Sunday, March 23, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Indians Uniform Number - 7 Kenny Lofton
Choosing All-Time Triber #7 was even more difficult than I imagined it would be. While there were a lot of players who sported the Number 7 during their careers, in truth, only three wore #7 for an extended period of time: Al Rosen, Hal Trosky, and Kenny Lofton.
As I mulled over the top three, I eventually narrowed it down to Rosen and Lofton. Rosen is a perennial favorite of many Indians fans (including myself). Lofton is a player that fans generally love, as his repeated returns to Cleveland have shown.
So, how did I choose a guy who is still playing over a guy who has Cleveland written all over him? It was not easy. After all, Rosen played in roughly 240 FEWER games, yet had more than 100 MORE home runs and roughly 200 more RBIs. Lofton has a better overall average. His other stats also generally run much higher, but I feel that is related to the fact he played in more games. What swayed the choice in Lofton's favor for me though was the fact that he is still playing after 10 seasons, and playing WELL at that. Add to that the fact that Rosen was 33 when left baseball and Lofton is 40+. During last year's World Series showing, he was not only the guy who gave leadership, support and encouragment to his underlings (in terms of experience and age), but who also went out there to get a job done. It is unfortunate that the Indians could not bring him the championship ring he so richly deserves.
I have to admit I was dismayed when I found out the Tribe was not keeping him around. I had high hopes that Lofton would retire in an Indians uniform. Despite what the back office does, Lofton is a fan favorite, one of MY favorites, and one of the all-time great Indians players.
(Number 7 Part 1) (Number 7 Part 2) (Number 7 Part 3)
A great question!
nmboxer asked a great question: Why DO players wear different jersey numbers anyway?
There are a couple reasons that I can think of, but I welcome anyone to share their thoughts on the subject!
For players that played around the time uniform numbers were first introduced, the POSITION of the player determined their uniform number. So, if a player was moved around the field, they may have worn a different number just because of that.
Some players (like Thome, for example) have an affinity for a particular number (his is 25), but when they join a team, someone else may already have the number they want and for whatever reason, the other player will not swap numbers. Once that number comes open, then a player may switch.
In a similar vein, if a player wears one number then leaves, another player may get his number. If he returns to the team, that number might not be available any longer, so he must choose a new one.
If someone can think of other reasons, please feel free to comment.
Great question!!
There are a couple reasons that I can think of, but I welcome anyone to share their thoughts on the subject!
For players that played around the time uniform numbers were first introduced, the POSITION of the player determined their uniform number. So, if a player was moved around the field, they may have worn a different number just because of that.
Some players (like Thome, for example) have an affinity for a particular number (his is 25), but when they join a team, someone else may already have the number they want and for whatever reason, the other player will not swap numbers. Once that number comes open, then a player may switch.
In a similar vein, if a player wears one number then leaves, another player may get his number. If he returns to the team, that number might not be available any longer, so he must choose a new one.
If someone can think of other reasons, please feel free to comment.
Great question!!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Indians Uniform Number - 7 (Part 3 of 3)
Today, we are looking at the third and final installment of the contenders for All-Time Indians uniform Number 7. Check these guys out and tomorrow I will present my pick for All-Time Number 7:
Joe Azcue - 7 seasons (1963-1969) - Remember, Azcue was one of the three finalists for the Uniform #6. Here's the replay: He wore the Number 6 for his entire Indians career except for 1967, in which he wore Number 7. Azcue's 100 hits, 23 runs, and 42 RBIs earned him a spot on the 1968 All-Star team. He came to the Tribe in '63 from the A's, and he finished his first year in Cleveland with a .284 average. During his Indians career, he only had one season below .250, and five of his Indians' seasons were better than .270! His career in Cleveland gave him 1904 at-bats with 506 hits, 229 RBIs, 132 walks, and an overall average of .269. A couple of his interesting career facts include catching two no-hitters, and being the first person to hit into an unassisted triple play since 1927 (41 years) (July, 1968) - ouch.
Joe Inglett - 1 season (2006) - Inglett played in 64 games with the Tribe, getting 57 hits on 201 at-bats. He scored 26 runs, 8 doubles, 3 triples, and 2 homers. Add to that 21 RBIs, 14 walks and 39 strikeouts, and you have a very respectable .284 rookie year. He left the Indians for the Blue Jays last year (2007).
