Cleveland Indians
|
Cleveland Indians founded in 1894 |
|---|
|
| abbreviation |
| CLE |
| earlier names) |
|
| Nickname (s) |
| The Tribe, The Wahoos |
| Club colors |
| Navy blue, red, white
|
| league |
|
|
| Ball park (s) |
|
|
| president |
| Mark Shapiro |
| successes |
|
|
| Website : http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/ |
The Cleveland Indians are an American baseball team . The team was founded in 1901 as Cleveland Blues and plays major league baseball . In his history of the Indians, which (also known by the nickname The Tribe were Engl .: The strain) are known, twice winner of the World Series .
The club name and the logo were and are often criticized due to accusations of racism. Three protesters were arrested during the 1997 World Series but released shortly afterwards. On January 29, 2018 it was announced that the franchise will no longer use the controversial logo with the likeness of an Indian chief ("Chief Wahoo") from the 2019 season . The club management is also considering changing the current name, which is also controversial.
history
19th century
In 1865, the Forest City, a predecessor association of the Indians, was founded. The name Forest City refers to the city of Cleveland , which is also known by this name. Since 1870, the team has been referred to as Cleveland Forest Citys in local newspapers. A year later, the team joined the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, the first professional baseball league. Since there was also a club in the league in Rockford called Forest City, the teams were often called Cleveland FC and Rockford FC. During the 1872 season, the team withdrew from the league.
In 1876 the National League replaced the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. There was no team from Cleveland in the league. The National League was looking for new members in 1879 and the Cleveland Blues were added. After six years of average success, the team was relocated to St. Louis for the 1885 season . In 1887 a new team was formed which played in the American Association. In 1890, the team now known as the Cleveland Spiders was re-entered into the National League. A year later the team moved to League Park. The stadium was to be the home of the club for the next 55 years.
Led by pitcher Cy Young , the team entered the Temple Cup, the forerunner of the World Series, twice in the 1890s. In 1895 the team won this title. Just four years later, the team lost many of their best players to the St. Louis Cardinals . A devastating season followed, weakened by the departures. The number of spectators at home games was correspondingly low, so that the team played most of the games away from home. After the season, the Spiders had to leave the National League along with three other teams.
In response to the National League's shrinking process, the second-rate Western League changed its name to the American League and declared itself the Major League. The Grand Rapids club was relocated to Cleveland and adopted the name Blues. The Cleveland Blues were one of the eight founding members of the American League.
1901–1954: re-establishment and two championships
So that the American League could compete with the National League, the American League teams recruited players from the National League. One such player was Nap Lajoie , who moved to Cleveland from the Philadelphia Phillies in 1902 . In the same year the team changed its name to Bronchos. Lajoie became a crowd favorite, so that the team started under the name Naps from the 1905 season. In 1915 it was renamed Cleveland Indians.
The early 1920s were very successful. In 1919 Tris Speaker was appointed player coach. A year later, the team reached the World Series for the first time . The Brooklyn Robins (a forerunner of the Los Angeles Dodgers ) were beaten 5-2 wins. The success was overshadowed by the death of infielders Ray Chapman in August 1920. He was hit by a litter from Yankees pitcher Carl Mays and died of the injuries. After two second places, the team slipped back into the table cellar. In 1940 the team came very close to the championship again. A player revolt should lead team owner Alva Bradley to fire coach Ossie Vitt. Bradley refused, however. Some journalists ridiculed the players as crybabies .
In 1946 the Indians were sold to a group of investors led by Bill Veech . A year later, the team moved from the aging League Park to the Cleveland Stadium . In the same year the Indians signed Larry Doby . He was the first African American to play with the Indians and the second African American ever to play for an MLB club. Doby became the player with the most American League season home runs twice. A year later, the 42-year-old pitcher Satchel Paige , the oldest rookie in MLB history, followed. After a strong season, the Indians had to play a playoff game against the Boston Red Sox tied on points. It was the first such game in the American League. The Indians were successful and entered the World Series. After beating the Boston Braves (now Atlanta Braves ) 4-2 , the Indians were champions for the second time.
In the 1950s, the Indians belonged to the top tier of the American League. The team finished second behind the New York Yankees five times. In 1954 the Indians won 111 games, which was a new record at the time. In the World Series, the team lost 4-0 to the New York Giants (now the San Francisco Giants ).
1955–1993: The Curse of Rocky Colavito
Between 1959 and 1993 the Indians only managed one third and five fourth places. Otherwise the team could only be found in the table basement. The reason for the thirty-year decline was a large number of bad transfers, in which the Indians gave up good players and got bad players in return. The decline began in early 1960 when the fan-popular rightfielder Rocky Colavito was given to the Detroit Tigers . Between 1969 and 1975, the Indians finished seven seasons in a row with a negative balance.
