It's one of those crazy situations that many more people will probably remember attending than actually were really there! I'm sure you were one of the 4000 or so in attendance; well maybe more since it was July; and of course I can get the attendance in that online box score too. But I can swear I remember Sam taking the throw at 2nd, jumping on the bag and scampering away as fast as possible.
I was already a college kid home after my freshman year; sitting as always I'm sure in the lower reserved between home and 1st, about half the way back; right below the ramp from the press box so we could yell up there "Hi Herb" when we took a break.
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7457BA writer today lists the "20 most interesting" MLB players in 2020 including:
Mike Clevinger, Indians. Limited to 21 starts last season, Clevinger was one of the best starters in baseball on a per-inning basis. He can make the same leap Gerrit Cole did a year ago.
Mike Clevinger, Indians. Limited to 21 starts last season, Clevinger was one of the best starters in baseball on a per-inning basis. He can make the same leap Gerrit Cole did a year ago.
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7458Trade tree: Before and after the deal that sparked the Indians’ ’90s renaissance
By Zack Meisel Apr 1, 2020 8
The signature trade that sparked the Indians ’90s renaissance was finalized more than four years before the team’s on-field fortunes actually improved.
Joe Carter batted third or fourth in every game for the Indians in 1989. He smacked 35 home runs. And then, Hank Peters and John Hart crossed their fingers and sent him on his merry way for a couple of unproven prospects.
The trade signaled the start of a commitment to building a talented roster from the ground up, through the farm system, the grand vision ultimately coinciding with the opening of a shiny new ballpark. Now, to even obtain Carter required a series of trades and transactions that can be traced to 1969, a quarter-century before the Indians emerged as a viable American League contender.
This trade tree is more of a messy weeping willow than a neat pine.
Step 1
Dec. 9, 1981: Indians trade Jack Fimple, Jorge Orta and Larry White to the Dodgers for Rick Sutcliffe and Jack Perconte
The Indians drafted Fimple (1980, 29th round) and White (1979, 31st round) and signed Orta as a free agent (December 1979). Then, they packaged all three in exchange for a Dodgers hurler who had captured NL Rookie of the Year honors two years earlier. Sutcliffe led AL starters in ERA in his first season in Cleveland and earned an All-Star nod in his second. His third year with the Indians? Well, we’ll get to that. You might want to prepare yourself a cocktail.
June 6, 1983: Indians trade Rick Manning and Rick Waits to the Brewers for Ernie Camacho, Gorman Thomas and Jamie Easterly
The Indians had signed Waits as a free agent a year and a half earlier. Long before he became a staple on Indians TV broadcasts, Manning was the second overall selection in the 1972 draft. He spent his first nine major-league seasons with the Indians. He won a Gold Glove award in 1976 and secured the final out of Len Barker’s perfect game in 1981.
Camacho and Easterly each pitched for the Indians from 1983-87. Easterly posted a 4.04 ERA in that stretch and then retired. Camacho recorded a 2.43 ERA with 23 saves in 1984, but arm injuries derailed his career. He logged more than 18 innings in only one other season (1986) after that standout year.
Dec. 7, 1983: Indians trade Jack Perconte and Gorman Thomas to the Mariners for Tony Bernazard
This deal involved two pieces the Indians had acquired in the aforementioned trades and landed the club Bernazard, a native of Caguas, Puerto Rico — also Francisco Lindor’s hometown — who served as Cleveland’s second baseman for three and a half years.
July 15, 1987: Indians trade Tony Bernazard to the Athletics for Brian Dorsett and Darrel Akerfelds
Akerfelds made 16 appearances for the Indians in 1987, and the Rangers plucked him from the organization in the Rule 5 Draft the following year.
Dorsett totaled 12 plate appearances with the Indians in 1987. Overall, he played in 163 games in eight seasons with six teams.
June 7, 1988: Indians trade Brian Dorsett to the Angels for Colby Ward
Ward registered 22 outings in a two-month span for the Indians in 1990, the only big-league action of his career.
Now that we’ve covered the branches stemming from the first significant trade, let’s back up.
Feb. 5, 1984: Indians trade Toby Harrah and Rick Browne to the Yankees for George Frazier, Otis Nixon and Guy Elston
The Indians had acquired Harrah from the Rangers in December 1978 in exchange for Buddy Bell, whom the club drafted in the 16th round in 1969. Harrah was an All-Star in 1982, when he batted .304 with 25 home runs and an .888 OPS while appearing in all 162 games. Eighteen years later, Harrah joined the Indians’ coaching staff, replacing, of all people, Bell.
The Indians drafted Browne in the eighth round in 1983; he never advanced beyond A-ball. Elston pitched in the minors for the Indians for two years. Nixon spent four seasons with Cleveland. Years later, he blossomed into one of the league’s better base-stealers.
Joe Carter spent six seasons in Cleveland. (Getty Images)
Step 2
June 13, 1984: Indians trade Rick Sutcliffe, George Frazier and Ron Hassey to the Cubs for Joe Carter, Mel Hall, Don Schulze and Darryl Banks
Sutcliffe scuffled through his first 15 starts of the 1984 campaign. The Indians traded him to the Cubs. And in 20 starts with Chicago that year, Sutcliffe went 16-1 with a 2.69 ERA. His strikeout rate soared. He sliced his walk rate in half. He hit rate plummeted like a washed-up pop artist. And, despite spending more than one-third of the season in the AL, Sutcliffe captured the NL Cy Young Award.
If that isn’t an “Only in Cleveland” moment …
The Indians did add some thump to their lineup. Carter developed into a keystone of Pat Corrales’ batting order. After Carter batted .302 with 29 home runs, 29 stolen bases and an .849 OPS in 1986 — good for ninth in the AL MVP balloting — he and Cory Snyder graced the cover of Sports Illustrated the following spring. A declaration that “Cleveland is the best team in the American League,” as presented on that magazine cover, segued into a 1-10 start and, ultimately, a 61-101 showing in 1987.
OK, so perhaps that’s the better “Only in Cleveland” example.
Banks never pitched professionally after the 1984 season. Schulze spent parts of three seasons in the Indians’ rotation before the team flipped him to the Mets for outfielder Ricky Nelson.
March 19, 1989: Indians trade Mel Hall to the Yankees for Joel Skinner and Turner Ward
Hall had run-ins with, well, just about everybody, including reporters who, to this day, occasionally reflect on the times they nearly ended up broken in two at the bottom of his locker. He was an everyday outfielder for the Indians from 1986-88. Now, he’s serving a 45-year prison sentence after a conviction of aggravated sexual assault and indecency with a child.
Skinner spent the last six seasons of his career with the Indians, though he never played in the majors after 1991. He eventually coached in the Cleveland system for more than a decade, including a brief stint as interim manager after the club canned Charlie Manuel in 2002. Skinner’s first series as skipper included two walk-off wins against the Yankees, including Bill Selby’s grand slam off Mariano Rivera.
June 27, 1991: Indians trade Turner Ward and Tom Candiotti to the Blue Jays for Glenallen Hill, Mark Whiten and Denis Boucher
Ward played his first two major-league seasons with Cleveland en route to a 12-year career. He has since served as hitting coach for the Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Reds.
Boucher made 13 appearances for the Indians in 1991-92. He posted a 7.07 ERA. The Rockies grabbed him in the expansion draft in November 1992.
March 31, 1993: Indians trade Mark Whiten to the Cardinals for Mark Clark and Juan Andujar
About five months later, Whiten, in the midst of a 25-homer season, matched a major-league record with four home runs in a game. Whiten eventually returned to the Indians’ organization from 1998-2000.
Aug. 19, 1993: Indians trade Glenallen Hill to the Cubs for Candy Maldonado
Maldonado’s second stint with Cleveland lasted a little more than a year. Several players, including Carlos Baerga and Sandy Alomar Jr., credit Maldonado for guiding the club’s young players as the team transitioned into a winner. Two weeks after the Maldonado trade, Manny Ramirez notched his first major-league hit: a ground-rule double that caromed off the warning track and into the left-field seats at Yankee Stadium. Ramirez thought he had clubbed a home run, so he trotted past second base. Once he realized his gaffe, he retreated to second. Maldonado, leaning out of the dugout, held up two fingers, light-heartedly informing Ramirez how many bases a player earns on a double. Ramirez socked a pair of home runs later in the game. No one was laughing at his home run trot on those occasions.
Hill played for seven teams during his 13-year career. He smacked a home run onto the rooftop of a Waveland Avenue building beyond Wrigley Field on May 11, 2000.
March 31, 1996: Indians trade Mark Clark to the Mets for Ryan Thompson and Reid Cornelius
Clark went 11-3 with a 3.82 ERA for the Indians in 1994. He authored a masterpiece in his Cleveland debut and he recorded three complete games in a span of four starts that May. He routinely dodged harm, even though he walked 40 and struck out only 60 and he surrendered more than a hit per inning that season. His fortunes soured in 1995, and he didn’t pitch for the team during its run to the World Series.
Cornelius spent the 1996 season at Triple-A and then signed with the Marlins.
June 5, 1997: Indians trade Ryan Thompson to the Blue Jays for Jeff Manto
Manto was like a boomerang. Every time the Indians tossed him elsewhere, he found his way back to Cleveland. He broke into the majors with the Indians in 1990 and then returned from 1997-2000, though he bounced around to the Tigers, Yankees and Rockies during that stretch. In all, he logged 120 of his 289 career games with the Indians.
Thompson appeared in eight contests with Cleveland in September 1996.
OK, that covers the branches stemming from the second significant part of this trade tree. Now, for the signature deal.
Sandy Alomar and Carlos Baerga. (Jason Miller / Getty Images)
Step 3
Dec. 6, 1989: Indians trade Joe Carter to the Padres for Sandy Alomar Jr., Carlos Baerga and Chris James
This is the trade that laid the foundation for the Indians’ emergence in the ‘90s, the most revealing evidence that signaled a commitment to a complete roster reconstruction.
Alomar knew his path to the majors was blocked by fellow Puerto Rican catcher Benito Santiago, who was the 1987 NL Rookie of the Year, a Gold Glove Award winner, a Silver Slugger Award winner and an All-Star.
“I was expecting to be traded,” Alomar said, “and I was.”
Alomar earned September promotions in 1988 and ’89 with San Diego. He bloomed into the AL Rookie of the Year for the Indians in 1990, on his way to six All-Star Game nods and a spot in the Indians Hall of Fame (a feat Baerga also achieved). Baerga debuted for the Indians in 1990 and excelled from 1992-95 when he batted .315 with an .827 OPS, 75 homers and 120 doubles.