John Ellis - 3 seasons (1973-1975) - Ellis came to the Tribe from the Yankees. He batted .270 his first year, .285 his second, and .230 in his final year with the Indians. I remember a friend of mine having a catcher's glove with his signature on it as a kid (He served on the Spalding Sporting Goods advisory staff in the 70's). 1974 is often considered to be his best overall season: 136 hits with 477 at-bats, 58 runs, 64 RBIs, 10 homers, 23 doubles, 6 triples and a .285 average. In 1987, he founded the Connecticut Sports Foundation Against Cancer (http://www.sportsfoundation.org), which provides financial assistance to patients and families of those with cancer (He has lost a brother, sister, and sister-in-law to cancer, and is himself a cancer survivor).
Johnny Romano - 5 seasons (1960-1964) - Romano wore Numbers 11, 9, 5, and 7 while with the Indians. 1967 was the only season in which he wore the Number 7. But, as with many of the Tribers in our look at the All-Timers, he will appear again. In case you have forgotten, here is what we saw at the Number 5: Romano scored 40 runs, 12 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, with 52 RBIs on 86 hits during his first year with the Tribe (.272 avg). In both of the next two years, he played for the AL all-star team (21 homers in 1961 and 25 homers in '62). During his Indians career, he maintained a .460+ SLG except for one season ('63) which he had fractured his hand. It'll be fun to see where he stands in the #11 spot, since that's the number he wore the most often.
Jonah Goldman - 3 seasons (1928, 1930-31) - Technically, Goldman only wore #7 in 1931, since there were no Indians uniform numbers before that. For the sake of argument, I'll include all the years he played. His three years with the Tribe were also the extent of his major league career. Overall, he scored 33 runs on 87 hits with 389 at-bats. He only had 1 home run and scored 20 doubles while bringing 49 RBIs and getting walked 35 times. He struck out 31 times, which means only 10 times per season on average. He left the Tribe with a .129 average in his final season and a .224 overall.
Ken Suarez - 3 seasons (1968-69, 71) - Suarez did not play any full-time seasons with the Tribe. In '68, he batted in 17 games, then 36 in '69 and finally he batted in 50 games in '71. His highest career average was a .294 in 1969. Unfortunately, that was bookended by a .100 first Tribe season and .203 final season before being traded to the Rangers. In both '69 and '71, he had 25 hits, a home run, and 9 RBIs in each season. I'm not sure if there is a significance there, but back-to-back seasons where a player repeats stats in three different categories is pretty cool in my book.
Kenny Lofton - 9+ seasons (1992-1996, 1998-2001, Part of 2007) - Lofton is not quite two years older than I am, and the fact that he is the Tribe's all-time base stealer and has played in more than 80 post-season games amazes me. How's this for an interesting tidbit: In his first year with the Tribe, he hit .285 and in 2007, he hit .283 - Not too bad for a career that has spanned more than 15 years. I'll get to his batting stats in a sec, but his stolen base stats are impressive. For starters, during his Tribe career alone, he attempted more than 550 stolen bases. Of those, he was only picked off 104 times. That gives him a whopping 76% success rate. If you look at his overall major league career, the average goes UP to 79.5% - Eight in ten times, if he's stealing on you, he's succeeding. Ouch. In order to steal bases, you have to get ON base. Now, here is where things kinda get weird. In 5,045 at-bats, Lofton got 1,512 hits and was walked 611 times and hit by the ball 20 times. So, out of those 5045 at-bats, he was actually on base 2,143 times. That means when he got a hit, he has been on base about 42% of the time. Not too shabby in itself, but looking back at the stolen base stats, he was taking off 25% of the time he got a hit. Those are not good odds if you're the pitcher... Of course, that is not exactly right because he also has 244 doubles, 66 triples, and 87 home runs throughout his Indians career. Oh, have I mention the 518 RBI's? So far, as a Triber, he has a .299 batting average, a .373 on-base average and a .424 slugging percentage. He also managed to set the MLB record for stolen bases in playoff action with 34 career post-season steals. The man he overtook? The legendary Rickey Henderson. In addition to all of that, he has at least 6 all-star appearances and 4 World Series showings (2 with the Tribe). And though at the peak of his career he was paid more, in 2007 he really was the six million dollar man....
Mike de la Hoz - 4 seasons (1960-1963) - Wearing the Number 7 in '61 and '62, de la Hoz was first seen wearing Number 1 in our countdown. Throughout his Indians career, he posted near or above .260 average for each year with the Tribe, except for 1962. In 1962, he only had 12 at-bats and had one hit, posting just a .083 average.
