Pro Baseball Teams
 

 

Cleveland Indians:

Looking to have a pow-wow with the AL Central crown

The Cleveland Indians started playing in Major League Baseball in 1901, during the days of greats like Cy Young and Honus Wagner, and Christy Mathewson. Since then they’ve won 5 American League Pennants and have won two World Series trophies. The last time the Indians were in the World Series in 1997, they faced off against the Florida Marlins and lost in seven games. The last time the Tribe found themselves in the playoff was in 2001 where they lost to the Seattle Mariners 3-2 in the ALDS. Last year the Indians weren’t quite as successful as they had been in recent years. They finished 4th in the AL Central with a 68-94 record, 22 games out of first place.


This off-season proved to be a slow one for the Cleveland Indians. They only made a few moves during before the start of the season. The team picked up pitchers Jose Jimenez and Jeff D’Amico off the free agent market. The second of the two moves came a day before the season started. The Indians shipped troubled outfielder Milton Bradley to the Los Angeles Dodgers for outfielder Franklin Gutierrez and a player to be named later.


Last season the “baseball gods” weren’t with the Indians’ bats. The team only pushed across 699 runs which was second to last in the AL and 5th to last in the majors. They also only managed to get a hit .254 of the time which was also second to last in the AL. The guys setting the table this year, left fielder Matt Lawton and short stop Omar Vizquel, are out to do better than their .246 combined batting average last year. In the heart of the lineup is where one would find center fielder Jody Gerut, catcher Victor Martinez and designated hitter Travis Hafner. The three combined for 37 home runs and 131 runs batted in. Finishing out the rest of the lineup are second baseman Ronnie Belliard, first baseman Ben Broussard, third baseman Casey Blake and center fielder Coco Crisp.


Even though they weren’t getting much help from the bats, the Cleveland Indians pitching staff was pretty solid. The staff had a 4.21 ERA which was 5th best in the American League and was 6th in the AL in hits allowed with 1477. The starting rotation is anchored by staff ace C.C. Sabathia (13-9, 3.60 ERA in 2003) who is only entering his 4th season. Sabathia is joined by Cliff Lee (3-3, 3.61ERA), Jason Davis (8-11, 4.68), Jeff D’Amico (9-16, 4.77 ERA), and Jake Westbrook (7-10, 4.33 ERA). The bullpen is lead by closer Rafael Betancourt who accumulated a 2.13 ERA in 38 innings of relief pitching.


Jacobs Field has played host to all the Tribe’s home games since 1994. This 43,000 seat stadium has been the setting for two World Series and an All-Star game. What makes the stadium unique is the picnic areas in straight away center field. From there a fan can sit and enjoy their food and beverages and also fight for a home run ball.

Are you a Cleveland Indians Fanatic? Check out ClevelandIndiansFanatics.com!

 

 
 
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