| Cleveland's
All-Time Team
by David Fleitz |
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I read in the paper today where the Cleveland Indians are going to select an All-Century team. Four American League teams (Detroit, Boston, Cleveland, and Chicago) began play in 1901, so 2001 is their 100th anniversary and 101st season. I'm sure everyone has forgotten by now, but the Indians did this same thing 50 years ago. In 1951, they selected an all-time team of 10 players. How many Indians who played from 1951 to 2000 would earn places on the new all-time team? Let's list the 1951 winners, as voted by the fans in a newspaper poll: Catcher - Steve O'Neill. First base - Hal Trosky. Second base - Napoleon Lajoie. Shortstop - Joe Sewell (Lou Boudreau was still an active player at the time, and wasn't eligible) Third base - Ken Keltner. Outfield - Tris Speaker, Earl Averill, and Shoeless Joe Jackson. Pitchers - Cy Young and Mel Harder (Bob Feller was active, and not eligible) The biggest surprise to me on this list was that Ray Chapman, an incredibly popular player who was killed by a pitched ball in August of 1920, lost the shortstop balloting to Joe Sewell, who succeeded him at short for the Indians. There was some controversy over Joe Jackson's inclusion on the ballot, but since he didn't throw any games in a Cleveland uniform, they let him on the team. All ten honorees were still living in 1951; the only one alive today is Harder, who is 91 years old. Each man was presented with an inscribed gold mantel clock by the team in a ceremony at Cleveland Stadium. So, who will be elected by the fans in 2001? Assuming that they allow current players to be elected, the team may look like this: Catcher - O'Neill could be replaced by Ray Fosse or Joe Azcue, neither of whom was as good as O'Neill but were very popular. Jim Hegan was great defensively, but didn't hit a lick, while John Romano was a good hitter and not much of a fielder. The Indians have not had many good catchers. Sandy Alomar Jr. is a good one, but has battled injuries all his career. I might pick Hegan, though Fosse will get some votes. First base - Jim Thome hits homers and drives in runs, but strikes out way too much. Vic Power was popular and a great fielder, but didn't hit for power. I'd still pick Trosky. Andre Thornton could pull in some votes too, though he was more of a DH type of player. Second base - Roberto Alomar has been great, but I'd stick with Lajoie, who had more than 3,000 hits and was the sixth player elected to the Hall of Fame. Carlos Baerga was fantastic for a few years, but lost it all of a sudden. Shortstop - Sewell is in the Hall of Fame, but so is Lou Boudreau, who led the Indians to the 1948 world title. I'm sure Boudreau will get the nod, though current shortstop Omar Vizquel will get some votes. Vizquel is probably the best fielding shortstop in Indians history. Third base - Al Rosen succeeded Keltner at third for Cleveland, and had a brilliant but injury-shortened career, winning the MVP in 1953 and leading the Tribe to the Series in 1954. Keltner was outstanding also, not as good as Rosen, but he lasted longer. Travis Fryman is a solid, dependable player, but not one of the all-time greats. I'd pick Rosen. Outfield - Speaker, the best American League centerfielder before DiMaggio, is a lock. Jackson hit .408 and .395 in 1911 and 1912, and hit .375 (!!) in his five years as an Indian. He should stay on the team, too. The third slot could be filled by Rocky Colavito, Larry Doby, Kenny Lofton, or maybe Albert Belle. I can see Colavito, the most popular Indian ever, in the outfield with Jackson and Speaker. Pitchers - the traditional strength of the Indians has resided in the pitching staff. Since 1951 they've had Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, Early Wynn, Sam McDowell, Herb Score, Gaylord Perry (1972 Cy Young Award), Luis Tiant, Bert Blyleven, Len Barker (perfect game in 1981) and others. Hall of Famer Addie Joss (perfect game in 1908) was a great one as well, and so were George Uhle, Wes Ferrell, and Stanley Coveleskie. I'd pick the two biggest winners in Indians history, Feller (266 wins) and Harder (223 wins). Relief Pitcher - doesn't it seem that in the 1976-85 period, the Indians had a lot of relievers who would have one or two good years, then fall apart? First it was Tom Buskey, then Jim Kern, then Dan Spillner, then Sid (Kerosene) Monge, then Ernie Comacho. A few years ago Jose Mesa did the same thing. Steve Olin had a bright future when he was killed in that boating accident in 1993. However, this slot will probably go to Doug Jones, who was a fine closer for several seasons in the late 1980s. There's my all-time Cleveland Indians team. I'll do the same for the Tigers in a few weeks, so keep watching! |