In exchange for Carter, the Indians acquired two core pieces who combined to play 19 seasons with the franchise. Oh, and they also obtained James, who set a club record with 9 RBIs in a game in Oakland on May 4, 1991. (Lonnie Chisenhall would tie that mark 23 years later on a June evening in Arlington, Texas.)
The trade tree didn’t end with that seismic swap, though. Here’s what followed:
July 29, 1996: Indians trade Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza to the Mets for Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino
Baerga’s numbers tumbled in 1996, which opened a revolving door at second base that persisted until Roberto Alomar joined his brother in Cleveland prior to the 1999 season. Vizcaino received the bulk of the playing time for the final two months in 1996, with some Kent and some Casey Candaele sprinkled in. (For the trivia buffs: Geronimo Peña also made one start at second base.)
Kent developed into one of the most productive offensive second basemen of all-time… but not in Cleveland. Baerga’s career never rebounded, as he bounced around to the Mets, Diamondbacks, Nationals, Red Sox and Padres. He returned to Cleveland for a brief stint in 1999, too. Since his playing career ended, though, Baerga has been a fixture in the Indians’ organization as an instructor and a fan ambassador.
Nov. 13, 1996: Indians trade Jeff Kent, Jose Vizcaino, Julian Tavarez and Joe Roa to the Giants for Matt Williams and Trent Hubbard
With this trade, the Indians shifted Jim Thome across the diamond and plugged in Williams at the hot corner. Williams was a four-time All-Star and a three-time Gold Glove Award winner. He posted a 1.054 OPS during the 1997 World Series.
Dec. 1, 1997: Indians trade Matt Williams to the Diamondbacks for Travis Fryman and Tom Martin
Following Williams’ lone season in Cleveland, Fryman handled third base for the Indians for the ensuing five years. In 2000, Fryman, Omar Vizquel and Roberto Alomar gave the Indians three Gold Glove Award-winning infielders.
And just for fun, take a look at Fryman’s consistent numbers during the two chapters of his big-league career.
With the Tigers, 1990-97: .274/.334/.444
With the Indians, 1998-02: .275/.339/.440
Fryman, who has coached in the Indians’ organization for more than a decade, retired after the 2002 season, bringing this complex trade tree to its demise.
By Zack Meisel Apr 1, 2020 8
The signature trade that sparked the Indians ’90s renaissance was finalized more than four years before the team’s on-field fortunes actually improved.
Joe Carter batted third or fourth in every game for the Indians in 1989. He smacked 35 home runs. And then, Hank Peters and John Hart crossed their fingers and sent him on his merry way for a couple of unproven prospects.
The trade signaled the start of a commitment to building a talented roster from the ground up, through the farm system, the grand vision ultimately coinciding with the opening of a shiny new ballpark. Now, to even obtain Carter required a series of trades and transactions that can be traced to 1969, a quarter-century before the Indians emerged as a viable American League contender.
This trade tree is more of a messy weeping willow than a neat pine.
Step 1
Dec. 9, 1981: Indians trade Jack Fimple, Jorge Orta and Larry White to the Dodgers for Rick Sutcliffe and Jack Perconte
The Indians drafted Fimple (1980, 29th round) and White (1979, 31st round) and signed Orta as a free agent (December 1979). Then, they packaged all three in exchange for a Dodgers hurler who had captured NL Rookie of the Year honors two years earlier. Sutcliffe led AL starters in ERA in his first season in Cleveland and earned an All-Star nod in his second. His third year with the Indians? Well, we’ll get to that. You might want to prepare yourself a cocktail.
June 6, 1983: Indians trade Rick Manning and Rick Waits to the Brewers for Ernie Camacho, Gorman Thomas and Jamie Easterly
The Indians had signed Waits as a free agent a year and a half earlier. Long before he became a staple on Indians TV broadcasts, Manning was the second overall selection in the 1972 draft. He spent his first nine major-league seasons with the Indians. He won a Gold Glove award in 1976 and secured the final out of Len Barker’s perfect game in 1981.
Camacho and Easterly each pitched for the Indians from 1983-87. Easterly posted a 4.04 ERA in that stretch and then retired. Camacho recorded a 2.43 ERA with 23 saves in 1984, but arm injuries derailed his career. He logged more than 18 innings in only one other season (1986) after that standout year.
Dec. 7, 1983: Indians trade Jack Perconte and Gorman Thomas to the Mariners for Tony Bernazard
This deal involved two pieces the Indians had acquired in the aforementioned trades and landed the club Bernazard, a native of Caguas, Puerto Rico — also Francisco Lindor’s hometown — who served as Cleveland’s second baseman for three and a half years.
July 15, 1987: Indians trade Tony Bernazard to the Athletics for Brian Dorsett and Darrel Akerfelds
Akerfelds made 16 appearances for the Indians in 1987, and the Rangers plucked him from the organization in the Rule 5 Draft the following year.
Dorsett totaled 12 plate appearances with the Indians in 1987. Overall, he played in 163 games in eight seasons with six teams.
June 7, 1988: Indians trade Brian Dorsett to the Angels for Colby Ward
Ward registered 22 outings in a two-month span for the Indians in 1990, the only big-league action of his career.
Now that we’ve covered the branches stemming from the first significant trade, let’s back up.
Feb. 5, 1984: Indians trade Toby Harrah and Rick Browne to the Yankees for George Frazier, Otis Nixon and Guy Elston
The Indians had acquired Harrah from the Rangers in December 1978 in exchange for Buddy Bell, whom the club drafted in the 16th round in 1969. Harrah was an All-Star in 1982, when he batted .304 with 25 home runs and an .888 OPS while appearing in all 162 games. Eighteen years later, Harrah joined the Indians’ coaching staff, replacing, of all people, Bell.
The Indians drafted Browne in the eighth round in 1983; he never advanced beyond A-ball. Elston pitched in the minors for the Indians for two years. Nixon spent four seasons with Cleveland. Years later, he blossomed into one of the league’s better base-stealers.
Joe Carter spent six seasons in Cleveland. (Getty Images)
Step 2
June 13, 1984: Indians trade Rick Sutcliffe, George Frazier and Ron Hassey to the Cubs for Joe Carter, Mel Hall, Don Schulze and Darryl Banks
Sutcliffe scuffled through his first 15 starts of the 1984 campaign. The Indians traded him to the Cubs. And in 20 starts with Chicago that year, Sutcliffe went 16-1 with a 2.69 ERA. His strikeout rate soared. He sliced his walk rate in half. He hit rate plummeted like a washed-up pop artist. And, despite spending more than one-third of the season in the AL, Sutcliffe captured the NL Cy Young Award.
If that isn’t an “Only in Cleveland” moment …
The Indians did add some thump to their lineup. Carter developed into a keystone of Pat Corrales’ batting order. After Carter batted .302 with 29 home runs, 29 stolen bases and an .849 OPS in 1986 — good for ninth in the AL MVP balloting — he and Cory Snyder graced the cover of Sports Illustrated the following spring. A declaration that “Cleveland is the best team in the American League,” as presented on that magazine cover, segued into a 1-10 start and, ultimately, a 61-101 showing in 1987.
OK, so perhaps that’s the better “Only in Cleveland” example.
Banks never pitched professionally after the 1984 season. Schulze spent parts of three seasons in the Indians’ rotation before the team flipped him to the Mets for outfielder Ricky Nelson.
March 19, 1989: Indians trade Mel Hall to the Yankees for Joel Skinner and Turner Ward
Hall had run-ins with, well, just about everybody, including reporters who, to this day, occasionally reflect on the times they nearly ended up broken in two at the bottom of his locker. He was an everyday outfielder for the Indians from 1986-88. Now, he’s serving a 45-year prison sentence after a conviction of aggravated sexual assault and indecency with a child.
Skinner spent the last six seasons of his career with the Indians, though he never played in the majors after 1991. He eventually coached in the Cleveland system for more than a decade, including a brief stint as interim manager after the club canned Charlie Manuel in 2002. Skinner’s first series as skipper included two walk-off wins against the Yankees, including Bill Selby’s grand slam off Mariano Rivera.
June 27, 1991: Indians trade Turner Ward and Tom Candiotti to the Blue Jays for Glenallen Hill, Mark Whiten and Denis Boucher
Ward played his first two major-league seasons with Cleveland en route to a 12-year career. He has since served as hitting coach for the Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Reds.
Boucher made 13 appearances for the Indians in 1991-92. He posted a 7.07 ERA. The Rockies grabbed him in the expansion draft in November 1992.
March 31, 1993: Indians trade Mark Whiten to the Cardinals for Mark Clark and Juan Andujar
About five months later, Whiten, in the midst of a 25-homer season, matched a major-league record with four home runs in a game. Whiten eventually returned to the Indians’ organization from 1998-2000.
Aug. 19, 1993: Indians trade Glenallen Hill to the Cubs for Candy Maldonado
Maldonado’s second stint with Cleveland lasted a little more than a year. Several players, including Carlos Baerga and Sandy Alomar Jr., credit Maldonado for guiding the club’s young players as the team transitioned into a winner. Two weeks after the Maldonado trade, Manny Ramirez notched his first major-league hit: a ground-rule double that caromed off the warning track and into the left-field seats at Yankee Stadium. Ramirez thought he had clubbed a home run, so he trotted past second base. Once he realized his gaffe, he retreated to second. Maldonado, leaning out of the dugout, held up two fingers, light-heartedly informing Ramirez how many bases a player earns on a double. Ramirez socked a pair of home runs later in the game. No one was laughing at his home run trot on those occasions.
Hill played for seven teams during his 13-year career. He smacked a home run onto the rooftop of a Waveland Avenue building beyond Wrigley Field on May 11, 2000.
March 31, 1996: Indians trade Mark Clark to the Mets for Ryan Thompson and Reid Cornelius
Clark went 11-3 with a 3.82 ERA for the Indians in 1994. He authored a masterpiece in his Cleveland debut and he recorded three complete games in a span of four starts that May. He routinely dodged harm, even though he walked 40 and struck out only 60 and he surrendered more than a hit per inning that season. His fortunes soured in 1995, and he didn’t pitch for the team during its run to the World Series.
Cornelius spent the 1996 season at Triple-A and then signed with the Marlins.