Odell Hale - 9 seasons (1931, 1933-1940) - Hale was seen in our Number 4 uniform spot, and will show up again wearing #'s 25 and 34. He only wore Number 7 during his rookie year. He played in 25 games with 92 at-bats that season. His 26 hits, 14 runs, 2 doubles, 4 triples, and single home run earned him a .283 average his first year in the majors. Not a bad start at all! Feel free to re-visit Number 4 for a review of his career.
Pete Center - 4 seasons (1942-43, 45-46) - Center was just as fickle with his uniform number as many of the Tribers we've seen so far. In 42-43, he wore Number 7, then #40 in 1945, and in '46 he sported #29. I have to wonder if the idea that someone would someday do an "All-Time Uniform Number list" crossed their minds, so they changed numbers in order better their odds... You never can tell... I digress. Center, whose name might suggest an outfielding position, but Center was a pitcher. In 1942, he pitched in one game for 3.1 innings. He walked four batters and gave up SIX runs on 7 hits. In his only game of his rookie year, he managed to earn a staggering 16.20 ERA. He managed to settle down the next year (frankly, it amazes me had had a 4-year baseball career at all after his rookie showing), ending his 2nd season with a 2.76 ERA. Unfortunately, his ERA kept climbing (3.99 then 4.97). The Tribe saw a pattern developing and cut him loose in 1946. He was a batting pitcher (as they had not officially started using DHs yet), and he lived up (down?) to the general stereotype of batting pitchers: they can't hit for...squat. In 31 career at-bats, he struck out 12 times, had 2 runs and 2 hits and was walked once. In 4 seasons, he actually only managed to have an average above .000 in one of those seasons (1945). His average that year was .091, and his major league career batting average was just .065. Regardless, he still got say something I never can: He played for the Indians. :-)
Phil Roof - Part of 1 season (1965) - Roof came to the Indians from the Angels after batting .136 in 9 games. Unfortunately, he did fare much better with the Tribe. In 52 at-bats (in 43 games), he ended his Indians-playing days with a .173 average, and was unceremoniously traded to the Athletics. While not very good while standing at the plate, he did very well while crouched behind it. In 41 games for the Tribe, he had 162 put-outs with 17 assists while keeping his number of passed balls to two. He left the Tribe with a .994 fielding percentage.
Ron Pruitt - 5+ seasons (1976-part of 1980, 1981) - Pruitt only wore the Number 7 for part of the 1978 season. His preferred Tribe uniform number was 13, so we'll see him again down the road a bit. In '78, he had 44 hits on 187 at-bats, getting 17 runs, 6 doubles, a triple, and 6 home runs with 17 RBIs. He was walked 16 times, so a "plus" that could taken from that is that he was just as likely to be walked as to have an RBI. I know, not much to go on, but remember we are only talking about one season for now. Unfortunately, he struck out 20 times as well, so he was actually more likely to strike out than to get an RBI or be walked. Bummer. He ended the season with a .235 average. As we will see during the Number 13 run-down, he managed to do better than that with the Tribe, and in fact his 1978 season proved to be his lowest seasonal average. Those of you not familiar with the Indians during most of their existence, this little exchange sums it up: "When Indians catcher Ron Pruitt met Cleveland mayor Dennis Kucinich he said, 'I'm glad to meet you, Mr. Mayor, because I've been wanting to talk to you about the condition of your streets.' Kucinich, mindful of Cleveland's low standing in the American League, responded: 'That's good. I've been wanting to ask you about the condition of the Indians.'" - Baseball Digest (December 1978) (as quoted on baseball-almanac.com)
Joe Azcue - 7 seasons (1963-1969) - Remember, Azcue was one of the three finalists for the Uniform #6. Here's the replay: He wore the Number 6 for his entire Indians career except for 1967, in which he wore Number 7. Azcue's 100 hits, 23 runs, and 42 RBIs earned him a spot on the 1968 All-Star team. He came to the Tribe in '63 from the A's, and he finished his first year in Cleveland with a .284 average. During his Indians career, he only had one season below .250, and five of his Indians' seasons were better than .270! His career in Cleveland gave him 1904 at-bats with 506 hits, 229 RBIs, 132 walks, and an overall average of .269. A couple of his interesting career facts include catching two no-hitters, and being the first person to hit into an unassisted triple play since 1927 (41 years) (July, 1968) - ouch.