In 1974 the " Ten Cent Beer Night " took place as part of a game against the Texas Rangers , where beer was sold at a low price in the stadium . The action ended with rioting among the spectators. A year later, the Indians made baseball history. Frank Robinson became the first African American coach for an MLB team. He too could not stop the decline and was released in 1977.
At the beginning of the 1980s there was hope for improvement. In 1980 Joe Charbonneau was voted "Rookie of the Season". Due to various injuries, he had to end his career in 1982. In 1981 Len Barker threw a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays . In early 1987, the team had to endure the ridicule of Sports Illustrated magazine . The 1986 season closed the team with a positive balance and Sports Illustrated forecast the title win in the American League East for the 1987 season. With 101 defeats, however, the Indians were last.
Also in 1986 the Indians were bought by brothers David and Richard Jacobs for a sum of $ 35 million. Before that, the team changed hands several times. Three years later, a fictional Cleveland Indians team was portrayed in the film The Cleveland Indians . Through this film and the two sequels, the Indians were able to increase their popularity considerably worldwide. In the early 1990s, the team's sporting situation improved. 1992 Joe Carter was against Sandy Alomar Jr. and Carlos Baerga exchanged. This transfer was controversial among the fans, but meant an increase in the team's offensive performance.
Also in 1992 the Indians were voted Team of the Year by the MLB . New coach Mike Hargrove became one of the most successful coaches of the 1990s. In preparation for the 1993 season, a tragedy broke out. On a boat trip, a boat crashed into a pier. The pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews died while Bob Ojeda had to retire due to serious injuries. On April 8, 1993, Carlos Baerga made baseball history when he became the first player to hit a home run from both sides of the home base in the same inning.
1994 until today: a new beginning
In 1994 the Indians moved from the outdated Cleveland Stadium to the new Jacobs Field . With the modern arena, better times should begin. The Indians were fighting with the Chicago White Sox for the championship of the Central Division when the season was canceled on August 12, 1994 due to a strike by the players' union. A year later, the Indians returned to the World Series for the first time in forty years.
The upswing came from players from their own farm teams such as Albert Belle , Jim Thome or Charles Nagy . In addition, players from other MLB teams such as Dennis Martinez or Kenny Lofton joined them . The 1995 season closed the team with a record of 100 wins and 44 losses in first place in the Central Division. After play-off victories over the Boston Red Sox and the Seattle Mariners , the Indians met the Atlanta Braves in the World Series . The Braves became champions with 4-2 wins. In June 1995 began a series of 455 home games in a row, in which Jacobs Field was sold out. This series is an MLB record to this day. As an honor, number 455 retired in 2001 when this series broke.
In 1997 the Indians reached the World Series for the fifth time. After a false start to the season, the Indians won the Central Division for the third time in a row. After victories over the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles , the Florida Marlins waited in the final. Cleveland led 2-1 at the start of the second half of the ninth innings of the seventh game. After a mistake by pitcher Jose Mesa , the Marlins equalized. In the eleventh inning, Edgar Rentería provided the victory point for Florida. Cleveland is the first team to take a lead in the second half of the ninth innings in game seven and lose. In his autobiography , Shortstop blamed Omar Vizquel Mesa for the defeat. These allegations led to an argument between the two players.
In the following two years the Indians reached the playoffs again, but had to accept the elimination in the first round. After the 1999 season, coach Mike Hargrove had to take his hat off. A year later, the Indians missed the playoffs after a weak start. For this, the strong defensive performance was rewarded with three Golden Gloves . Also in 2000, Richard Jacobs (his brother died in the meantime) sold the team to Larry Dolan for $ 323 million.
In 2001 the Indians returned to the playoffs. The highlight of the season was a game against the Seattle Mariners. The Indians were behind with 12 points (0:12 and 2:14) and were able to turn the game around and win with 15:14. The game went down in baseball history as "The Impossible Return". In the first playoff round, both teams met again. The Indians won 2-1 but lost games four and five and were eliminated.
After the season, Mark Shapiro became the new general manager. Shapiro rejuvenated the team by trading aging players for young talent. In 2002 and 2003 the Indians each had a negative balance. The team also missed the playoffs in 2004. The highlight of the 2004 season was a 22-0 win over the New York Yankees, the biggest defeat in Yankees history. In 2005, the Indians awarded a possible playoff participation in the last games after the team lost six of the last seven games. In five of those defeats, one point made the difference. The main problem at the time was the inexperienced pitchers who were still giving many guides.
On September 2, 2006, Kevin Kouzmanoff became only the third player to hit a Grand Slam homerun on his first at bat in the MLB. He was the first player to do this on the first throw. For the 2007 season, some experienced players were committed to lead the young talents.
In 2016 the Indians won the American League against the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 games, but lost the 2016 World Series , the major league final, 3-4 games against the Chicago Cubs .