June 5, 1997: Indians trade Ryan Thompson to the Blue Jays for Jeff Manto
Manto was like a boomerang. Every time the Indians tossed him elsewhere, he found his way back to Cleveland. He broke into the majors with the Indians in 1990 and then returned from 1997-2000, though he bounced around to the Tigers, Yankees and Rockies during that stretch. In all, he logged 120 of his 289 career games with the Indians.
Thompson appeared in eight contests with Cleveland in September 1996.
OK, that covers the branches stemming from the second significant part of this trade tree. Now, for the signature deal.
Sandy Alomar and Carlos Baerga. (Jason Miller / Getty Images)
Step 3
Dec. 6, 1989: Indians trade Joe Carter to the Padres for Sandy Alomar Jr., Carlos Baerga and Chris James
This is the trade that laid the foundation for the Indians’ emergence in the ‘90s, the most revealing evidence that signaled a commitment to a complete roster reconstruction.
Alomar knew his path to the majors was blocked by fellow Puerto Rican catcher Benito Santiago, who was the 1987 NL Rookie of the Year, a Gold Glove Award winner, a Silver Slugger Award winner and an All-Star.
“I was expecting to be traded,” Alomar said, “and I was.”
Alomar earned September promotions in 1988 and ’89 with San Diego. He bloomed into the AL Rookie of the Year for the Indians in 1990, on his way to six All-Star Game nods and a spot in the Indians Hall of Fame (a feat Baerga also achieved). Baerga debuted for the Indians in 1990 and excelled from 1992-95 when he batted .315 with an .827 OPS, 75 homers and 120 doubles.
In exchange for Carter, the Indians acquired two core pieces who combined to play 19 seasons with the franchise. Oh, and they also obtained James, who set a club record with 9 RBIs in a game in Oakland on May 4, 1991. (Lonnie Chisenhall would tie that mark 23 years later on a June evening in Arlington, Texas.)
The trade tree didn’t end with that seismic swap, though. Here’s what followed:
July 29, 1996: Indians trade Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza to the Mets for Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino
Baerga’s numbers tumbled in 1996, which opened a revolving door at second base that persisted until Roberto Alomar joined his brother in Cleveland prior to the 1999 season. Vizcaino received the bulk of the playing time for the final two months in 1996, with some Kent and some Casey Candaele sprinkled in. (For the trivia buffs: Geronimo Peña also made one start at second base.)
Kent developed into one of the most productive offensive second basemen of all-time… but not in Cleveland. Baerga’s career never rebounded, as he bounced around to the Mets, Diamondbacks, Nationals, Red Sox and Padres. He returned to Cleveland for a brief stint in 1999, too. Since his playing career ended, though, Baerga has been a fixture in the Indians’ organization as an instructor and a fan ambassador.
Nov. 13, 1996: Indians trade Jeff Kent, Jose Vizcaino, Julian Tavarez and Joe Roa to the Giants for Matt Williams and Trent Hubbard
With this trade, the Indians shifted Jim Thome across the diamond and plugged in Williams at the hot corner. Williams was a four-time All-Star and a three-time Gold Glove Award winner. He posted a 1.054 OPS during the 1997 World Series.
Dec. 1, 1997: Indians trade Matt Williams to the Diamondbacks for Travis Fryman and Tom Martin
Following Williams’ lone season in Cleveland, Fryman handled third base for the Indians for the ensuing five years. In 2000, Fryman, Omar Vizquel and Roberto Alomar gave the Indians three Gold Glove Award-winning infielders.
And just for fun, take a look at Fryman’s consistent numbers during the two chapters of his big-league career.
With the Tigers, 1990-97: .274/.334/.444
With the Indians, 1998-02: .275/.339/.440
Fryman, who has coached in the Indians’ organization for more than a decade, retired after the 2002 season, bringing this complex trade tree to its demise.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
Re: Articles
7459Lots of names to follow in there; I kept checking to see if the Indians origin of each traded player was described. The only one I don't see accounted for was Joe Roa:
Traded by the New York Mets with Jeromy Burnitz to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later, Paul Byrd, Jerry Dipoto and Dave Mlicki. The Cleveland Indians sent Jesus Azuaje (minors) (December 6, 1994) to the New York Mets to complete the trade. Since these guys are all Indians minor league products, I don't think we need to go back any farther
Traded by the New York Mets with Jeromy Burnitz to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later, Paul Byrd, Jerry Dipoto and Dave Mlicki. The Cleveland Indians sent Jesus Azuaje (minors) (December 6, 1994) to the New York Mets to complete the trade. Since these guys are all Indians minor league products, I don't think we need to go back any farther
Re: Articles
7460The 25 best offensive seasons in Cleveland Indians history
By Zack Meisel Apr 3, 2020 28
When aiming to identify the golden standard for offensive seasons in Indians history, look no further than Jamie Quirk’s flawless 1984 performance.
His OPS for the Indians that year? A cool 5.000.
Granted, he only recorded one plate appearance. He hit a home run. That’s good for a 1.000 batting average, a 1.000 on-base percentage and a 4.000 slugging percentage. He essentially walked into a bustling casino, pulled $100 from his pocket, wagered it on one hand, hit blackjack and left.
Despite his gaudy statistics, Quirk’s season can’t actually qualify for the title of greatest in team history. There needs to be some quantity to support that quality.
We’re sifting through 120 years of Indians baseball to find the 25 best player seasons. That will surely leave some snubs.
For example: Albert Belle’s 1996 campaign, when he posted a .311/.410/.623 slash line and hit 48 homers and 38 doubles? Yeah, that didn’t make the cut.
Some of the old-timers’ efforts make this task exponentially difficult. Tris Speaker, Earl Averill, Shoeless Joe Jackson and others had some sterling seasons in a bygone era. Speaker and Jackson own the top six spots on the club’s on-base percentage leaderboard. Then again, the ‘90s sluggers produced a ton of showy statistics as well. Ramirez, Jim Thome and Albert Belle occupy the top six spots on the team’s single-season home run leaderboard.
A couple of guidelines:
1. Everything’s relative. The era matters. No one swung for the fences until Babe Ruth barged into the big leagues, so, no, Nap Lajoie’s home run totals aren’t going to mirror Travis Hafner’s power displays. We’ll use OPS+ and wRC+ on occasion to assess how players compared to their peers during their particular season.
2. The more games, the better. Belle’s 1994 season would have soared toward the top of this list had a players strike not limited him to 106 games. It’s not his fault, and some of those numbers sparkle more than the ones he registered the following year, but it’s a necessary step to take to maintain an even playing field in this exercise.
3. This caused plenty of brain pain to assemble. Feel free to list your own rankings in the comments. No hard feelings.
But first, some of the worst
John Gochnaur, 1902: .185/.247/.237 slash line, zero homers in 459 at-bats, 37 OPS+ (he followed up this season with a .185/.265/.240 clip in 1903)
Bill Wambsganss, 1915: .195/.272/.227, zero homers in 375 at-bats, 49 OPS+
Steve O’Neill, 1917: .184/.272/.222, zero homers in 370 at-bats, 47 OPS+
Tom Veryzer, 1979: .220/.279/.254, zero homers in 449 at-bats, 46 OPS+
Einar Diaz, 2002: .206/.258/.294, 47 OPS+
Brandon Phillips, 2003: .208/.242/.311, 48 OPS+
Luis Valbuena, 2010: .193/.273/.258, 50 OPS+
Honorable mention
George Burns, 1926: .358/.394/.494, led the league with 216 hits and 64 doubles (a franchise record), won the MVP award
Ed Morgan, 1930: .349/.413/.601, 84 extra-base hits, 136 RBIs
Earl Averill, 1931: .333/.404/.576, 36 doubles, 32 homers
Earl Averill, 1934: .313/.414/.569, 48 doubles, 31 homers
Joe Vosmik, 1935: .348/.408/.537, led the league with 216 hits, 47 doubles and 20 triples
Jeff Heath, 1941: .340/.396/.586, 32 doubles, 20 triples, 24 homers, 123 RBIs
Albert Belle, 1996: .311/.410/.623, 48 homers, 38 doubles, 99 walks to 87 strikeouts
Roberto Alomar, 2001: .336/.415/.541, 34 doubles, 20 homers, 12 triples, 30 stolen bases (his 1999 season is right on par with this one, too)
Jim Thome, 2001: .291/.416/.624, 49 homers, 26 doubles, 111 walks
25. Joe Sewell, 1923
Slash line: .353/.456/.479 (146 OPS+)
Notable: 41 doubles, fourth in MVP voting, 98 walks and only 12 strikeouts
Eight hitters drew 98 or more walks in 2019. They averaged 136 strikeouts, 11.5 times Sewell’s total in 1923.
24. Tito Francona, 1959
Slash line: .363/.414/.566 (171 OPS+)
Notable: Hit 20 homers and only struck out 42 times but was limited to 122 games
Francona finished fifth in the MVP balloting. Compare his slash line to his career clip: .272/.343/.403.
23. Kenny Lofton, 1994
Slash line: .349/.412/.536 (145 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league with 160 hits and 60 stolen bases, fourth in the MVP voting
The base-stealing gives Lofton a boost here and imagine his totals had a players strike not cost him the final 49 games of the season.
22. Jim Thome, 1996
Slash line: .311/.450/.612 (167 OPS+)
Notable: 38 homers, 116 RBIs, 122 runs scored, 123 walks
Incredibly, Thome spent the first half of the season in the lower part of Mike Hargrove’s batting order. (He batted eighth in 12 games!)
21. Hal Trosky, 1936
Slash line: .343/.382/.644 (146 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league with 162 RBIs, franchise-record 405 total bases, 96 extra-base hits
Trosky became the first player in team history to record 40+ homers and doubles in a season, a club no other Indians hitter would join until 1995. His 42 homers remained the franchise record until 1953.
Manny Ramirez routinely produced at the plate for the Indians, even with his jersey untucked. (Getty Images)
20. Manny Ramirez, 2000
Slash line: .351/.457/.697 (186 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in slugging and OPS, totaled 38 homers and 34 doubles and created runs at a weighted rate 81 percent better than the league average (wRC+)
Ramirez clobbered every pitch in sight during his final season in Cleveland, though he was limited to 118 games, which costs him at least a few spots on this list. No worries, though, this won’t be his only entry.
19. Albert Belle, 1994
Slash line: .357/.438/.714 (194 OPS+)
Notable: Hit 36 homers and 35 doubles and scored 90 runs, ranked in the top three in the AL in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, homers and RBIs
This season would challenge for the top spot if not for the strike; Belle appeared in only 106 games. Otherwise, he might have had back-to-back 50/50 seasons. He finished third in the MVP voting.