Joe Inglett - 1 season (2006) - Inglett played in 64 games with the Tribe, getting 57 hits on 201 at-bats. He scored 26 runs, 8 doubles, 3 triples, and 2 homers. Add to that 21 RBIs, 14 walks and 39 strikeouts, and you have a very respectable .284 rookie year. He left the Indians for the Blue Jays last year (2007).
John Ellis - 3 seasons (1973-1975) - Ellis came to the Tribe from the Yankees. He batted .270 his first year, .285 his second, and .230 in his final year with the Indians. I remember a friend of mine having a catcher's glove with his signature on it as a kid (He served on the Spalding Sporting Goods advisory staff in the 70's). 1974 is often considered to be his best overall season: 136 hits with 477 at-bats, 58 runs, 64 RBIs, 10 homers, 23 doubles, 6 triples and a .285 average. In 1987, he founded the Connecticut Sports Foundation Against Cancer (http://www.sportsfoundation.org), which provides financial assistance to patients and families of those with cancer (He has lost a brother, sister, and sister-in-law to cancer, and is himself a cancer survivor).
Johnny Romano - 5 seasons (1960-1964) - Romano wore Numbers 11, 9, 5, and 7 while with the Indians. 1967 was the only season in which he wore the Number 7. But, as with many of the Tribers in our look at the All-Timers, he will appear again. In case you have forgotten, here is what we saw at the Number 5: Romano scored 40 runs, 12 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, with 52 RBIs on 86 hits during his first year with the Tribe (.272 avg). In both of the next two years, he played for the AL all-star team (21 homers in 1961 and 25 homers in '62). During his Indians career, he maintained a .460+ SLG except for one season ('63) which he had fractured his hand. It'll be fun to see where he stands in the #11 spot, since that's the number he wore the most often.
Jonah Goldman - 3 seasons (1928, 1930-31) - Technically, Goldman only wore #7 in 1931, since there were no Indians uniform numbers before that. For the sake of argument, I'll include all the years he played. His three years with the Tribe were also the extent of his major league career. Overall, he scored 33 runs on 87 hits with 389 at-bats. He only had 1 home run and scored 20 doubles while bringing 49 RBIs and getting walked 35 times. He struck out 31 times, which means only 10 times per season on average. He left the Tribe with a .129 average in his final season and a .224 overall.
Ken Suarez - 3 seasons (1968-69, 71) - Suarez did not play any full-time seasons with the Tribe. In '68, he batted in 17 games, then 36 in '69 and finally he batted in 50 games in '71. His highest career average was a .294 in 1969. Unfortunately, that was bookended by a .100 first Tribe season and .203 final season before being traded to the Rangers. In both '69 and '71, he had 25 hits, a home run, and 9 RBIs in each season. I'm not sure if there is a significance there, but back-to-back seasons where a player repeats stats in three different categories is pretty cool in my book.
Kenny Lofton - 9+ seasons (1992-1996, 1998-2001, Part of 2007) - Lofton is not quite two years older than I am, and the fact that he is the Tribe's all-time base stealer and has played in more than 80 post-season games amazes me. How's this for an interesting tidbit: In his first year with the Tribe, he hit .285 and in 2007, he hit .283 - Not too bad for a career that has spanned more than 15 years. I'll get to his batting stats in a sec, but his stolen base stats are impressive. For starters, during his Tribe career alone, he attempted more than 550 stolen bases. Of those, he was only picked off 104 times. That gives him a whopping 76% success rate. If you look at his overall major league career, the average goes UP to 79.5% - Eight in ten times, if he's stealing on you, he's succeeding. Ouch. In order to steal bases, you have to get ON base. Now, here is where things kinda get weird. In 5,045 at-bats, Lofton got 1,512 hits and was walked 611 times and hit by the ball 20 times. So, out of those 5045 at-bats, he was actually on base 2,143 times. That means when he got a hit, he has been on base about 42% of the time. Not too shabby in itself, but looking back at the stolen base stats, he was taking off 25% of the time he got a hit. Those are not good odds if you're the pitcher... Of course, that is not exactly right because he also has 244 doubles, 66 triples, and 87 home runs throughout his Indians career. Oh, have I mention the 518 RBI's? So far, as a Triber, he has a .299 batting average, a .373 on-base average and a .424 slugging percentage. He also managed to set the MLB record for stolen bases in playoff action with 34 career post-season steals. The man he overtook? The legendary Rickey Henderson. In addition to all of that, he has at least 6 all-star appearances and 4 World Series showings (2 with the Tribe). And though at the peak of his career he was paid more, in 2007 he really was the six million dollar man....
