jr.

Sandy Alomar, Jr.

, the Indians signed Ellis Burks and former MVP

MLB Most Valuable Player Award

The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...

Juan González, who helped the Indians win the Central division with a 91–71 record. On June 2nd Jacob Cruz was traded for Jody Gerut and Josh Bard.

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

Seattle Mariners

15–14 in 11 innings. The Mariners, who won a record 116 games that season, had a strong bullpen, and Indians manager Charlie Manuel

Charlie Manuel

Charles Fuqua Manuel, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball outfielder and current Major League Baseball manager of the Philadelphia Phillies...

had already pulled many of his starters with the game seemingly out of reach.

Seattle and Cleveland met in the first round of the playoffs

2001 American League Division Series

-New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics:-Game 1, October 9:Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington-Game 2, October 11:Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington-Game 3, October 13:Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio-Game 4, October 14:Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio...

, with the Indians taking a two-games-to-one lead. 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. In the 2001 offseason, GM John Hart

John Hart (baseball)

resigned and his assistant Mark Shapiro

Mark Shapiro

-Biography:Shapiro has been in the Cleveland Indians organization since 1991, when he was recommended by former Tribe GM Hank Peters. He officially became the general manager in 2001 when John Hart left....

took the reins.

First "rebuilding of the team"

Shapiro moved to rebuild by dealing aging veterans for younger talent. He traded Roberto Alomar

Roberto Alomar

to the New York Mets

New York Mets

for a package that included outfielder Matt Lawton

Matt Lawton

Matthew "Matt" Lawton, Jr. is a retired professional baseball whose career spanned 15 seasons, including 12 seasons in Major League Baseball. Lawton, an outfielder, made his major league debut September 5, 1995, with the Minnesota Twins, who signed him four years prior...

and prospects Alex Escobar

Alex Escobar

Alexander José Escobar [ess-COE-bar] is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Colorado Rockies organization....

and Billy Traber

Billy Traber

William Henry "Billy" Traber, Jr. is a left-handed pitcher who is currently a free agent.-College:...

. When the team fell out of contention in mid-, Shapiro fired manager Charlie Manuel

Charlie Manuel

Charles Fuqua Manuel, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball outfielder and current Major League Baseball manager of the Philadelphia Phillies...

and traded pitching ace Bartolo Colón

Bartolo Colón

Bartolo Colón is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He played in Major League Baseball from 1997 to 2009 and again in 2011...

for prospects Brandon Phillips

Brandon Phillips

Brandon Emil Phillips is a second baseman for Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds. The Raleigh, North Carolina native was selected in the second round of the 1999 draft by the former Montreal Expos after signing a letter of intent to play both baseball and football at the University of Georgia...

, Cliff Lee

Cliff Lee

Clifton Phifer "Cliff" Lee is a Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. Lee has also played for the Cleveland Indians, the Seattle Mariners, and the Texas Rangers....

, and Grady Sizemore

Grady Sizemore

Gradius "Grady" Sizemore III is an American professional baseball outfielder with the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball.-Early life:...

; acquired Travis Hafner

Travis Hafner

Travis Lee Hafner is a left-handed hitting designated hitter for the Cleveland Indians of the American League Central Division. His nickname, "Pronk", was given to him by former teammate Bill Selby during spring training of when people sometimes referred to him as "The Project" and other times...

from the Rangers

Texas Rangers (baseball)

for Ryan Drese

Ryan Drese

Ryan Thomas Drese is an American professional baseball pitcher currently in the Houston Astros organization. He is a graduate of the University of California Berkeley and Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California....

and Einar Diaz

Einar Diaz

Einar Antonio Díaz is a former Major League Baseball catcher.Díaz was called up in by the Cleveland Indians to back up then-starting catcher Sandy Alomar, Jr. He played sparingly from 1996-, and in he got his first starting job with the Indians due to an injury to Alomar...

; and picked up Coco Crisp

Coco Crisp

Covelli Loyce "Coco" Crisp is an American professional baseball center fielder. Crisp is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed...

from the St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

for aging starter Chuck Finley

Chuck Finley

Charles Edward "Chuck" Finley is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1986-2002 for three different teams, but pitched primarily with the California Angels...

. Jim Thome

Jim Thome

left after the season, going to the Phillies for a larger contract.

Young Indians teams finished far out of contention in 2002 and under new manager Eric Wedge

Eric Wedge

Eric Michael Wedge is a Major League Baseball manager and former catcher, and is the current manager of the Seattle Mariners. As a player, Wedge attended Northrop High School in Fort Wayne and played on the school's state champion baseball team in 1983...

