Indians Uniform Number - 0 Junior Ortiz

Sometimes, choosing the "best" Indians player associated with a certain jersey number takes almost no work at all. Such is the case for Junior Ortiz ('92-'93). Junior is the ONLY player I could find in Tribe history to wear the single zero on his jersey. Ortiz batted with a .250 AVG in '92 and fell to .221 in '93. During the course of his two-year stint in a Cleveland uniform (appearing in nearly 495 games), he hit a grand total of ZERO triples and ZERO home runs, and a whopping 20 doubles (sarcasm, in case you weren't sure).

Now, in Junior's defense, he played backup catcher to Sandy Alomar, Jr. That would have made life rough for most catchers.

Indians Uniform Number - 00 Paul Dade

Welcome to the first post in the "Cleveland Indians All-Time Players by Uniform Number." Yeah, the title needs a little work... Note: The "Mistake by the Lake" blog did an all-Cleveland version of what I am doing, but it is only as recent as 2004, and the one you are reading here is specific to the Indians only.

I am starting with uniform #00. So far as I could find, only two players have worn the lowest number available. What mental state do you have to be in that you would request 00 as your jersey number? Or, what kind of player do you have to be that you might be ASSIGNED the ol' 00? Well, as far as the Tribe goes, we have one such player (White). The two players I found are Paul Dade ('77-'79) and Rick White (2004).

Looking over the two players, I chose Paul Dade. Factors involved include longevity within the Indian organization and overall stats. Now, the longevity was a no-brainer. In the stats department, White pitched a total of 78.1 innings and managed to rack up a 5.29 ERA. Seriously. I am not surprised that he did not stick around long! Dade, on the other hand drew a consistent .325+ OBP with only a .250+ overall batting average. His best AVG was in 1977 where he hit for .291. Though his RBIs dropped from 45 to 18 during his tenure, he managed to hit three home runs each season he was with the Tribe. Yeah, he may not have hit many, but he was consistent, right? According to "Mistake," Dad was traded one-for-one for Mike Hargrove. I'd say the Tribe got the better end of that deal!

The decision to name the "All-Time" double-zero had me scratching my head the more thought I put into it. After all, if I were to choose the player who most DESERVED to wear the number, it would have to be White. But, I am trying to build the "best of the best," so given the candidates, Dade is the clear -er,um- winner.

BTW, I am collecting my information from a variety of sources: www.baseball-almanac.com, MLB.com, the "Mistake by the Lake" blog, search engine results, the cards themselves (when and where applicable), and my own personal feelings/observations.

Next time, I will look at Uniform #0.

It's 2:30am, do you know where your gift packs are?

Yes, I am one of those crazy people that stays up all hours on the weekend, and this go-round netted the completion of 2/3 of the remaining 12 Days gift packs!

The first tonight (okay, this morning) goes to Brandon in Indiana. He provided a smorgasbord of options for me, which helped immensely, especially since by my calculations, his was the last request in: Yankees, Braves, Nationals, Ravens, and Browns. Without further adieu - On the twelfth day of Christmas, Tribecards gave away: twelve Washington Nationals (sidebar: they were ALL the Nationals I had!), eleven random Ravens, ten Tim Couch cards, nine assorted Yankees, eight insert/oddball Braves cards, seven Cleveland Browns cards, six Skybox Dominion/Thunders, FIVE TODD HEAP CARDS, four Chris Redmans, three Steve Sax, two Dale Murphys, and a Billy Martin World Series Heroes Card (okay, so you really have to stretch around the last one to make it fit the song, but hey, that's what mangled traditional favorites is all about, right?).

The second giveaway goes to Joe in Utah who also had an interesting request list: Titans, Saints, Penguins, and Reds. Thus, on the twelfth day of Christmas, Tribecards gave to Joe: twelve Aaron Brooks cards, eleven Barry Larkins, ten Tennessee Titans, nine Pokey Reeses, eight assorted Saints cards, seven Yancey Thigpens, six Deuce McAllister, FIVE PENGUIN CARDS (again, all the Penguin cards I could find!), four Kevin Dyson, three '07 Goudey Reds, two Austin Kearns, and a '71 Topps in tree-oh! Okay, the last one there? Well, the '71 Topps Reds I had were kinda roughed up, so I decided to include all the '71 Topps Reds I had in one "day." I know, it doesn't "follow the rules" of the song, but really, in the song, the guy gets a partridge in a pear tree, so that's actually two things. Besides, I made up the rules, so I can "shape" them as I need to, right?