Mike de la Hoz - 4 seasons (1960-1963) - Wearing the Number 7 in '61 and '62, de la Hoz was first seen wearing Number 1 in our countdown. Throughout his Indians career, he posted near or above .260 average for each year with the Tribe, except for 1962. In 1962, he only had 12 at-bats and had one hit, posting just a .083 average.
Odell Hale - 9 seasons (1931, 1933-1940) - Hale was seen in our Number 4 uniform spot, and will show up again wearing #'s 25 and 34. He only wore Number 7 during his rookie year. He played in 25 games with 92 at-bats that season. His 26 hits, 14 runs, 2 doubles, 4 triples, and single home run earned him a .283 average his first year in the majors. Not a bad start at all! Feel free to re-visit Number 4 for a review of his career.
Pete Center - 4 seasons (1942-43, 45-46) - Center was just as fickle with his uniform number as many of the Tribers we've seen so far. In 42-43, he wore Number 7, then #40 in 1945, and in '46 he sported #29. I have to wonder if the idea that someone would someday do an "All-Time Uniform Number list" crossed their minds, so they changed numbers in order better their odds... You never can tell... I digress. Center, whose name might suggest an outfielding position, but Center was a pitcher. In 1942, he pitched in one game for 3.1 innings. He walked four batters and gave up SIX runs on 7 hits. In his only game of his rookie year, he managed to earn a staggering 16.20 ERA. He managed to settle down the next year (frankly, it amazes me had had a 4-year baseball career at all after his rookie showing), ending his 2nd season with a 2.76 ERA. Unfortunately, his ERA kept climbing (3.99 then 4.97). The Tribe saw a pattern developing and cut him loose in 1946. He was a batting pitcher (as they had not officially started using DHs yet), and he lived up (down?) to the general stereotype of batting pitchers: they can't hit for...squat. In 31 career at-bats, he struck out 12 times, had 2 runs and 2 hits and was walked once. In 4 seasons, he actually only managed to have an average above .000 in one of those seasons (1945). His average that year was .091, and his major league career batting average was just .065. Regardless, he still got say something I never can: He played for the Indians. :-)
Phil Roof - Part of 1 season (1965) - Roof came to the Indians from the Angels after batting .136 in 9 games. Unfortunately, he did fare much better with the Tribe. In 52 at-bats (in 43 games), he ended his Indians-playing days with a .173 average, and was unceremoniously traded to the Athletics. While not very good while standing at the plate, he did very well while crouched behind it. In 41 games for the Tribe, he had 162 put-outs with 17 assists while keeping his number of passed balls to two. He left the Tribe with a .994 fielding percentage.
Ron Pruitt - 5+ seasons (1976-part of 1980, 1981) - Pruitt only wore the Number 7 for part of the 1978 season. His preferred Tribe uniform number was 13, so we'll see him again down the road a bit. In '78, he had 44 hits on 187 at-bats, getting 17 runs, 6 doubles, a triple, and 6 home runs with 17 RBIs. He was walked 16 times, so a "plus" that could taken from that is that he was just as likely to be walked as to have an RBI. I know, not much to go on, but remember we are only talking about one season for now. Unfortunately, he struck out 20 times as well, so he was actually more likely to strike out than to get an RBI or be walked. Bummer. He ended the season with a .235 average. As we will see during the Number 13 run-down, he managed to do better than that with the Tribe, and in fact his 1978 season proved to be his lowest seasonal average. Those of you not familiar with the Indians during most of their existence, this little exchange sums it up: "When Indians catcher Ron Pruitt met Cleveland mayor Dennis Kucinich he said, 'I'm glad to meet you, Mr. Mayor, because I've been wanting to talk to you about the condition of your streets.' Kucinich, mindful of Cleveland's low standing in the American League, responded: 'That's good. I've been wanting to ask you about the condition of the Indians.'" - Baseball Digest (December 1978) (as quoted on baseball-almanac.com)
Monday, March 10, 2008
Indians Uniform Number - 7 (Part 2 of 3)
Tonight, I offer you the second group of players to have donned the Number 7 uniform. As you'll see, several of them wore other numbers during the same year they wore #7... And, in all honesty, there is probably only one person in this Part 2 that might qualify for the final vote of All-Time Number 7. After this, we have one more set of players to review for #7:
Ed Wheeler - 1 season (1945) - Selected by the Indians in the Rule 5 Draft (winter), this is not the Wheeler that played with the Superbas. He batted in 46 games (72 at-bats) resulting in 12 runs on 14 hits with 2 doubles, 1 RBI, 8 walks and 13 strikeouts. His single year in the majors netted him a .194 average.