18. Earl Averill, 1936
Slash line: .378/.438/.627 (157 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league with 232 hits and 15 triples, hit 28 homers and 39 doubles, finished third in the MVP voting
His hit total ranks second in franchise history, one behind the record — we’ll get to that in a bit.
17. Tris Speaker, 1925
Slash line: .389/.479/.578 (166 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in on-base percentage, ranked third in the majors in batting average, behind Rogers Hornsby (.403) and Harry Heilmann (.393)
Speaker tallied as many home runs (12) as strikeouts. He had better seasons than this. A bunch of them.
16. Rocky Colavito, 1958
Slash line: .303/.405/.620 (180 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in slugging percentage, clubbed 41 homers, tallied 84 walks and 89 strikeouts
Colavito finished third in the MVP voting and fourth the following year. And then, in April 1960, the Indians traded him to Detroit.
15. Shoeless Joe Jackson, 1913
Slash line: .373/.460/.551 (192 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in slugging, OPS, hits (197) and doubles (39), stole 35 bases
The third of Jackson’s unparalleled three-year stretch in Cleveland. His 1914 season was exceptional, too, though not quite up to the standard he had set.
14. Tris Speaker, 1920
Slash line: .388/.483/.562 (172 OPS+)
Notable: Racked up 214 hits, led the league with 50 doubles
Speaker spurred the Indians to 98 wins and the franchise’s first championship.
13. Travis Hafner, 2006
Slash line: .308/.439/.659 (181 OPS+)
Notable: Hit 42 homers and 31 doubles, drew 100 walks and led the league in slugging percentage and OPS
This is one of the more overlooked seasons because the Indians underperformed and Hafner missed the final month because of a broken hand.
12. Tris Speaker, 1922
Slash line: .378/.474/.606 (177 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in on-base percentage and doubles (48)
Speaker struck out only 11 times in 518 plate appearances.
11. Lou Boudreau, 1948
Slash line: .355/.453/.534 (165 OPS+)
Notable: 98 walks and only nine strikeouts (N-I-N-E strikeouts in 676 plate appearances), career highs of 18 homers, 106 RBIs and 116 runs scored, won the MVP award
Just for good measure, Boudreau also served as the Indians’ manager in 1948 and led the club to its most recent World Series triumph.
10. Nap Lajoie, 1910
Slash line: .383/.444/.514 (197 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in hits (227), batting average and doubles (51)
That single-season hit total ranks third in team history.
9. Al Rosen, 1953
Slash line: .336/.422/.613 (180 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league with 43 homers and 145 RBIs and in slugging percentage and OPS
Rosen is the most recent Indians player to capture the MVP award.
8. Manny Ramirez, 1999
Slash line: .333/.442/.663 (174 OPS+)
Notable: Hit 44 homers and 34 doubles and led the league with 165 RBIs, which stands as the franchise record
Ramirez was an imposing force in the league’s best lineup, the only team after 1950 to score 1,000 runs in a season.
7. Nap Lajoie, 1904
Slash line: .376/.413/.546 (203 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, doubles (49) and hits (208)
Lajoie posted a 196 wRC+ in 1904, which remains the franchise record.
Jim Thome is the Indians’ all-time home run leader. (Tommy Gilligan / USA Today)
6. Jim Thome, 2002
Slash line: .304/.445/.677 (197 OPS+)
Notable: Franchise-record 52 homers, led the league in slugging percentage, walks and OPS and led all non-Barry Bonds humans in wRC+ (189)
Thome remains the only player since Rosen in 1953 to crack the franchise’s top-10 leaderboard in single-season offensive WAR, per Baseball-Reference.
5. Shoeless Joe Jackson, 1912
Slash line: .395/.458/.579 (191 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league with 226 hits, 26 triples and 331 total bases
Jackson also racked up 44 doubles and 26 stolen bases.
4. Tris Speaker, 1923
Slash line: .380/.469/.610 (182 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league with 59 doubles and 130 RBIs, scored 133 runs and totaled 93 walks, compared to only 15 strikeouts
Speaker racked up more homers (17) and nearly as many triples (11) as strikeouts.
3. Albert Belle, 1995
Slash line: .317/.401/.690 (177 OPS+)
Notable: Became the only player in big-league history with 50+ homers and doubles in a season, led the league in homers, doubles, runs, RBIs and slugging percentage
Belle earns some extra points for the uniqueness of his accomplishments. He finished second in the MVP balloting, but even Mo Vaughn knows the voting went awry. In the final two months of the season, Belle batted .350 with an .885 slugging percentage, 31 homers and 23 doubles.
2. Tris Speaker, 1916
Slash line: .386/.470/.502 (186 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS+, hits and doubles
In his first season with the Indians, Speaker totaled 211 hits, 41 doubles and 35 stolen bases to go along with a 182 wRC+.
1. Shoeless Joe Jackson, 1911
Slash line: .408/.468/.590 (193 OPS+)
Notable: His 233 hits still stand as the franchise record, and he recorded them in 147 games, to go along with 45 doubles, 19 triples and 41 stolen bases
Jackson actually finished second in the batting title race, behind some guy named Ty Cobb, who hit a career-best .419.
When aiming to identify the golden standard for offensive seasons in Indians history, look no further than Jamie Quirk’s flawless 1984 performance.
His OPS for the Indians that year? A cool 5.000.
Granted, he only recorded one plate appearance. He hit a home run. That’s good for a 1.000 batting average, a 1.000 on-base percentage and a 4.000 slugging percentage. He essentially walked into a bustling casino, pulled $100 from his pocket, wagered it on one hand, hit blackjack and left.
Despite his gaudy statistics, Quirk’s season can’t actually qualify for the title of greatest in team history. There needs to be some quantity to support that quality.
We’re sifting through 120 years of Indians baseball to find the 25 best player seasons. That will surely leave some snubs.
For example: Albert Belle’s 1996 campaign, when he posted a .311/.410/.623 slash line and hit 48 homers and 38 doubles? Yeah, that didn’t make the cut.
Some of the old-timers’ efforts make this task exponentially difficult. Tris Speaker, Earl Averill, Shoeless Joe Jackson and others had some sterling seasons in a bygone era. Speaker and Jackson own the top six spots on the club’s on-base percentage leaderboard. Then again, the ‘90s sluggers produced a ton of showy statistics as well. Ramirez, Jim Thome and Albert Belle occupy the top six spots on the team’s single-season home run leaderboard.
A couple of guidelines:
1. Everything’s relative. The era matters. No one swung for the fences until Babe Ruth barged into the big leagues, so, no, Nap Lajoie’s home run totals aren’t going to mirror Travis Hafner’s power displays. We’ll use OPS+ and wRC+ on occasion to assess how players compared to their peers during their particular season.
2. The more games, the better. Belle’s 1994 season would have soared toward the top of this list had a players strike not limited him to 106 games. It’s not his fault, and some of those numbers sparkle more than the ones he registered the following year, but it’s a necessary step to take to maintain an even playing field in this exercise.
3. This caused plenty of brain pain to assemble. Feel free to list your own rankings in the comments. No hard feelings.
But first, some of the worst
John Gochnaur, 1902: .185/.247/.237 slash line, zero homers in 459 at-bats, 37 OPS+ (he followed up this season with a .185/.265/.240 clip in 1903)
Bill Wambsganss, 1915: .195/.272/.227, zero homers in 375 at-bats, 49 OPS+
Steve O’Neill, 1917: .184/.272/.222, zero homers in 370 at-bats, 47 OPS+
Tom Veryzer, 1979: .220/.279/.254, zero homers in 449 at-bats, 46 OPS+
Einar Diaz, 2002: .206/.258/.294, 47 OPS+
Brandon Phillips, 2003: .208/.242/.311, 48 OPS+
Luis Valbuena, 2010: .193/.273/.258, 50 OPS+
Honorable mention
George Burns, 1926: .358/.394/.494, led the league with 216 hits and 64 doubles (a franchise record), won the MVP award
Ed Morgan, 1930: .349/.413/.601, 84 extra-base hits, 136 RBIs
Earl Averill, 1931: .333/.404/.576, 36 doubles, 32 homers
Earl Averill, 1934: .313/.414/.569, 48 doubles, 31 homers
Joe Vosmik, 1935: .348/.408/.537, led the league with 216 hits, 47 doubles and 20 triples
Jeff Heath, 1941: .340/.396/.586, 32 doubles, 20 triples, 24 homers, 123 RBIs
Albert Belle, 1996: .311/.410/.623, 48 homers, 38 doubles, 99 walks to 87 strikeouts
Roberto Alomar, 2001: .336/.415/.541, 34 doubles, 20 homers, 12 triples, 30 stolen bases (his 1999 season is right on par with this one, too)
Jim Thome, 2001: .291/.416/.624, 49 homers, 26 doubles, 111 walks
25. Joe Sewell, 1923
Slash line: .353/.456/.479 (146 OPS+)
Notable: 41 doubles, fourth in MVP voting, 98 walks and only 12 strikeouts
Eight hitters drew 98 or more walks in 2019. They averaged 136 strikeouts, 11.5 times Sewell’s total in 1923.
24. Tito Francona, 1959
Slash line: .363/.414/.566 (171 OPS+)
Notable: Hit 20 homers and only struck out 42 times but was limited to 122 games
Francona finished fifth in the MVP balloting. Compare his slash line to his career clip: .272/.343/.403.
23. Kenny Lofton, 1994
Slash line: .349/.412/.536 (145 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league with 160 hits and 60 stolen bases, fourth in the MVP voting
The base-stealing gives Lofton a boost here and imagine his totals had a players strike not cost him the final 49 games of the season.
22. Jim Thome, 1996
Slash line: .311/.450/.612 (167 OPS+)
Notable: 38 homers, 116 RBIs, 122 runs scored, 123 walks
Incredibly, Thome spent the first half of the season in the lower part of Mike Hargrove’s batting order. (He batted eighth in 12 games!)
21. Hal Trosky, 1936
Slash line: .343/.382/.644 (146 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league with 162 RBIs, franchise-record 405 total bases, 96 extra-base hits
Trosky became the first player in team history to record 40+ homers and doubles in a season, a club no other Indians hitter would join until 1995. His 42 homers remained the franchise record until 1953.