. They posted strong offensive numbers in , but continued to struggle with a bullpen that blew more than 20 saves

Save (sport)

In baseball, a save is credited to a pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. The number of saves, or percentage of save opportunities successfully converted, is an oft-cited statistic of relief pitchers...

. A highlight of the season was a 22–0 victory over the New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

on August 31, one of the worst defeats suffered by the Yankees in team history.

In early , the offense got off to a poor start. 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 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. Shapiro was named Executive of the Year

The Sporting News Executive of the Year Award

The Sporting News Executive of the Year Award was established in 1936 by The Sporting News and is given annually to one executive — including general managers — in Major League Baseball....

in 2005.The next season

2006 in baseball

-Headline Event of the Year:*The 2006 World Baseball Classic final 4 teams are Japan, Cuba, Korea and the Dominican Republic, with the United States at 3–3 failing to qualify for the semi-finals. Under the leadership of manager Sadaharu Oh and veterans Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japan ...

, the club made several roster changes, while retaining its nucleus of young players. The off-season was highlighted by the acquisition of top prospect Andy Marté

Andy Marté

Andy Manuel Marté is a Dominican professional baseball third baseman with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in Major League Baseball. On December 1, 2010, Marte signed a minor league deal with the Pirates.-Career:Marté signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves in 2000, and succeeded at...

from the Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

. The Indians had a solid offensive season, led by career years from Travis Hafner

Travis Hafner

and Grady Sizemore

Grady Sizemore

Gradius "Grady" Sizemore III is an American professional baseball outfielder with the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball.-Early life:...

. Hafner, despite missing the last month of the season, tied the single season grand slam

Grand slam (baseball)

In the sport of baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners , thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a grand slam involves...

record of six, which was set in by Don Mattingly

Don Mattingly

Donald Arthur "Don" Mattingly is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nicknamed "The Hit Man" and "Donnie Baseball", he played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...

. Despite the solid offensive performance, the bullpen struggled with 23 blown saves (a Major League worst), and the Indians finished a disappointing fourth.

In , Shapiro signed veteran help for the bullpen and outfield in the offseason. Veterans Aaron Fultz

Aaron Fultz

Richard Aaron Fultz is a retired Major League Baseball relief pitcher.Drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 6th round of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft, Fultz spent the first three seasons of his Major League career with them , compiling a 10-5 record in 167 games played...

, and Joe Borowski joined Rafael Betancourt

Rafael Betancourt

Rafael Jose Betancourt is a Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher for the Colorado Rockies. He was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Boston Red Sox in September 1999. The Red Sox released him following the 1999 season and then re-signed him as a free agent in December...

in the Indians bullpen. Shapiro also signed right fielder Trot Nixon

Trot Nixon

Christopher Trotman Nixon is an American retired professional baseball right fielder. He played from 1996-2008 for three different teams, but is noted primarily for his time with the Boston Red Sox...

and left fielder David Dellucci

David Dellucci

David Michael Dellucci is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder.-High School:Dellucci graduated from Catholic High in Baton Rouge in 1991. He earned the team's Most Valuable Player honors in both baseball and football, and All-State honors for baseball...

to short-term contracts for veteran leadership. The Indians improved significantly over the prior year and went into the All-Star break in second place. The team brought back Kenny Lofton

Kenny Lofton

for his third stint with the team in late July. The Indians finished with a 96–66 record tied with the Red Sox for best in baseball, their seventh 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

2007 American League Division Series

-Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees:-Game 1, October 3:Fenway Park in Boston, MassachusettsIn Game 1, Boston starter Josh Beckett threw a complete-game shut out, allowing the Red Sox to win the opener...

three games to one. This series will be most remembered for the swarm of bugs that overtook the field in the later innings of game 2. They also jumped out to a three-games-to-one lead over the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series

2007 American League Championship Series

-Game 1:Friday, October 12, 2007 at Fenway Park in Boston, MassachusettsIn Game 1, the Cleveland Indians took the lead when Travis Hafner hit a home run to deep right field in the first inning against Josh Beckett. Beckett retired the next ten batters in a row, finishing by striking out seven while...

. The season ended in disappointment when Boston swept the final three games to advance to the 2007 World Series

2007 World Series

-Game 1:Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at Fenway Park in Boston, MassachusettsThe Red Sox cruised to a blowout win in Game 1 behind ALCS MVP Josh Beckett, who struck out nine batters, including the first four he faced, en route to his fourth win of the 2007 postseason...

