Sunday, January 27, 2008

Indians Uniform Number - 4 (Part 1 of 3)

There are about 30 players who have worn the Number 4 jersey. Because the list is SO long, I decided to break it up into manageable chunks! Each post will feature approximately 10 players, some of whom you've seen before (yes, already we have 'repeat' performers). As I did with the #3 players, I will save my final decision until after all players have had a chance to grow on you (some like heroes, some more like a fungus).

So, without further delay, I present the first set of #4's:



Bill Cissell - 2 seasons (1932-1933) - Cissell came to the Tribe after playing 5 seasons with the White Sox. He played in 131 games his first year, grabbing 78 runs, 173 hits, 35 doubles, six triples and six homers. He only struck out 25 times and scored 93 RBIs, netting him a 320 batting average. The next year, he played in 19 fewer games and his average fell to .230, though he still smacked in 6 homers and struck out only 29 times.



Bill Knickerbocker - 4 seasons (1933-1936) - The name alone should garner this guy extra points! He came into the majors with Cleveland, batting .226 his first year. The next year, he batted a career-high .317 with 188 hits in 146 games. In 1935, he "fell" to .298 and then to .294 before the Tribe traded him off in 1937. In his last year as a Triber, he stood at the plate 618 times! 618 times and still managed to keep a .294!? (81 runs, 182 hits, 35 doubles, and 73 RBIs)



Bill Sudakis - Part of 1 season (1975) - "Suds" (as he was called) basically sucked. It was not entirely his own fault, though. His talent was masked by the fact that he spent much of his MLB career battling knee problems. Honestly, it's a wonder he lasted 8 seasons in the majors. His biggest plus was that he could switch-hit and play at either in-field corner. He played 20 games for the Tribe and managed to scrape together a .196 average.



Bob Nieman - Parts of two seasons (1961-1961) - In 1951, he broke into the majors by hitting his first two at-bats for home runs at Fenway park (the first MLB player to do so ever). 10 years later, he played in 39 games for the Indians, ringing up a .354 average (65 at-bats for 2 runs, 23 hits, 6 doubles, and 2 homers (10 total RBIs) while striking out only 4 times! Unfortunately, the next year, he played in only 2 games. Now, he only had one at-bat, but managed to snag an RBI *AND* strike out at the same time. I guess if you have to walk away with a .000 avg, it's nice to have an RBI to go with it...



Brian Dorsett - 1 season (1987) - The Fleer card shown is from baseball-almanac.com. He only played in 5 games for the Indians (and only 163 games in his entire career). He had 11 at-bats, scoring 2 runs with 3 hits, a homer, 3 RBIs and 3 strikeouts. He left the Tribe batting .273, which we have seen is better than a bunch...



David Bell - parts of 2 seasons (1995,1998) - For starters, he shares his name with two other "David Bells" - an alleged ghost of Bell House in Georgia, and former Triber David (better known as BUDDY) Bell. He began his MLB career with the Indians by stepping up to the plate twice and getting nowhere fast (goose-egg average). The Tribe traded him to the Cardinals, and in 1998, they picked him back up again. This time, he batted 340 times for 37 runs, 89 hits, 21 doubles, two triples, and 10 home runs. He scored 41 RBIs and struck out 54 times. The Tribe sent his .262 average to the Mariners later that season.



Domingo Ramos - Part of 1 season (1988) - Ramos played in 22 games as a Triber. Despite pulling a .261 (which in the 80's was probably nothing short of a miracle for the Indians), he was released that same year.



Gene Desautels - 4 seasons (1941-43, '45) - He served as backup catcher, but still batted in 60+ games from '41-'43. In 1944, he enlisted in the Marines and in July, 1945, he rejoined the Tribe, though he only played in 10 games that year. He managed a paltry .111 average in '45, which was way off from his previous .201, .247, and .205 (respectively).


George Strickland - Appeared in our 'countdown' previously wearing the #3 uniform. For the sake of argument, his #4-wearing days produced his 2nd highest (.238) and second lowest (.167) averages in his career. That has nothing to do with the selection process for me, but I thought it was a neat tidbit I hadn't looked at before. For those of who may have slept a little since I posted his stats in the Uni-#3 segment, here are Strickland's Tribe stats: 7+ seasons (1952-1960) - Strickland's best seasonal average came in 1953 (.284) and the next year, he helped the Tribe get to the World Series. Not really a power hitter, he provided consistency during his career. He averaged 28 runs, 61 hits, and 2.75 homers per season with Cleveland. His long career with the Indians continued after he was released as he served as acting manager for an ailing Birdie Tebbetts.



Houston Jimenez - Part of one season (1988) - He batted in only 9 games, going 1 for 21. At least his one hit was a home run. But with such disappointing output (we're talking a .048 avg here), the Tribe let him go. Of course, you would think the Tribe might have clued in to the fact that in the previous year, he went 0 for 6 in five games with the Pirates. Then again, this was the Tribe of the 80's... Ouch.

2 comments:

  1. You have got to read this.
    http://walkoffbalk.blogspot.com/2008/01/minor-league-pitcher-wants-you-to-own.html

    I think I am going to send some money just to get the stock certificate.

    Joe

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