Manny Ramirez routinely produced at the plate for the Indians, even with his jersey untucked. (Getty Images)
20. Manny Ramirez, 2000
Slash line: .351/.457/.697 (186 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in slugging and OPS, totaled 38 homers and 34 doubles and created runs at a weighted rate 81 percent better than the league average (wRC+)
Ramirez clobbered every pitch in sight during his final season in Cleveland, though he was limited to 118 games, which costs him at least a few spots on this list. No worries, though, this won’t be his only entry.
19. Albert Belle, 1994
Slash line: .357/.438/.714 (194 OPS+)
Notable: Hit 36 homers and 35 doubles and scored 90 runs, ranked in the top three in the AL in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, homers and RBIs
This season would challenge for the top spot if not for the strike; Belle appeared in only 106 games. Otherwise, he might have had back-to-back 50/50 seasons. He finished third in the MVP voting.
18. Earl Averill, 1936
Slash line: .378/.438/.627 (157 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league with 232 hits and 15 triples, hit 28 homers and 39 doubles, finished third in the MVP voting
His hit total ranks second in franchise history, one behind the record — we’ll get to that in a bit.
17. Tris Speaker, 1925
Slash line: .389/.479/.578 (166 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in on-base percentage, ranked third in the majors in batting average, behind Rogers Hornsby (.403) and Harry Heilmann (.393)
Speaker tallied as many home runs (12) as strikeouts. He had better seasons than this. A bunch of them.
16. Rocky Colavito, 1958
Slash line: .303/.405/.620 (180 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in slugging percentage, clubbed 41 homers, tallied 84 walks and 89 strikeouts
Colavito finished third in the MVP voting and fourth the following year. And then, in April 1960, the Indians traded him to Detroit.
15. Shoeless Joe Jackson, 1913
Slash line: .373/.460/.551 (192 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in slugging, OPS, hits (197) and doubles (39), stole 35 bases
The third of Jackson’s unparalleled three-year stretch in Cleveland. His 1914 season was exceptional, too, though not quite up to the standard he had set.
14. Tris Speaker, 1920
Slash line: .388/.483/.562 (172 OPS+)
Notable: Racked up 214 hits, led the league with 50 doubles
Speaker spurred the Indians to 98 wins and the franchise’s first championship.
13. Travis Hafner, 2006
Slash line: .308/.439/.659 (181 OPS+)
Notable: Hit 42 homers and 31 doubles, drew 100 walks and led the league in slugging percentage and OPS
This is one of the more overlooked seasons because the Indians underperformed and Hafner missed the final month because of a broken hand.
12. Tris Speaker, 1922
Slash line: .378/.474/.606 (177 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in on-base percentage and doubles (48)
Speaker struck out only 11 times in 518 plate appearances.
11. Lou Boudreau, 1948
Slash line: .355/.453/.534 (165 OPS+)
Notable: 98 walks and only nine strikeouts (N-I-N-E strikeouts in 676 plate appearances), career highs of 18 homers, 106 RBIs and 116 runs scored, won the MVP award
Just for good measure, Boudreau also served as the Indians’ manager in 1948 and led the club to its most recent World Series triumph.
10. Nap Lajoie, 1910
Slash line: .383/.444/.514 (197 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in hits (227), batting average and doubles (51)
That single-season hit total ranks third in team history.
9. Al Rosen, 1953
Slash line: .336/.422/.613 (180 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league with 43 homers and 145 RBIs and in slugging percentage and OPS
Rosen is the most recent Indians player to capture the MVP award.
8. Manny Ramirez, 1999
Slash line: .333/.442/.663 (174 OPS+)
Notable: Hit 44 homers and 34 doubles and led the league with 165 RBIs, which stands as the franchise record
Ramirez was an imposing force in the league’s best lineup, the only team after 1950 to score 1,000 runs in a season.
7. Nap Lajoie, 1904
Slash line: .376/.413/.546 (203 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, doubles (49) and hits (208)
Lajoie posted a 196 wRC+ in 1904, which remains the franchise record.
Jim Thome is the Indians’ all-time home run leader. (Tommy Gilligan / USA Today)
6. Jim Thome, 2002
Slash line: .304/.445/.677 (197 OPS+)
Notable: Franchise-record 52 homers, led the league in slugging percentage, walks and OPS and led all non-Barry Bonds humans in wRC+ (189)
Thome remains the only player since Rosen in 1953 to crack the franchise’s top-10 leaderboard in single-season offensive WAR, per Baseball-Reference.
5. Shoeless Joe Jackson, 1912
Slash line: .395/.458/.579 (191 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league with 226 hits, 26 triples and 331 total bases
Jackson also racked up 44 doubles and 26 stolen bases.
4. Tris Speaker, 1923
Slash line: .380/.469/.610 (182 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league with 59 doubles and 130 RBIs, scored 133 runs and totaled 93 walks, compared to only 15 strikeouts
Speaker racked up more homers (17) and nearly as many triples (11) as strikeouts.
3. Albert Belle, 1995
Slash line: .317/.401/.690 (177 OPS+)
Notable: Became the only player in big-league history with 50+ homers and doubles in a season, led the league in homers, doubles, runs, RBIs and slugging percentage
Belle earns some extra points for the uniqueness of his accomplishments. He finished second in the MVP balloting, but even Mo Vaughn knows the voting went awry. In the final two months of the season, Belle batted .350 with an .885 slugging percentage, 31 homers and 23 doubles.
2. Tris Speaker, 1916
Slash line: .386/.470/.502 (186 OPS+)
Notable: Led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS+, hits and doubles
In his first season with the Indians, Speaker totaled 211 hits, 41 doubles and 35 stolen bases to go along with a 182 wRC+.
1. Shoeless Joe Jackson, 1911
Slash line: .408/.468/.590 (193 OPS+)
Notable: His 233 hits still stand as the franchise record, and he recorded them in 147 games, to go along with 45 doubles, 19 triples and 41 stolen bases
Jackson actually finished second in the batting title race, behind some guy named Ty Cobb, who hit a career-best .419.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
Re: Articles
7462Jackson trade from the White Sox perspective:
A century ago, the Chicago White Sox pulled off a trade that defined the franchise for centuries ... just not in the way they originally imagined. Charles Comiskey told his secretary to go to Cleveland come back with Shoeless Joe Jackson, and on Aug. 20, 1915, Harry Grabiner sealed the deal.
Jackson was a star with the Cleveland Naps from his first full season, hitting .408/.468/.590 with 45 doubles, 19 triples, seven homers and 41 stolen bases. The gaudy average was only good for second in the batting title chase, as Ty Cobb hit .420 that year. That became a pattern for Jackson, who was runner-up in 1912 (.395, to Cobb's .409) and 1913 (.373 to .390) as well.
Yet while Jackson was just a shade shy of the game's greatest player in terms of production, the team started showing signs of wear. The 1914 season was bad for both of them -- Jackson suffered a broken leg that cost him more than a month, and the Naps as a whole bottomed out with a record of 51-102 after winning 86 games the year before. That put Cleveland owner Charles Somers in a bind, and the White Sox smelled an opportunity.
As we know, Charles Comiskey wasn't stingy when it came to acquiring talent. Before the 1915 season, he bought Eddie Collins from the foundering Philadelphia Athletics for $50,000 (plus a $10,000 bonus for Collins, and a five-year contract at $12,000 per year). Collins had become available due a combination of Connie Mack's financial strife and some discord between Collins and the rest of the team.
With Jackson, his Cleveland days were numbered simply because owner Charles Somers was flirting with bankruptcy, and Jackson's salary threatened the books. He was one of many players to earn a boost thanks to overtures from the Federal League, and another recruitment effort in 1915 put rumors of five-figure salaries in the newspapers. Somers, already struggling with the payroll on hand, decided that trading Jackson was his best option.
Even after the Collins deal, Comiskey had cash to spare, and so he sent Grabiner to Cleveland with a check and the instructions to top every other offer until Jackson came back with Grabiner to Chicago.
This one cost the Old Roman less in pure cash, but it added up to even more. From Jackson's SABR bio:
Grabiner and Somers reached an agreement. Somers signed Joe to a three-year contract extension at his previous salary, then sent him to Chicago for $31,500 in cash and three players (outfielders Bobby Roth and Larry Chappell and pitcher Ed Klepfer) who collectively had cost the White Sox $34,000 to acquire. In terms of the total value of cash and players, this $65,500 transaction was the most expensive deal ever made in baseball up to that time.
Jackson's salary was $6,000, or half of Collins', which would pose a problem years later. He made his debut the next day in a doubleheader against the New York Yankees, going 1-for-7 with a walk across the two games. From the Chicago Tribune:
$15,000 Star Doesn't Shine
Joe Jackson, the former Cleveland star, made his first appearance in a White Sox uniform and was given a hearty welcome. He had not time to get sufficiently well acquainted with his new environment to shine brightly. He made one doubtful hit and drew one pass in eight trips to the plate.
That set the tone for a disappointing start to Jackson's career on the South Side, as he hit just .272/.378/.399 over the last 45 games of the 1915 season. All of those marks would've been career lows if extended over a full season, and it raised concern that the Sox picked up the 28-year-old Jackson just in time for his decline, which sounds all too familiar these days.
Aside: The Indians' other big star was shortstop Ray Chapman, and with his considerable salary, he was rumored to be on the block as well. According to Chapman's SABR bio, the White Sox made a run at him until Somers decided he'd rather move Jackson and only Jackson.
The White Sox might have never appeared in two World Series in three years had they acquired Chapman instead of Jackson, but it probably would have been better for baseball history. As it happened, both players' careers ended in 1920. Chapman became the only player to die from injuries sustained during a game, as a Carl Mays spitball hit him flush on the side of the head on Aug. 16, causing brain lacerations and fatal clotting. Jackson's MLB days were over a month later, as Comiskey suspended him and six other active White Sox after allegations of throwing the 1919 World Series were published.
A century ago, the Chicago White Sox pulled off a trade that defined the franchise for centuries ... just not in the way they originally imagined. Charles Comiskey told his secretary to go to Cleveland come back with Shoeless Joe Jackson, and on Aug. 20, 1915, Harry Grabiner sealed the deal.
Jackson was a star with the Cleveland Naps from his first full season, hitting .408/.468/.590 with 45 doubles, 19 triples, seven homers and 41 stolen bases. The gaudy average was only good for second in the batting title chase, as Ty Cobb hit .420 that year. That became a pattern for Jackson, who was runner-up in 1912 (.395, to Cobb's .409) and 1913 (.373 to .390) as well.