.

Despite the loss, Cleveland players took home a number of awards. Grady Sizemore

Grady Sizemore

Gradius "Grady" Sizemore III is an American professional baseball outfielder with the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball.-Early life:...

, who had a .995 fielding percentage

Fielding percentage

In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...

and only two errors in 405 chances, won the Gold Glove award

Rawlings Gold Glove Award

, Cleveland's first since 2001. Indians Pitcher CC Sabathia won the second Cy Young Award

Cy Young Award

in team history with a 19–7 record, a 3.21 ERA and an MLB-leading 241 innings pitched

Innings pitched

In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...

. Eric Wedge

Eric Wedge

was awarded the first Manager of the Year Award

Manager of the Year Award

In Major League Baseball, the Manager of the Year Award is an honor given annually since 1983 to the best managers in the American League and the National League . The winner is voted on by 28 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America . Each places a vote for first, second, and third...

in team history. Shapiro was named to his second Executive of the Year

The Sporting News Executive of the Year Award

The Sporting News Executive of the Year Award was established in 1936 by The Sporting News and is given annually to one executive — including general managers — in Major League Baseball....

in 2007.

Second "rebuilding of the team"

The Indians struggled during the 2008 season. Injuries to sluggers Travis Hafner

Travis Hafner

and Victor Martinez, as well as starting pitchers Jake Westbrook

Jake Westbrook

and Fausto Carmona

Fausto Carmona

Fausto C. Carmona is a right-handed pitcher for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball. Carmona made his major league debut with the Indians on April 15, 2006...

led to a poor start. The Indians, falling to last place for a short time in June and July, traded CC Sabathia to the Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

for prospects Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson, and Michael Brantley. and traded starting third basemen, Casey Blake, for catching prospect Carlos Santana. However, amid the mediocrity, some key players, such as shortstop Jhonny Peralta

Jhonny Peralta

Jhonny Antonio Peralta is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He previously played with the Cleveland Indians.-Playing career:...

and catcher Kelly Shoppach

Kelly Shoppach

Kelly Brian Shoppach is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. He is nicknamed Shop.Shoppach was traded to the Indians from the Boston Red Sox organization on January 28, 2006, as part of the same deal that saw outfielder Coco Crisp sent to Boston and highly regarded prospect Andy...

, who took over starting duties after Martinez was injured, began to shine. Pitcher Cliff Lee

Cliff Lee

went 22-3 with an ERA of 2.54 and earned the AL Cy Young Award. Grady Sizemore

Grady Sizemore

Gradius "Grady" Sizemore III is an American professional baseball outfielder with the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball.-Early life:...

had a career year, winning a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger

Silver Slugger

The Silver Slugger Award is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball...

, and the Indians finished with a record of 81-81.

Prospects for the 2009 season dimmed early when the Indians ended May with a record of 22-30. Shapiro made multiple trades: Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco to the Philadelphia Phillies for prospects Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson; Victor Martinez to the Boston Red Sox for prospects Bryan Price, Nick Hagadone and Justin Masterson; Ryan Garko to the Texas Rangers for Scott Barnes; and Kelly Shoppach to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Mitch Talbot. The Indians finished the season tied for last in their division,
with a record of 65-97. The team announced on September 30, 2009, that Eric Wedge and all of the team's coaching staff would be released at the end of the 2009 season. Manny Acta

Manny Acta

Manuel Elias Acta is a Major League Baseball manager for the Cleveland Indians. He is the former manager of the Washington Nationals . In the Dominican Winter League, he managed the Tigres del Licey from 2002–2004, including leading them to victory at the 2003 Caribbean Series...

was hired as the team's 40th manager on October 25, 2009.

On February 18, 2010, it was announced that Shapiro (following the end of the 2010 season) will be promoted to team President, with current President Paul Dolan becoming the new Chairman/CEO, and longtime Shapiro assistant Chris Antonetti

Chris Antonetti

Chris Antonetti is the current General Manager and Executive Vice President of the Cleveland Indians.Antonetti is a graduate of Georgetown University. He worked in the front office of the Montreal Expos in 1998...

filling the GM role.

2011–present: New GM Chris Antonetti

On January 18, 2011, longtime popular former 1B and manager Mike Hargrove

Mike Hargrove

Dudley Michael Hargrove is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. He is currently employed as an advisor with the Cleveland Indians....

was brought in as a special advisor.

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