Fred Hatfield - Part of 1 season (1958) - Hatfield, reportedly a direct descendant of the Hatfields and McCoys family feud, batted 8 times as an Indian. He got 1 hit, 1 RBI, 1 walk, and 1 strike out. He was traded to the Reds for a player and $10,000. I'd have to say with a .125 average, the Tribe made a good deal....
Gene Leek - 1 season (1959) - Leek came to the Tribe as a free agent and played in 13 games. He got 8 hits which resulted in 7 runs. He brought in 5 RBIs and hit a home run. He was walked only twice in his 36 at-bats, but struck out 7 times. He did not play in 1960, getting picked up by the Angels in the expansion draft. He left the Tribe with a .222 average and a .389 slugging percentage.
George Case - 1 season (1946) - Case wore two uniform numbers during his single season with the Indians (#15 and #7). After a lengthy career with the Senators, he came to the Tribe after batting a .294 season. He batted 484 times in 118 games, grabbing 109 hits, 23 doubles, 4 triples, and a single homer. The Indians obviously had high expectations, but Case's .225 season sent him back to the Senators in 1947. (Shown in Senators uniform)
Granny Hamner - Part of 1 season (1959) - Granville "Granny" Hamner had one of those names that may have been either cool or a flat-out slam. Given his multiple all-star appearances in addition to a World Series appearance (all with the Phillies), I'd say it was a 'cool' name. Unfortunately, that coolness came to an abrupt halt in 1959. While batting .297 with the Phillies, he was sent to Cleveland where he fumbled his way to a .164 average. He was given a right-out release at the end of the season. (shown in Phillies uniform)
Hal Jones - Parts of 2 seasons (1961-62) - Jones wore #7 in 1961, then switched to #15 in '62. In '61, he batted 35 times, getting 2 runs on 6 hits with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. Unfortunately, he struck out 12 times, and his rookie average barely climbed past .170. At least the next year, he batted half as many times and raised his average to .313.
Hal Trosky - 8+ seasons (1933-1941) - Troksy batted in 11 games his rookie year (wearing #21), knocking 6 runs on 13 hits with a double, two triples, and a home run, bringing in 8 RBIs. He hit for a .295, so the Tribe put him in full-time after that. The next two years, Trosky batted in all 154 games, grabbing a .330 average and a .271 respectively. In 8+ seasons, HALF of those were .330 or better, and three of the remaining four were better than .290! In SIX of his seasons with the Tribe, he drove in 100+ RBIs per season. He was the "close buy no cigar" guy when it came to the all-star games throughout his career. He just never could muster up enough votes to get into the all-stars. Over the course of his Indians career, he knocked 1365 hits in 4365 at-bats. He scored 758 runs with 911 RBIs (216 home runs), while being walked 449 times and being beaned by the ball 15 times (that's almost twice a season). He also struck out 373 times. It is next to impossible to talk about Trosky without at least mentioning the "Crybaby" incident in which 10 players went to the owner to complain about the manager (Vitt). Trosky was not happy with Vitt, but believed confronting the owner about the situation was not warranted. Nevertheless, Trosky was pulled into the fiasco on the day of his Mother's funeral. The owner finally admitted that the accusations were well founded. His career suffered greatly because of his migraines. All that said, he retired early, after suffering years of intense migraine headaches. He left the Indians with a career batting average of .310, and on-base percentage of .376, and a .539 slugging percentage (remember, that's over an 8+ season career).
Harley Boss - 1 season (1933) - Now, THAT'S a baseball name! Elmer (his first name) batted in 112 games in 1933. In 438 at-bats, he had 118 hits with 53 RBIs and 54 runs, 17 doubles, 7 triples, and a home run. He struck out 27 times and was walked just about as often (25 BB and hit by a pitch once). He left the major leagues with a cool name and a .269 average.
Harvey Kuenn - 1 season (1960) - Kuenn may sound familiar to you. He appeared in our countdown wearing #6. In case you forgot, he was the one booed often during his time in Cleveland. Many fans blamed him for Colavito's leaving town. So much so in fact, that he is solely responsible for what Tribe fans called, "The Curse of Colavito," which even earned its own Wikipedia page (here). Of course, the Tribe of the mid-late 90's and of much more recent years has all but squashed the curse (now if we could just win the big one!). Despite the not-so-warm reception, in 474 at-bats, he knocked 65 runs on 146 hits with 24 doubles and 9 homers. He also managed to bring in 54 RBIs and only 25 strikeouts. He left Cleveland fans with a .308 average to mull on...
