We continue our offseason project with a look at the Cleveland Indians all-time 25-man roster.
Professional baseball has been played in Cleveland for more than 140 years, but the franchise currently located in Cleveland came into existence in 1901. That was the year Ban Johnson elevated the Western League to the American League, claiming major league status in a bid to compete with the National League. Cleveland is one of four Charter AL clubs, along with Chicago, Boston, and Detroit. Cleveland, in fact, played the first game in AL history against Chicago on April 24, 1901.
According to Cleveland’s history overview at MLB.com, the team was known as the Blues in 1901 and the Broncos in 1902. In 1903, the team became known as the Naps, named after their star second baseman, Napoleon Lajoie, who was one of the league’s best players in those early years. When Lajoie left the team after the 1914 season, they had another name change.
The legend goes that the team that came to be known as the Indians was named in honor of a former player named Chief Sockalexis, who was an American Indian. As with many baseball legends, like Abner Doubleday inventing baseball at Cooperstown, there is much doubt that the Indians were named in honor of Sockalexis. Joe Posnasnki has written many times about the “Indians” nickname and, as he writes of its origin, “The truth is not exactly in the middle either; it sort of floats from side to side like a balloon dancing in the wind.”
Nap Lajoie was the dominant position player on those early Cleveland teams. The team’s best pitcher during this time was Addie Joss. Despite some talent, the team didn’t make the post-season until 1920. They won the World Series that year over the Brooklyn Robins.
After that first post-season appearance and World Series victory, it would be another 28 years until the Cleveland faithful could root for their team in the post-season again. During this stretch from 1921 to 1947, the team finished within 10 games of first place just three times.
After a generation of anguish, the 1948 World Series team was the prize at the bottom of the Cracker Jack box. They won 97 games, with the final game being the first-ever one-game playoff in the American League. Player-manager Lou Boudreau hit two home runs in the contest and Gene Bearden won his 20th game of the season. Adding the cherry on top of the sundae, Cleveland went on to win the World Series in six games over the Boston Braves.
After winning the second (and last, so far) World Series in team history, Cleveland didn’t have to wait long to get back to the Fall Classic. They won an incredible 111 games in 1954, beating out the 103-win New York Yankees. This was the only time in a 10-year stretch that a team other than the Yankees represented the American League in the World Series. Unfortunately, Cleveland was swept in the World Series by the New York Giants.
The 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s were bleak years for Cleveland baseball. From 1960 to 1993, they finished as high as third place just one time in 34 years. They were near the bottom of the standings most years and the team and city became the butt of numerous jokes, especially after the Cuyahoga River caught on fire in 1969. They also held a Ten Cent Beer Night in 1974 that turned to total chaos when inebriated fans stormed the field armed with anything that wasn’t bolted down and the team had to forfeit.
Near the end of this ugly stretch, the 1986 Cleveland team surprised many when they won 84 games. It was just their fourth winning season since 1968. Sports Illustrated was so excited by the team’s 24-game improvement that they put the Chief Wahoo logo on the cover, along with Joe Carter and Cory Snyder, and proclaimed, “Believe it! Cleveland is the Best Team in the American League”. Then the season started and, yeah, they most definitely were not the best team in the American League. The 1987 team went 61-101 and finished in dead last, 37 games out.
The rest of the 80s were similarly bleak. The brightest spot in Cleveland baseball during this stretch was when the movie “Major League” came out. It was the most entertaining baseball seen in Cleveland in years.
After decades without much success, the baseball diehards in Cleveland were rewarded for their patience in the mid-90s. With sluggers Jim Thome, Albert Belle, a young Manny Ramirez, and speedy Kenny Lofton, the team made the playoffs six times in seven years from 1995 to 2001. Twice they made it the World Series, only to lose, but the overall stretch was the most successful period in the history of Cleveland baseball.
Over the last 10 years, Cleveland has made the post-season three times. They made it all the way to the American League Championship Series in 2007, only to lose to the Boston Red Sox in seven games. They also lost the one-game Wild Card playoff in 2013.
Last year, though, it all came together once again. Cleveland won the AL Central by eight games, then swept the Red Sox in the ALDS. They took down the Toronto Blue Jays in five games in the ALCS and got off to a three games to one lead in the World Series against the Chicago Cubs. Of course, they couldn’t hold the lead. They lost Games 5 and 6, then were dealt a heartbreaking defeat in a 10-inning Game 7, despite the best efforts of Rajai Davis, who hit a game-tying home run in the bottom of the eighth. They were oh so close, only to be denied. It was a very Cleveland moment.
Here is the Cleveland Indians all-time 25-man roster.