Yet while Jackson was just a shade shy of the game's greatest player in terms of production, the team started showing signs of wear. The 1914 season was bad for both of them -- Jackson suffered a broken leg that cost him more than a month, and the Naps as a whole bottomed out with a record of 51-102 after winning 86 games the year before. That put Cleveland owner Charles Somers in a bind, and the White Sox smelled an opportunity.
As we know, Charles Comiskey wasn't stingy when it came to acquiring talent. Before the 1915 season, he bought Eddie Collins from the foundering Philadelphia Athletics for $50,000 (plus a $10,000 bonus for Collins, and a five-year contract at $12,000 per year). Collins had become available due a combination of Connie Mack's financial strife and some discord between Collins and the rest of the team.
With Jackson, his Cleveland days were numbered simply because owner Charles Somers was flirting with bankruptcy, and Jackson's salary threatened the books. He was one of many players to earn a boost thanks to overtures from the Federal League, and another recruitment effort in 1915 put rumors of five-figure salaries in the newspapers. Somers, already struggling with the payroll on hand, decided that trading Jackson was his best option.
Even after the Collins deal, Comiskey had cash to spare, and so he sent Grabiner to Cleveland with a check and the instructions to top every other offer until Jackson came back with Grabiner to Chicago.
This one cost the Old Roman less in pure cash, but it added up to even more. From Jackson's SABR bio:
Grabiner and Somers reached an agreement. Somers signed Joe to a three-year contract extension at his previous salary, then sent him to Chicago for $31,500 in cash and three players (outfielders Bobby Roth and Larry Chappell and pitcher Ed Klepfer) who collectively had cost the White Sox $34,000 to acquire. In terms of the total value of cash and players, this $65,500 transaction was the most expensive deal ever made in baseball up to that time.
Jackson's salary was $6,000, or half of Collins', which would pose a problem years later. He made his debut the next day in a doubleheader against the New York Yankees, going 1-for-7 with a walk across the two games. From the Chicago Tribune:
$15,000 Star Doesn't Shine
Joe Jackson, the former Cleveland star, made his first appearance in a White Sox uniform and was given a hearty welcome. He had not time to get sufficiently well acquainted with his new environment to shine brightly. He made one doubtful hit and drew one pass in eight trips to the plate.
That set the tone for a disappointing start to Jackson's career on the South Side, as he hit just .272/.378/.399 over the last 45 games of the 1915 season. All of those marks would've been career lows if extended over a full season, and it raised concern that the Sox picked up the 28-year-old Jackson just in time for his decline, which sounds all too familiar these days.
Aside: The Indians' other big star was shortstop Ray Chapman, and with his considerable salary, he was rumored to be on the block as well. According to Chapman's SABR bio, the White Sox made a run at him until Somers decided he'd rather move Jackson and only Jackson.
The White Sox might have never appeared in two World Series in three years had they acquired Chapman instead of Jackson, but it probably would have been better for baseball history. As it happened, both players' careers ended in 1920. Chapman became the only player to die from injuries sustained during a game, as a Carl Mays spitball hit him flush on the side of the head on Aug. 16, causing brain lacerations and fatal clotting. Jackson's MLB days were over a month later, as Comiskey suspended him and six other active White Sox after allegations of throwing the 1919 World Series were published.
Re: Articles
7463My Dad talked about Roth who was nicknamed Braggo for a mouth bigger than his baseball ability.
"Braggo struck out often, leading the American League in strikeouts in 1917, and finishing among the leaders four other times. However, he also drew decent numbers of walks for the times, with a lifetime .367 on-base percentage. He was several times among the stolen base leaders, finishing as high as second in the league in 1918. He led the league in hit-by-pitch in 1918 and was two other times among the leaders.
With the Indians seeking pitching, they traded Roth to the Philadelphia Athletics for Larry Gardner, Charlie Jamieson and Elmer Myers before the 1919 season.[1
So if we want to do one of those trace the trade histories, here we get the 3rd baseman and LF on the 1920 World Series champion in Gardner and Jamison.
"Braggo struck out often, leading the American League in strikeouts in 1917, and finishing among the leaders four other times. However, he also drew decent numbers of walks for the times, with a lifetime .367 on-base percentage. He was several times among the stolen base leaders, finishing as high as second in the league in 1918. He led the league in hit-by-pitch in 1918 and was two other times among the leaders.
With the Indians seeking pitching, they traded Roth to the Philadelphia Athletics for Larry Gardner, Charlie Jamieson and Elmer Myers before the 1919 season.[1
So if we want to do one of those trace the trade histories, here we get the 3rd baseman and LF on the 1920 World Series champion in Gardner and Jamison.
Re: Articles
7465research has been made incredibly easy with the Internet.
So, if you are Vic Power, you must have become an Indians fan about when I did. The Vic Power and Woody Held for Roger Maris [and Dick Tomanek a local guy, and Preston Ward, vaguely recalled as an older 3B but that could be wrong] trade is the first deal I recall and so I date it as the start of Baseball History; which I see was 6-15-58. That was probably the last day of First Grade. Boy I was a precocious fan.
So, if you are Vic Power, you must have become an Indians fan about when I did. The Vic Power and Woody Held for Roger Maris [and Dick Tomanek a local guy, and Preston Ward, vaguely recalled as an older 3B but that could be wrong] trade is the first deal I recall and so I date it as the start of Baseball History; which I see was 6-15-58. That was probably the last day of First Grade. Boy I was a precocious fan.
Re: Articles
7466I was probably in second grade. Don't remember trades so much, but I learned to read by reading the sports section of the Plain Dealer. Baseball was harder to follow until transistor radios - and back then many games were during the day. Sundays often had double headers which were on the radio.
Maybe that is why Browns games were so big - just the one game on Sunday on the radio. I finally figured out how to get Sirius XM in the house on Sundays so I can listen to Browns games not available on TV, now that I split my time between the North Fork of LI and Green Valley AZ. And the Browns pissed me off so bad last year, I couldn't bring myself to go to the local bars to watch.
Certainly no one predicted Maris breaking Ruth's record, and Woody and Vic were solid contributors from what I remember. Vic had the great pre-pitch routine that all the kids copied.
Maybe that is why Browns games were so big - just the one game on Sunday on the radio. I finally figured out how to get Sirius XM in the house on Sundays so I can listen to Browns games not available on TV, now that I split my time between the North Fork of LI and Green Valley AZ. And the Browns pissed me off so bad last year, I couldn't bring myself to go to the local bars to watch.
Certainly no one predicted Maris breaking Ruth's record, and Woody and Vic were solid contributors from what I remember. Vic had the great pre-pitch routine that all the kids copied.
Re: Articles
7467We all swung our bats down at ground level to mimic Vic
And we all held our bats across our backs like Rocky
And we all held our bats across our backs like Rocky
Re: Articles
7468Autographs, traveling and tons of TV time: The tale of the Indians’ ‘Hat Man’
By Zack Meisel 5h ago 7
The hats remain in the same duffel bag, in the same order: the nine mainstays and three backups for extra innings. To Joanne O’Toole, they represent the Friday nights she and her late husband, Tom, cherished for 20 years in downtown Cleveland.
When the Indians invited the O’Tooles to select their new seats, Jacobs Field was still under construction, more a pasture of pillars and planks than an Eden of fresh paint and fresh-cut grass. At the old stadium, they sat near the Indians dugout. For the new venue, they opted for similar seats, though now they were positioned behind the visitors dugout.
They never imagined that decision would fuel their own fame. When they attended a handful of games early in the 1994 season, they would return home to a flooded answering machine.
Did you realize you’re on TV all the time?
“Finally,” Joanne said, “Tom said, ‘You know, I ought to get some enjoyment out of this.’”
And so, he hatched a plan that would ultimately earn him attention — as well as the nickname The Hat Man.
Joanne and Tom met at a wedding reception. He was working in public relations. She was teaching. Tom introduced himself and they chatted for a while. He asked if he could call her sometime. She told him she didn’t date younger men.
“How old are you?” he asked.
He was 30, after all. She was only 27.
“He had a very youthful face,” Joanne recalled, laughing.
She scanned his driver’s license, just to be sure.
They were together for 50 years, traveling the world and penning award-winning columns and features. They submitted their pieces to newspapers across the country, a career that blossomed from Tom’s start as a travel writer for the News-Herald.
They joined the Society of American Travel Writers and explored Europe, Asia and South America. Joanne’s lone regret is they never made it to South Africa. They wrote about cruises. They toured Australia via train on an anniversary getaway, but still found time to author a few write-ups. They treasured their trips to Italy, including Tom’s first visit, when they met the pope. They regularly placed in the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism competition.
Joanne can’t believe some of the delicacies she consumed in the mountains in Haiti. Tom didn’t have as adventurous of a palate.
“I figured, ‘Why not? If I get sick, I get sick,’” Joanne said. “I didn’t. It was fine. My husband wasn’t as gutsy.”
When they were in town, they attended Indians games. Cleveland baseball was in Joanne’s blood. Her family owned Cavoli’s Restaurant at West 116th and Clifton Boulevard, which routinely hosted players from the Cleveland side and the visiting team, either in the dining room or in the basement bar.
The family owned season tickets since the ’40s, and Joanne’s parents even traveled with the team by train to the World Series games in Boston in 1948. After Joanne and Tom got married, they inherited the tickets from her parents.
For decades, the trips downtown were a diversion. The Indians were rarely competitive, but it became a Friday night tradition and an occasional weeknight extracurricular.
When the Indians shifted to Jacobs Field in 1994, the hat tradition commenced and the team’s fortunes reversed. When the Indians advanced to the World Series in 1995, Ted Turner and Jane Fonda sat directly behind Tom and Joanne. Their bodyguard sat in the adjacent aisle.
“It was a shock to the system,” Joanne said. “It was so much fun.”
In their new seats, they appeared on TV anytime a left-handed batter approached the plate. When the camera zoomed in on the hitter to pair his face with some statistical graphic, there, too, were Tom and Joanne, always in the shot, gazing at the action from the background.
So, it began. Tom sported one hat per inning, each a different color, some plain, others displaying the Chief Wahoo logo. Rubber duck yellow to start each game. Red. Pink. Orange. Bright green. Royal blue. Navy. White with a plaid bill. His favorite: yellow with pinstripes and a red bill. Tom rejected all endorsement requests.
Strangers would approach him and beg him not to alter the order since they would swindle their buddies at the bar who didn’t realize he maintained the same sequence every game. He was a man of habit. He never mixed it up. He marked each hat with a particular inning number. If Tom required a bathroom break or was stuck in line at a hot dog stand, Joanne would don the appropriate hat until he returned.