Now, you may be asking yourself (especially if you are the last person to be getting your gift pack) why I filled the last request in (Brandon's) before I filled a request that came in earlier. The answer is simple. David A requested an all-Cleveland gift pack (Indians, Browns, and Buckeyes). Since I have a bazillion Indians cards to pick through, it is going to take a little more time than the other gift packs. Have no fear though, David, you will end up with some sweet Tribe cards. Well, the Browns cards are pretty cool, too. I'll let you know now, though, I only have one Buckeye, so at least you know what you're getting on the first day of your 12 days gift pack... :-)

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Before I sign off for the night (morning), I have a couple observations I wish to share should anyone out there decide to take on a similar venture in the future:

• Stock up on Yankees, Braves, Red Sox, and Orioles before you start.
• The hardest days to fill are the days 7 through 11 (or were for me).
• Day 1 is hard to fill because you want just the 'right' card, if possible.
• Have your cards sorted by team (and player within the team) if at all possible BEFORE you start.
• Coke and Mt. Dew will do wonders for creatively filling missing days.
• Print out each request and keep track (generally) of what you are giving out to folks (so you can post it!).
• Take pictures or scans of some of the cards included in the gift packs. I wish I had thought to do that before shipping them off, mainly to break up the monotony of all the text!
• Get the kids involved, if you have youngins (kids, grand kids, nieces, nephews, etc) - they'll have as much fun as you are!
• Have fun and don't take any of it too seriously!
• Finally, make sure you are comfortable parting with whatever cards you are giving away. In my case, I have no problem giving any card up that is not an Indian player regardless if the card happens to be a materials card, auto'd, etc. Honestly, I don't remember if any of the cards given away had materials or autos. As for the cards you *DO* collect, only give out/trade your duplicates. :-)

Have no fear, David, your gift pack will be ready by the end of the weekend!

Thanks for stopping by, have a good night (morning), and drive safely out there. (See what staying up until 3:00am does? Yes, I started this post at 2:30 and now it's 3:00, and my son has a basketball tourney at 8:00am to boot!)

A sad, sad day in Indians history...

Today, the Indians joined the ever-growing number of sell-outs. They announced that for a mere $3.6 million per year, Progressive Insurance can kick Jake out of the park:

From Indians.com:

The Cleveland Indians announced today that their ballpark, currently known as Jacobs Field, will become Progressive Field. Progressive, a leading car, motorcycle and commercial auto insurer, has partnered with the Indians on a 16-year deal for the naming rights to the ballpark and will also become the Official Auto Insurer of the Cleveland Indians.

Progressive President and CEO Glenn Renwick said: "This is a story about two Cleveland-based organizations making a long-term commitment to the city, the fans and our people."

Progressive's payments to the Indians over the 16-year term of the agreement will average approximately $3.6 million annually.

Ho-ho-ho! Three more gifts packs are due to go!

I have to say that I am amazed at how many folks requested Braves and Yankees cards from the "12 Days" giveaway. The only "down" side is that I have to invent some 'creative' ways to fill 12 days (Yes, I believe I am channelling Dr. Seuss this morning!). However, I can say that the recipients will (hopefully) not be disappointed in the selection of cards they get! In any case, I completed 3 more gift packs:

To Lo in NY, who requested Yankees and Cardinals, tribecards gave away: twelve Yankee catchers, eleven random Yankees, ten Ray Lankford, nine Ozzie Smith, eight Mark McGwire, seven Matt Morris, six vintage Cardinals, FIVE FERNANDO TATISeseses, four Don Mattingly, three Wade Boggs, two Derek Jeters, and a Hank Bauer Lends of NY card!

To Chris in NC, an avid Phillies phan, Tribe cards gave away: tweleve Darren Daulton, eleven vintage/HOFers, ten Lieberthals, nine Lenny Dykstra, eight John Kruk, seven rookie/prospects, six Mike Schmidt, FIVE DALE MURPHY CARDS, four Pat Burrells, three Steve Carltons, two Luzinski cards, and a Ryan Howard Generation Now!

And, to David, who also lives in NC and collects Yankees, Tribecards sent to him: twelve Yankee pitchers, eleven shortstops, ten outfielders, nine third basemen, eight first base guys, seven Dave Winfields, six designated hitters, FIVE MICKEY MANTLES, four Dave Righettis, three Jorge Posadas, two Carl Everetts, and a Joe Neikro Yankees Classic card!

I have two or three requests left to fill, so if you made your request and got my reply, then don't worry, your will be on its way shortly! :-) Until then, Happy Collecting!