Tonight, I offer up the final set of Indians who wore the Number 10 during their careers for the Tribe. We have a couple 1-season guys, and a winner of a previous uniform list on here. Have fun, and I will announce my pick for All-Time Jersey Number 10 in a few days!
Mark Lewis - 5 seasons (1991-94, 2001) - Lewis wore #10 his first two seasons, then switched to #20 for the next two. We first saw him wearing #1. Wearing Number 10, he came to the Tribe in 1991 and stood at the plate 314 times. That is nothing particularly special, but the fact that he did not hit a single home run in all those at-bats is... Of course, not the fact that hit did not hit any home runs in 300+ at-bats, but that he still managed a .264 average that season without any homers. He scored 29 runs and 30 RBIs on 83 hits, 15 doubles and a triple. The next season, he had again had 30 RBIs and ended the season with another .264 average - back-to-back 30 RBI seasons with .264 averages.
Max Alvis - 8 seasons (1962-69) - Alvis' full-time gig with the Tribe did not start until 1963. In his rookie year (I am counting that as '62, since that's when he started in the majors), he had 11 hits with 1 run in 51 at-bats. The next year, he played full-time third baseman and racked up 165 hits in 602 chances at the plate. Those hits scored 81 runs with 67 RBIs, while he also knocked 32 doubles, 7 triples, and 22 home runs! He was walked 38 times (2 intentional) and struck out 109 times. He was swinging, for sure. He also managed to get himself pegged by the ball 10 times... I don't know if that's crowding the plate or just bad luck. Over the course of his carer, he was elected to two all-star games ('65, '67), and survived a nasty battle with spinal meningitis ('64). He is listed among the 100 greatest Cleveland Indians players (
here). His eight-season life with the Tribe netted him 3,514 at-bats, scoring 405 runs on 874 hits, 140 doubles, 22 triples, and 108 home runs. He brought in 361 RBIs (just over 10% of his at-bats and 41% of his total hits!). He left the Indians with a career .242 average before being sent over to the Brewers.
Mickey Rocco - 4 seasons (1943-46) - We took a look at Rocco's stats while he was wearing #9, so today, we look at his stats while wearing the Number 10 jersey. He wore #10 in 1945-46 while serving as the Tribe's 1st baseman. In his final two years in the majors, he scored 89 runs on 173 (663 at-bats) with 30 doubles, 6 triples, and 12 home runs. He struck out 55 times, but brought in 70 RBIs. Defensively, he led the AL in 1st base fielding percentages twice (43 and 45), and overall (all four years) helped complete 399 double plays.
Pat Borders - 3 seasons (1997-1999) - Borders played in 55 games his first year as a Triber, but was given Free agency before the Tribe went on to the World Series that year. The next year, they picked him back up again. Talk about being robbed. Best I can figure, he served as backup catcher and third baseman during his time with the Tribe. In his three seasons, he only batted in 115 games, and only 6 in his final partial season. He came to the plate 339 times, scored 31 runs, and made 91 hits, 13 doubles, 2 triples, and hit four home runs. He drove in 24 RBIs, ending his Indians carer with a .278 overall average.
Pat Tabler - 6 seasons (1983-1988) - Tabler came to Cleveland when the Tribe traded Jerry Dybzinski to the White Sox. He batted in 124 games his first season with the Indians and piled up a .291 batting average. The next year, he continued doing well, and his average "fell" to .290. Tabler was a solid hitter that seemed to be blessed with the ability to drive in runs when the bases were loaded (in his overall MLB career, he was nearly .500 when runners packed the bases!). In 1987, he was a member of the AL All-Star team, though he had just one at-bat and struck out. As an Indian, he had 2,476 at-bats with 729 hits. Of those, 343 (47%) were RBIs and 312 (43%) were runs. He also snagged 130 doubles and 39 home runs. Over the course of his career in Cleveland, he hit 17 triples, was walked 233 times with 15 intentionals. Not one to just stand there, he also struck out 366 times. He left the the Indians batting .285 overall.
Paul Zuvella - 2 seasons (1988-89) - Zuvella only batted in 75 games for the Tribe during his two-year stint. In his 188 at-bats, he scored 19 runs on 46 hits with 7 doubles, a triple, and two home runs. He knocked in 13 RBIs, struck out 24 times and was walked nine. He batted .231 his first year and then .276 his second before being sent to the Royals. According to Wikipedia editors, Zuvella appears in the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." In the film, the character "Mr. Rooney" is watching a game in which Ferris catches a foul ball. Zuvella is the runner on first base. Just in case you are ever asked about it in a game show...
Ray Fosse - 7+ seasons (1967-1972, 1976-Part of '77) - In case you've slept a little since Uniform Number 8 rolled around, Fosse was chosen as All-Time Triber in the #8 jersey. Fosse wore Number 10 during his 2nd visit with the Indians club (76-77). In his final two years as an Indian, he held a .992 fielding percentage as catcher and first baseman (he had a perfect 1.00 fielding avg as a 1st baseman, but that only counted for four games. The other games were played as catcher). This guy came to play. In 168 games those two years, he batted 514 times. In those at-bats, Fosse gathered up 51 runs on 146 hits with 16 doubles, 2 triples, and 8 home runs. He only struck out 46 times and walked 27 times. He left the Indians batting a .283 while wearing uniform Number 10.
Rich Rollins - Part of 1 season (1970) - Rollins came to the Tribe from the Brewers, played in 42 games, then left the majors after a 10-year run in the majors. As far as his partial season with the Indians goes, he had 43 at-bats in 42 games. He scored 6 runs and 4 RBIs on 10 hits with 2 home runs and five strike outs. He left the Indians batting a .233 average.
Tom Brookens - 1 season (1990) - Brookens is one of those players that I had previously thought played for several years with the Tribe. I was mistaken for sure. In fact, he only played in 64 games, and after he did that, he left the majors for good. I may need to do a study on the number of players who left the majors after playing with the Tribe (that is, who played for Cleveland in their last major league season). I digress. Brookens got 41 hits, 7 doubles, 2 triples, and a partridge in a pear... er, and a home run in his season with the Tribe. He did this with 154 at-bats, bringing in 20 RBIs and scoring 18 runs himself. He left Cleveland with a .266 batting average (his 3rd highest in his 12-season career).
Vic Power - 4 seasons (1958-1961) - Two-time AL All-Star while playing with the Tribe, Power came to Cleveland from the A's. He came in swinging, and just kept right on swinging. His last name was actually Pellot, but he used his mother's maiden name (Pellot Pove) while playing ball. Evidently, a 'rough' translation of "pellot" in Old French refers to 'small balls.' This led to fans laughing when he was announced. Pove got changed to Power, and the rest is history. (Again, in case you are ever asked on a game show). Power has 2,123 trips to the plate during his career, and his batting prowess helped secure two trips to the All-Star game (1959,60). He scored 298 runs on 612 hits with 155 doubles, 19 triples, and 37 home runs. He tallied up 260 RBIs during his career as well. He did all of this while being walked 115 times. His four years spent with the Indians earned him a .290 overall average. Doesn't look like 'little balls' to me!