When Tom was diagnosed with cancer, their ballpark visits waned, but they still watched on TV. Tom passed away in January 2016, but Joanne continues to receive calls from friends when SportsTime Ohio airs an old broadcast.
Joanne, put the TV on right away. You and Tom are on the screen.
“I get calls like that all the time,” Joanne said.
By the time of Tom’s passing, the O’Tooles had relinquished their season tickets to their longtime friends, the Ashers. Jamie Asher called his dad, Tony, after Tom had passed and suggested they attend the opener with nine different hats at their disposal. Tony called Joanne, and she loaned them Tom’s stash.
As the Indians opened their season, Tony and Jamie sat in the front row behind the first-base dugout. For the first few innings, Tony cycled through Tom’s old hats. Jamie took over in the fifth inning. They preserved Tom’s preferred order.
Three fans in the second row commended them for honoring Tom’s legacy. Ushers and other familiar faces in the ballpark asked them about Joanne.
“Everybody in that area knew Tom,” Tony said. “He knew most of the people in the ballpark by their first names.”
Joanne watched the opener and deemed it “very touching.” She said “never in a thousand years” would she have imagined everything that would result from their choice of seat location. They became two of the most recognized residents in the seating bowl.
Tom posed for photos. He shook hands with longtime fans — of his, not of the players. And he signed plenty of autographs, always under the bill, always with the same five words.
Tom O’Toole, The Hat Man
The hats remain in the same duffel bag, in the same order: the nine mainstays and three backups for extra innings. To Joanne O’Toole, they represent the Friday nights she and her late husband, Tom, cherished for 20 years in downtown Cleveland.
When the Indians invited the O’Tooles to select their new seats, Jacobs Field was still under construction, more a pasture of pillars and planks than an Eden of fresh paint and fresh-cut grass. At the old stadium, they sat near the Indians dugout. For the new venue, they opted for similar seats, though now they were positioned behind the visitors dugout.
They never imagined that decision would fuel their own fame. When they attended a handful of games early in the 1994 season, they would return home to a flooded answering machine.
Did you realize you’re on TV all the time?
“Finally,” Joanne said, “Tom said, ‘You know, I ought to get some enjoyment out of this.’”
And so, he hatched a plan that would ultimately earn him attention — as well as the nickname The Hat Man.
Joanne and Tom met at a wedding reception. He was working in public relations. She was teaching. Tom introduced himself and they chatted for a while. He asked if he could call her sometime. She told him she didn’t date younger men.
“How old are you?” he asked.
He was 30, after all. She was only 27.
“He had a very youthful face,” Joanne recalled, laughing.
She scanned his driver’s license, just to be sure.
They were together for 50 years, traveling the world and penning award-winning columns and features. They submitted their pieces to newspapers across the country, a career that blossomed from Tom’s start as a travel writer for the News-Herald.
They joined the Society of American Travel Writers and explored Europe, Asia and South America. Joanne’s lone regret is they never made it to South Africa. They wrote about cruises. They toured Australia via train on an anniversary getaway, but still found time to author a few write-ups. They treasured their trips to Italy, including Tom’s first visit, when they met the pope. They regularly placed in the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism competition.
Joanne can’t believe some of the delicacies she consumed in the mountains in Haiti. Tom didn’t have as adventurous of a palate.
“I figured, ‘Why not? If I get sick, I get sick,’” Joanne said. “I didn’t. It was fine. My husband wasn’t as gutsy.”
When they were in town, they attended Indians games. Cleveland baseball was in Joanne’s blood. Her family owned Cavoli’s Restaurant at West 116th and Clifton Boulevard, which routinely hosted players from the Cleveland side and the visiting team, either in the dining room or in the basement bar.
The family owned season tickets since the ’40s, and Joanne’s parents even traveled with the team by train to the World Series games in Boston in 1948. After Joanne and Tom got married, they inherited the tickets from her parents.
For decades, the trips downtown were a diversion. The Indians were rarely competitive, but it became a Friday night tradition and an occasional weeknight extracurricular.
When the Indians shifted to Jacobs Field in 1994, the hat tradition commenced and the team’s fortunes reversed. When the Indians advanced to the World Series in 1995, Ted Turner and Jane Fonda sat directly behind Tom and Joanne. Their bodyguard sat in the adjacent aisle.
“It was a shock to the system,” Joanne said. “It was so much fun.”
In their new seats, they appeared on TV anytime a left-handed batter approached the plate. When the camera zoomed in on the hitter to pair his face with some statistical graphic, there, too, were Tom and Joanne, always in the shot, gazing at the action from the background.
So, it began. Tom sported one hat per inning, each a different color, some plain, others displaying the Chief Wahoo logo. Rubber duck yellow to start each game. Red. Pink. Orange. Bright green. Royal blue. Navy. White with a plaid bill. His favorite: yellow with pinstripes and a red bill. Tom rejected all endorsement requests.
Strangers would approach him and beg him not to alter the order since they would swindle their buddies at the bar who didn’t realize he maintained the same sequence every game. He was a man of habit. He never mixed it up. He marked each hat with a particular inning number. If Tom required a bathroom break or was stuck in line at a hot dog stand, Joanne would don the appropriate hat until he returned.
When Tom was diagnosed with cancer, their ballpark visits waned, but they still watched on TV. Tom passed away in January 2016, but Joanne continues to receive calls from friends when SportsTime Ohio airs an old broadcast.
Joanne, put the TV on right away. You and Tom are on the screen.
“I get calls like that all the time,” Joanne said.
By the time of Tom’s passing, the O’Tooles had relinquished their season tickets to their longtime friends, the Ashers. Jamie Asher called his dad, Tony, after Tom had passed and suggested they attend the opener with nine different hats at their disposal. Tony called Joanne, and she loaned them Tom’s stash.
As the Indians opened their season, Tony and Jamie sat in the front row behind the first-base dugout. For the first few innings, Tony cycled through Tom’s old hats. Jamie took over in the fifth inning. They preserved Tom’s preferred order.
Three fans in the second row commended them for honoring Tom’s legacy. Ushers and other familiar faces in the ballpark asked them about Joanne.
“Everybody in that area knew Tom,” Tony said. “He knew most of the people in the ballpark by their first names.”
Joanne watched the opener and deemed it “very touching.” She said “never in a thousand years” would she have imagined everything that would result from their choice of seat location. They became two of the most recognized residents in the seating bowl.
Tom posed for photos. He shook hands with longtime fans — of his, not of the players. And he signed plenty of autographs, always under the bill, always with the same five words.
Tom O’Toole, The Hat Man
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
Re: Articles
7469BA Top 100 Bracket Challenge Championship Round Voting. They got the top 2 right; and I assume Frankie will finish as the distinguished runnerup.
Francisco Lindor or Mike Trout? The choice is yours.
There's roughly 36 hours remaining to cast your vote and decide the BA Top 100 Bracket Challenge, determining your favorite prospect of last year.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROUND 5 RESULTS
No. 1 Bryce Harper vs. No. 9 Francisco Lindor (75.9%)
No. 2 Mike Trout (77.8%) vs. No. 2 Stephen Strasburg
Francisco Lindor or Mike Trout? The choice is yours.
There's roughly 36 hours remaining to cast your vote and decide the BA Top 100 Bracket Challenge, determining your favorite prospect of last year.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROUND 5 RESULTS
No. 1 Bryce Harper vs. No. 9 Francisco Lindor (75.9%)
No. 2 Mike Trout (77.8%) vs. No. 2 Stephen Strasburg
Re: Articles
7470From the Detroit Free Press:
Rocky Colavito still doesn't understand trade to Detroit Tigers in 1960
Sixty years ago, on April 17, which was also Easter Sunday, one of the biggest trades in baseball history took place just two days before the Detroit Tigers opened the 1960 season in Cleveland.
Detroit sent the 1959 American League batting champion Harvey Kuenn, then 29, to the Indians for the reigning home run champion Rocky Colavito, then 26.
Both teams, and the fans in both cities, were shocked by the trade. In the end, the Tigers fared better in the deal. Kuenn lasted one year in Cleveland before being dealt to the Giants.
Colavito, however, remained a prodigious slugger for four more seasons. A six-time All Star during this 14-year career, he slugged 139 homers with 430 RBIs from 1960-63 with the Tigers. With the Tigers battling the Yankees for the pennant in 1961, he smashed 45 homers, drove in 140 runs.
Free Press special writer Bill Dow recently caught up with Colavito to discuss the death of Al Kaline, the big trade, his career and his thoughts on baseball today.
After leaving the Tigers: Colavito was dealt to Kansas City after the 1963 season with Bob Anderson for Jerry Lumpe, Dave Wickersham, and Ed Rakow. He played for the Athletics one season before rejoining the Indians. In 1965, he led the league with 108 RBIs and while playing in all 162 games without an error, he became the first outfielder in league history to complete a season with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. He then played the second half of the ’67 campaign with the White Sox and finished his career in 1968 with the Dodgers and Yankees.
He later served as a Indians TV analyst, coached for the Indians and Royals, briefly operated a mushroom farm, and was a sales representative for a temporary staffing agency.
Today: Colavito, 86, has been married to his wife, Carmen, for 65 years and they reside in eastern Pennsylvania. They have three children, four granddaughters and a great grandson.
On the passing of Al Kaline: “It was a very sad day for me when I heard the news. Al was a super athlete, really a super star. He could to everything. He could run, field, throw, hit, and hit with power. He was just a really good guy and a great teammate. To go straight from high school at 18 and then win the batting title at 20 was amazing. Al was a gentleman and a good family man and his childhood sweetheart Louise always stood by him.”
On how he heard about the trade for Harvey Kuenn: “We were playing in Memphis for our last exhibition game and I was standing on first base when Joe Gordon (manager) walked out of the dugout and told me, ‘Rocky, that is the last time you’ll bat for Cleveland. You’ve been traded to Detroit for Harvey Kuenn.’ He said ‘good luck’ and I said ‘same to you’ and that’s all I ever said to him. I was taken out of the game, and I told my teammates who were shocked and disappointed like me. I had to fly that night with my now ex-teammates to Cleveland for the opener with my new team which was a little awkward. To this day I don’t understand it nor do the Cleveland fans who still send me letters about it. ”
On the first game playing for the Tigers: “Harvey and I literally wore each other’s jersey; I had his No. 7 and he had my No. 6. It was very cold that day but it was unbelievable to see so many banners brought by Indian fans into the ballpark that said things like ‘Welcome home Rock,’ and ‘We will miss you Rocky.' It really affected me and I had the worst game ever in my minor and major league career because I went 0-for-6 and struck out four times, which I never did before or after. I rarely struck out three times in a game. At least we won the game after Kaline hit a two run single in the top of the 15th. But the next day, I walked into the dugout from the locker room and Norm Cash says to me, ‘Hey Rocky, how about playing for us today!’ I laughed so hard that it loosened me up. In that second game, I went 1-for-3, hit a three-run homer, and scored twice and we won again.”