Jack Brohamer - 4+ seasons (1972-'75, 1980) - Brohamer was one of my favorites as a kid. He wore the #7 during his rookie year, then the #10 until 1976. When he came back in 1980, he donned #8. So, we will see him again throughout the countdown. As for his rookie year, he batted 527 times, getting 123 hits. He scored 49 runs with 13 doubles, 2 triples, and 5 home runs, driving in 35 RBIs. He finished his rookie year with a .233 average. We'll see how he stacks up as the countdown goes on.
Jack Conway - 3 seasons (1941, '46-47) - We first saw Conway wearing #4, and we will see him again wearing #18. He sported the #7 during his last season with Cleveland. His 9 hits in 50 at-bats netted 3 runs with 5 RBIs. He was also walked 3 times and whiffed out 8 times. He left the Tribe that year batting .180, a long way from his 2 at-bat .500 rookie year.
Jeff Juden - Part of 1 season (1997) - Juden pitched in the World Series for the Tribe in two games. He pitched in 2 innings over those two games, and racked up a whopping 4.50 ERA. Ouch. Before that, the Indians should have had a clue. After all, in the 5-game, 31-inning season he had with Cleveland, he gave up 6 home runs, walked 15 batters, gave up 32 hits and 21 runs. Holy smokes, people... This does not look good. The envelope, please: 5.46 ERA... I can't even talk about it... I'm too verklempt. Here's a topic: Name the 1st and only Indian aside from C.C. Sabathia to win the AL Cy Young Award? (first to answer correctly wins a prize)
Jim Mahoney - 1 season (1962) - Mahoney (not related to the character in the "Police Academy" movies) wore #16 and #7 during his one-year stint with the Tribe. He had 74 at-bats in 41 games. Of those, he got 12 runs on 18 hits with 5 RBIs, 4 doubles, and 3 home runs. Striking out 14 times did not help, though. His Indians career average was also the highest of his four years in the majors, a .243 avg.
Ed Wheeler - 1 season (1945) - Selected by the Indians in the Rule 5 Draft (winter), this is not the Wheeler that played with the Superbas. He batted in 46 games (72 at-bats) resulting in 12 runs on 14 hits with 2 doubles, 1 RBI, 8 walks and 13 strikeouts. His single year in the majors netted him a .194 average.
Fred Hatfield - Part of 1 season (1958) - Hatfield, reportedly a direct descendant of the Hatfields and McCoys family feud, batted 8 times as an Indian. He got 1 hit, 1 RBI, 1 walk, and 1 strike out. He was traded to the Reds for a player and $10,000. I'd have to say with a .125 average, the Tribe made a good deal....
Gene Leek - 1 season (1959) - Leek came to the Tribe as a free agent and played in 13 games. He got 8 hits which resulted in 7 runs. He brought in 5 RBIs and hit a home run. He was walked only twice in his 36 at-bats, but struck out 7 times. He did not play in 1960, getting picked up by the Angels in the expansion draft. He left the Tribe with a .222 average and a .389 slugging percentage.
George Case - 1 season (1946) - Case wore two uniform numbers during his single season with the Indians (#15 and #7). After a lengthy career with the Senators, he came to the Tribe after batting a .294 season. He batted 484 times in 118 games, grabbing 109 hits, 23 doubles, 4 triples, and a single homer. The Indians obviously had high expectations, but Case's .225 season sent him back to the Senators in 1947. (Shown in Senators uniform)
Granny Hamner - Part of 1 season (1959) - Granville "Granny" Hamner had one of those names that may have been either cool or a flat-out slam. Given his multiple all-star appearances in addition to a World Series appearance (all with the Phillies), I'd say it was a 'cool' name. Unfortunately, that coolness came to an abrupt halt in 1959. While batting .297 with the Phillies, he was sent to Cleveland where he fumbled his way to a .164 average. He was given a right-out release at the end of the season. (shown in Phillies uniform)
Hal Jones - Parts of 2 seasons (1961-62) - Jones wore #7 in 1961, then switched to #15 in '62. In '61, he batted 35 times, getting 2 runs on 6 hits with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. Unfortunately, he struck out 12 times, and his rookie average barely climbed past .170. At least the next year, he batted half as many times and raised his average to .313.
