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Cleveland Indians: The 1995 Powerhouse Lineup

By Steve Contursi

May 16, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of a Cleveland Indians baseball hat and glove during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Indians at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Indians defeated the Rangers 10-8. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
May 16, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of a Cleveland Indians baseball hat and glove during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Indians at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Indians defeated the Rangers 10-8. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 25, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians former player Kenny Lofton throws out the ceremonial first pitch before game one of the 2016 World Series against the Chicago Cubs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

If you could get Kenny Lofton to stand still long enough, his 5’11” frame would weigh in at 190 pounds. Gifted with speed, he would steal more than 600 bases over his career and roam the outfield with the grace of a gazelle.

He could hit a lick too and would finish just one point shy of .300 over a career that lasted 17 years, and would total more than 2,400 base hits that were sprayed equally to all points of a ballpark.

In 1995, Lofton was only in his fourth full season in the big leagues. Originally selected as the 424th pick in the 1988 draft by the Houston Astros, he was immediately tagged as a up and coming outfielder in their plans for the future.

But that future would turn out to be only 20 games that he played for them before being traded to the Indians in 1991 for two nobodies that made the trade a regular on any list of worst trades in Astros history.

In 1995, Lofton was still in the early stages of a developing career that saw high strikeout totals that he would soon mitigate with his ability to draw walks. In fact, he would finish his career with a .372 on base percentage that certified his position in the lineup.

He hit .310 for the Indians in 1995 with 54 stolen bases. His 15 caught stealing total though shows that he was still in the process of learning the art. In the postseason that year, he contributed 11 more stolen bases and a .290 batting average while facing two future Hall of Fame pitchers on the Braves staff.

Lofton Flies Away and Then Comes Back

Ironically, it would be those same Braves that Lofton would be traded to as part of a blockbuster deal that would change the face of both teams. John Hart, the General Manager of the Indians at the time would lament saying, “I kept thinking if we traded Kenny, it would be the end of an era. He was the last one.”

The thinking at the time was that the Indians would have had Lofton for only one more year and then he would hit the free agent market after the 1997 season. Which is exactly what happened in Atlanta where Lofton stayed for that one season.

But in another twist of fate, it would be the Cleveland Indians who would sign Lofton to a “return home” deal. He would have four more productive years with the Indians before his career would begin to wind down, and after playing with a string of teams before coming back to Cleveland again for one final season in 2007.

What’s He Doing Today

Game 1 of the 2016 World Series saw Lofton returning to Cleveland once again as the Indians gave him the honor of throwing out the first pitch to get the Series underway.

Beyond that, he is now a film producer who earned a degree in studio production at the University of Arizona while playing minor league baseball for the Houston Astros. He credits his post-MLB success, as owner of FilmPool, Inc., to that education

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