On playing for the Tigers in the home opener in Detroit: “The first year in Detroit was rough for me because I had left a place and a team that I loved and the fans in Cleveland loved me. I am sure it was the same for Harvey, who was a really good man. Even my neighbor at the home I rented in Detroit said to me: ‘I don’t care who you are, I was a Harvey Kuenn fan.’ That was the last time we ever spoke. In the home opener in Detroit, I remember it was a very warm day and that I hit a two-run homer and we won. 1961 was a fantastic year and it was a great pennant race with the Yankees, who that year became one of the best teams in major league history. I was really coming into my own as a player at age 27 and I was fortunate to be batting after Kaline and with Cash behind me, who won the batting title. We also had a very good pitching staff with Jim Bunning, Frank Lary, Don Mossi, Paul Foytack and Hank Aguirre.”
On his famous on deck stretching ritual and batter’s box mannerisms: “I was not even aware of my habit of putting the bat with both hands over my head and behind my back. It was just a stretching exercise for my muscles. When I was in the batter’s box, I pulled up my flannel sleeves to help free my shoulders and I often did a short sign of the cross. The pointing of the bat at the pitcher was really a timing device. I was kind of saying ‘put the ball right here’ because as a power hitter you are looking to drive the ball. I can’t tell you how many times people have come up to me and said how when they were kids, they used to imitate me doing all of that.”
On hitting four home runs in one game in 1959: “Without a doubt that was my biggest thrill in baseball. I nearly did it again for the Tigers in Cleveland in 1962. I hit three homers in the game and nearly had a fourth. In my last at bat I hit a ball into the upper deck that was hit as well as the others but at the last second it just hooked about 15 feet in front of the foul pole. Then I grounded out. I wanted that second one as much or more than the first because no one has ever done it twice.”
On pitching 2⅔ innings in scoreless relief for the Yankees against the Tigers and getting the win: “When I was signed by Cleveland, they originally saw me as a pitcher and I wish I could have played outfield and pitched. The only other time I pitched in the majors was 10 years earlier against the Tigers and I threw three scoreless innings. In ’68, the Yankee bullpen was short for the double header and Ralph Houk (Yankee manager) brought me in when we were behind, 5-0. I threw mainly fastballs but also a change-up and slider. The first batter I faced was Kaline, who grounded out but he later got the only hit against me in both my pitching appearances. He hit a short fly ball to left center that I think Joe Pepitone should have caught. I really would have liked never giving up a hit. I got the victory when we ended up beating Detroit, 6-5. I remember that in the second game I hit a homer against Mickey Lolich.”
On the game today: “Baseball is baseball. But what I don’t like is the business of always going to the set-up man and then the closer. The managers all follow the same routine. It adds a lot of additional time to the game. It’s very rare to see a starting pitcher complete a game, yet we still see a fair amount of arm injuries. When I played there were pitchers who had more complete games in one season then the whole league does now. There are also a lot more home runs today. It’s unfair to compare eras because the ball is livelier and is traveling 30 or more feet farther. I took one of the new baseballs apart. The small red ball in the center may have some cork but there is a jell around it. I bounced it off a table at a card show and it hit the ceiling. I also think it is wound tighter. The ball we played with wouldn’t do that.”
Rocky Colavito still doesn't understand trade to Detroit Tigers in 1960
Sixty years ago, on April 17, which was also Easter Sunday, one of the biggest trades in baseball history took place just two days before the Detroit Tigers opened the 1960 season in Cleveland.
Detroit sent the 1959 American League batting champion Harvey Kuenn, then 29, to the Indians for the reigning home run champion Rocky Colavito, then 26.
Both teams, and the fans in both cities, were shocked by the trade. In the end, the Tigers fared better in the deal. Kuenn lasted one year in Cleveland before being dealt to the Giants.
Colavito, however, remained a prodigious slugger for four more seasons. A six-time All Star during this 14-year career, he slugged 139 homers with 430 RBIs from 1960-63 with the Tigers. With the Tigers battling the Yankees for the pennant in 1961, he smashed 45 homers, drove in 140 runs.
Free Press special writer Bill Dow recently caught up with Colavito to discuss the death of Al Kaline, the big trade, his career and his thoughts on baseball today.
After leaving the Tigers: Colavito was dealt to Kansas City after the 1963 season with Bob Anderson for Jerry Lumpe, Dave Wickersham, and Ed Rakow. He played for the Athletics one season before rejoining the Indians. In 1965, he led the league with 108 RBIs and while playing in all 162 games without an error, he became the first outfielder in league history to complete a season with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. He then played the second half of the ’67 campaign with the White Sox and finished his career in 1968 with the Dodgers and Yankees.
He later served as a Indians TV analyst, coached for the Indians and Royals, briefly operated a mushroom farm, and was a sales representative for a temporary staffing agency.
Today: Colavito, 86, has been married to his wife, Carmen, for 65 years and they reside in eastern Pennsylvania. They have three children, four granddaughters and a great grandson.
On the passing of Al Kaline: “It was a very sad day for me when I heard the news. Al was a super athlete, really a super star. He could to everything. He could run, field, throw, hit, and hit with power. He was just a really good guy and a great teammate. To go straight from high school at 18 and then win the batting title at 20 was amazing. Al was a gentleman and a good family man and his childhood sweetheart Louise always stood by him.”
On how he heard about the trade for Harvey Kuenn: “We were playing in Memphis for our last exhibition game and I was standing on first base when Joe Gordon (manager) walked out of the dugout and told me, ‘Rocky, that is the last time you’ll bat for Cleveland. You’ve been traded to Detroit for Harvey Kuenn.’ He said ‘good luck’ and I said ‘same to you’ and that’s all I ever said to him. I was taken out of the game, and I told my teammates who were shocked and disappointed like me. I had to fly that night with my now ex-teammates to Cleveland for the opener with my new team which was a little awkward. To this day I don’t understand it nor do the Cleveland fans who still send me letters about it. ”
On the first game playing for the Tigers: “Harvey and I literally wore each other’s jersey; I had his No. 7 and he had my No. 6. It was very cold that day but it was unbelievable to see so many banners brought by Indian fans into the ballpark that said things like ‘Welcome home Rock,’ and ‘We will miss you Rocky.' It really affected me and I had the worst game ever in my minor and major league career because I went 0-for-6 and struck out four times, which I never did before or after. I rarely struck out three times in a game. At least we won the game after Kaline hit a two run single in the top of the 15th. But the next day, I walked into the dugout from the locker room and Norm Cash says to me, ‘Hey Rocky, how about playing for us today!’ I laughed so hard that it loosened me up. In that second game, I went 1-for-3, hit a three-run homer, and scored twice and we won again.”
On playing for the Tigers in the home opener in Detroit: “The first year in Detroit was rough for me because I had left a place and a team that I loved and the fans in Cleveland loved me. I am sure it was the same for Harvey, who was a really good man. Even my neighbor at the home I rented in Detroit said to me: ‘I don’t care who you are, I was a Harvey Kuenn fan.’ That was the last time we ever spoke. In the home opener in Detroit, I remember it was a very warm day and that I hit a two-run homer and we won. 1961 was a fantastic year and it was a great pennant race with the Yankees, who that year became one of the best teams in major league history. I was really coming into my own as a player at age 27 and I was fortunate to be batting after Kaline and with Cash behind me, who won the batting title. We also had a very good pitching staff with Jim Bunning, Frank Lary, Don Mossi, Paul Foytack and Hank Aguirre.”
On his famous on deck stretching ritual and batter’s box mannerisms: “I was not even aware of my habit of putting the bat with both hands over my head and behind my back. It was just a stretching exercise for my muscles. When I was in the batter’s box, I pulled up my flannel sleeves to help free my shoulders and I often did a short sign of the cross. The pointing of the bat at the pitcher was really a timing device. I was kind of saying ‘put the ball right here’ because as a power hitter you are looking to drive the ball. I can’t tell you how many times people have come up to me and said how when they were kids, they used to imitate me doing all of that.”
On hitting four home runs in one game in 1959: “Without a doubt that was my biggest thrill in baseball. I nearly did it again for the Tigers in Cleveland in 1962. I hit three homers in the game and nearly had a fourth. In my last at bat I hit a ball into the upper deck that was hit as well as the others but at the last second it just hooked about 15 feet in front of the foul pole. Then I grounded out. I wanted that second one as much or more than the first because no one has ever done it twice.”
On pitching 2⅔ innings in scoreless relief for the Yankees against the Tigers and getting the win: “When I was signed by Cleveland, they originally saw me as a pitcher and I wish I could have played outfield and pitched. The only other time I pitched in the majors was 10 years earlier against the Tigers and I threw three scoreless innings. In ’68, the Yankee bullpen was short for the double header and Ralph Houk (Yankee manager) brought me in when we were behind, 5-0. I threw mainly fastballs but also a change-up and slider. The first batter I faced was Kaline, who grounded out but he later got the only hit against me in both my pitching appearances. He hit a short fly ball to left center that I think Joe Pepitone should have caught. I really would have liked never giving up a hit. I got the victory when we ended up beating Detroit, 6-5. I remember that in the second game I hit a homer against Mickey Lolich.”
On the game today: “Baseball is baseball. But what I don’t like is the business of always going to the set-up man and then the closer. The managers all follow the same routine. It adds a lot of additional time to the game. It’s very rare to see a starting pitcher complete a game, yet we still see a fair amount of arm injuries. When I played there were pitchers who had more complete games in one season then the whole league does now. There are also a lot more home runs today. It’s unfair to compare eras because the ball is livelier and is traveling 30 or more feet farther. I took one of the new baseballs apart. The small red ball in the center may have some cork but there is a jell around it. I bounced it off a table at a card show and it hit the ceiling. I also think it is wound tighter. The ball we played with wouldn’t do that.”
UD