Hal Trosky - 8+ seasons (1933-1941) - Troksy batted in 11 games his rookie year (wearing #21), knocking 6 runs on 13 hits with a double, two triples, and a home run, bringing in 8 RBIs. He hit for a .295, so the Tribe put him in full-time after that. The next two years, Trosky batted in all 154 games, grabbing a .330 average and a .271 respectively. In 8+ seasons, HALF of those were .330 or better, and three of the remaining four were better than .290! In SIX of his seasons with the Tribe, he drove in 100+ RBIs per season. He was the "close buy no cigar" guy when it came to the all-star games throughout his career. He just never could muster up enough votes to get into the all-stars. Over the course of his Indians career, he knocked 1365 hits in 4365 at-bats. He scored 758 runs with 911 RBIs (216 home runs), while being walked 449 times and being beaned by the ball 15 times (that's almost twice a season). He also struck out 373 times. It is next to impossible to talk about Trosky without at least mentioning the "Crybaby" incident in which 10 players went to the owner to complain about the manager (Vitt). Trosky was not happy with Vitt, but believed confronting the owner about the situation was not warranted. Nevertheless, Trosky was pulled into the fiasco on the day of his Mother's funeral. The owner finally admitted that the accusations were well founded. His career suffered greatly because of his migraines. All that said, he retired early, after suffering years of intense migraine headaches. He left the Indians with a career batting average of .310, and on-base percentage of .376, and a .539 slugging percentage (remember, that's over an 8+ season career).
Harley Boss - 1 season (1933) - Now, THAT'S a baseball name! Elmer (his first name) batted in 112 games in 1933. In 438 at-bats, he had 118 hits with 53 RBIs and 54 runs, 17 doubles, 7 triples, and a home run. He struck out 27 times and was walked just about as often (25 BB and hit by a pitch once). He left the major leagues with a cool name and a .269 average.
Harvey Kuenn - 1 season (1960) - Kuenn may sound familiar to you. He appeared in our countdown wearing #6. In case you forgot, he was the one booed often during his time in Cleveland. Many fans blamed him for Colavito's leaving town. So much so in fact, that he is solely responsible for what Tribe fans called, "The Curse of Colavito," which even earned its own Wikipedia page (here). Of course, the Tribe of the mid-late 90's and of much more recent years has all but squashed the curse (now if we could just win the big one!). Despite the not-so-warm reception, in 474 at-bats, he knocked 65 runs on 146 hits with 24 doubles and 9 homers. He also managed to bring in 54 RBIs and only 25 strikeouts. He left Cleveland fans with a .308 average to mull on...
Jack Brohamer - 4+ seasons (1972-'75, 1980) - Brohamer was one of my favorites as a kid. He wore the #7 during his rookie year, then the #10 until 1976. When he came back in 1980, he donned #8. So, we will see him again throughout the countdown. As for his rookie year, he batted 527 times, getting 123 hits. He scored 49 runs with 13 doubles, 2 triples, and 5 home runs, driving in 35 RBIs. He finished his rookie year with a .233 average. We'll see how he stacks up as the countdown goes on.
Jack Conway - 3 seasons (1941, '46-47) - We first saw Conway wearing #4, and we will see him again wearing #18. He sported the #7 during his last season with Cleveland. His 9 hits in 50 at-bats netted 3 runs with 5 RBIs. He was also walked 3 times and whiffed out 8 times. He left the Tribe that year batting .180, a long way from his 2 at-bat .500 rookie year.
Jeff Juden - Part of 1 season (1997) - Juden pitched in the World Series for the Tribe in two games. He pitched in 2 innings over those two games, and racked up a whopping 4.50 ERA. Ouch. Before that, the Indians should have had a clue. After all, in the 5-game, 31-inning season he had with Cleveland, he gave up 6 home runs, walked 15 batters, gave up 32 hits and 21 runs. Holy smokes, people... This does not look good. The envelope, please: 5.46 ERA... I can't even talk about it... I'm too verklempt. Here's a topic: Name the 1st and only Indian aside from C.C. Sabathia to win the AL Cy Young Award? (first to answer correctly wins a prize)
Jim Mahoney - 1 season (1962) - Mahoney (not related to the character in the "Police Academy" movies) wore #16 and #7 during his one-year stint with the Tribe. He had 74 at-bats in 41 games. Of those, he got 12 runs on 18 hits with 5 RBIs, 4 doubles, and 3 home runs. Striking out 14 times did not help, though. His Indians career average was also the highest of his four years in the majors, a .243 avg.
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