Placements in recent years
| American League Central 2007-2016 | ||||||
| year | 1. | 2. | 3. | 4th | 5. | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 96-66 | DET (8.0) | MIN (17.0) | CWS (24.0) | KC (27.0) | ALCS |
| 2008 | CWS (7.5) | MIN (6.5) | 81 - 81 | KC (6.0) | DET (7.0) | –– |
| 2009 | MIN (21.5) | DET (20.5) | CWS (14.0) | 65-97 | KC (0.0) | –– |
| 2010 | MIN (25.0) | CWS (19.0) | DET (12.0) | 69-93 | KC (2.0) | –– |
| 2011 | DET (15.0) | 80-82 | CWS (1.0) | KC (9.0) | MIN (17.0) | –– |
| 2012 | DET (20.0) | CWS (17.0) | KC (4.0) | 68-94 | MIN (2.0) | –– |
| 2013 | DET (2.0) | 92-70 | KC (6.0) | MIN (20.0) | CWS (23.0) | WC |
| 2014 | DET (5.0) | KC (4.0) | 85-77 | CWS (12.0) | MIN (15.0) | –– |
| 2015 | KC (13.5) | MIN (1.5) | 81-80 | CWS (5.5) | DET (7.0) | –– |
| 2016 | 94-67 | DET (8.0) | KC (13.5) | CWS (16.5) | MIN (35.5) | AL |
| 2017 | 102-60 | MIN (17.0) | KC (22.0) | CWS (35.0) | DET (38.0) | ALDS |
| 2018 | 91-71 | MIN (13.0) | DET (27.0) | CWS (29.0) | KC (33.0) | ALDS |
The colored cells describe your own performance in the AL Central, the numbers in brackets the distances to the other teams at the end of the season.
WC = Wild Card, ALDS = AL Division Series achieved, ALCS = AL Championship Series achieved, AL = AL Pennant (World Series lost), WSC = World Series Champion
Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame
| Cleveland Indians Hall of Famers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Membership in the National Baseball Hall of Fame | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cleveland Naps
Cleveland Indians
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Players in bold are depicted on their Hall of Fame boards with Indians or Naps badges. * Shown without cap logo, as no logos were worn on the cap at the time. |
Numbers that are no longer assigned
- 3 Earl Averill
- 5 Lou Boudreau
- 14 Larry Doby
- 18 Mel Harder
- 19 Bob Feller
- 20 Frank Robinson
- 21 Bob Lemon
- 25 Jim Thome
- 42 Jackie Robinson (in any Major League Baseball club )
- 455 The Fans (after 455 games in a row were completely sold out between 1995 and 2001, the Cleveland Indians honored by reserving 455 for their fans)
Current squad
| Cleveland Indians players | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active players (25-player group) | Inactive players (40-player group) | Trainer / Others | ||||
|
Pitcher Starting rotation
Bullpen
Closer
|
Catcher
Infielder
Outfielder
|
Pitcher
Catcher Infielder Outfielder
|
Manager Trainer
|
|||
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the number of players in the active squad at the beginning of the 2020 MLB season on 23/24. July increased to 30 players. Two weeks later there was a scheduled reduction to 28 players. Another two weeks later, the number of players is to be reduced to 26 and kept for the entire 2020 season. In the case of double-headers , the teams may appoint a 27th player to the active squad.
Minor league teams of the Cleveland Indians
- AAA : Columbus Clippers , Columbus , Ohio
- AA : Akron RubberDucks , Akron , Ohio
- Advanced A : Lynchburg Hillcats , Lynchburg , Virginia
- A : Lake County Captains , Eastlake , Ohio
- Short A : Mahoning Valley Scrappers , Niles , Ohio
- Rookie : Arizona Indians , Goodyear , Arizona
- Rookie : Dominican Indians , Dominican Republic
Major League nicknames
- 1902 Cleveland Bronchos
- 1903-1914 Cleveland Naps
- Cleveland Indians since 1915
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ courttv.com ( Memento of October 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- Jump up ↑ David Waldstein: Cleveland Indians Will Abandon Chief Wahoo Logo Next Year. In: nytimes.com. January 29, 2018, accessed January 30, 2018 .
- ↑ Washington Redskins with a clear cut. July 23, 2020, accessed on July 23, 2020 .
- ↑ chatterfromthedugout.com: Cleveland Crybabies ( Memento of October 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ cleveland.indians.mlb.com
- ↑ espn.com ( Memento of December 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ espn.go.com espn.com ( Memento of August 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-roster-transaction-rules-for-2020-season accessed on: August 13, 2020
- ^ Affiliate History - Cleveland Indians. In: The Baseball Cube. Retrieved November 27, 2018 .
| American League |
|
|||||||
| National League |
|
