Cleveland Indians of the 90's

This was Cleveland's Dream Team at one time!

Now, I'm going to lay-low on the Top-16 Lists here for awhile, though I did make two on my blogspot forum for many to see. I ask myself...what's my forum name? It's MrCleveland! And what should I be talking about? Cleveland! I was going to mention about Cleveland TV in my next article, but I STILL gotta get a few pics for the article. And since baseball season is about to begin...why don't I mention about my home team?...The Cleveland Indians! And they're about to start a new season in baseball, but at one point...they were The New York Mets of baseball...

(I tried looking for a Big Chuck and Lil' John sketch where in the newspaper it said "Indians Mathematically Eliminated" even before the 1st Pitch...but I can't find it, so I'll use this Mets Joke because that's how MANY Indians Seasons were at one time)!

Before Jacob's Field (Now Progressive Field), Before the 455 Sold-Out Games, and even before the 5-Time Division Championships there was...Bad News! Between 1954 and 1994, there was a drought in the Cleveland Indians Franchise. The Indians traded Rocky Colavito, The Indians had the notorious Nickel-Beer Night, and even a 1987 Season where "Sports Illustrated" thought The Indians would be the Best Team in Baseball...yet they became the Worst Team in Baseball! And then there was...Cleveland Stadium! The Stadium was fit more for football than for baseball and you peed in a trough (No Joke)! And now you see why The Cleveland Indians were used for the movie "Major League" which is probably one of the best baseball films out there featuring The Allstate Guy Dennis Haysbert and Charlie "Winning" Sheen.
And who can forget Bob Uecker (Of "Mr. Belvedere" fame) as the drunk commentator?

But in 1994...The Cleveland Indians would move from The Cleveland Stadium to Jacobs Field (Now Progressive Field), and it would be the new home for The Cleveland Indians. But it was the line-up that made The Cleveland Indians! It featured Kenny Lofton, Omar Vizquel, Sandy Alomar Jr., Jim Thome, Manny Rameriez, Orel Hershiser, Carlos Baerga, Eddie Murray, Paul Sorrento, Brian Giles, and Mike Hargrove as the Manager. This would be Cleveland's Dream Team of the 90's, it was like who's who of The Cleveland Indians.

The 1994 Season for the Cleveland Indians would have stiff competition with the 1993 West Division Champions, the Chicago White Sox. It seemed that the season was going well for the Indians and their new home to play ball, but...a baseball strike would abrupt the season and have NO World Series since 1904.

The 1995 Season started late after the strike, but baseball was up-and-running. Not only The Cleveland Indians would have Eddie Murray get 3000 hits or get 100 wins that year, but it would be the 1st time since 1954 when The Cleveland Indians went to The World Series! This would be their 4th World Series appearance, their 1st one was in 1920 when they beat the Brooklyn (Now L.A.) Dodgers, their 2nd one was in 1948 when they beat the Boston (Now Atlanta) Braves, and their 3rd one was in 1954 where they lost against the New York (Now San Francisco) Giants. And oddly enough, the Indians played against The Braves that year and it would end with a loss in the 6th game by David Justice's lone Home Run...and soon Justice came to The Indians after that.

The 1996 Season was almost the same as the 1995 season, except they only won 99 games and lost the Division Series against Baltimore.

The 1997 Season saw some changes in the line-up. Kenny Lofton was sent to Atlanta (But he returned in 1998), and Albert Belle would sell-out and go to Chicago and play against The White Sox! It was also the year that Cleveland Hosted the 1997 All-Star Game and go to The World Series where their season ended in a loss against The Florida (Now Miami) Marlins! Another sad ending and I doubt anyone forgave Jose Mesa for that Mess-up!

The 1998 Season basically kept the line-up intact...unlike The Florida Marlins downfall of losing the good players that year. Kenny Lofton also returned to the Line-up and The Indians won their division, only to lose against the Damn Yankees in the ALCS, but despite losing the series...The Indians were the only team to take wins against the 114-48 Yankees in the playoffs by winning 2 of the 6 games in the ALCS.

The 1999 Season seemed to look like The Indians on the 90's were losing steam. And despite winning The AL Central Division, the Indians couldn't handle the playoffs against the biggest powerhouse outside of New York...The Boston Red Sox!

In 2000...Mike Hargrove lost his job and despite winning 90 games, The Indians would miss the playoffs and though in 2001 The Indians made the playoffs and win the Division...they would lose to The Seattle Mariners that year.

But I feel that there'll be a new generation of Cleveland's Dream Team in the Indians, it may not be this year...but if the Indians can learn for their 90's counterparts...I'm sure people in Cleveland will be saying "There's Always THIS Year"! (Though I'm STILL skeptic)...

Comments

I feel ya brotha being a cleveland native I get chills everytime I watch Major League especially the opening scene that shows the skyline of downtown and the stadium. I don't think anybody who was not born and raised in Cleveland can fully comprehend what it means to be a true fan. The Indians, The Browns, The Cavaliers, The Lumberjacks/Lake Erie Monsters, The Crunch. They are more to us than just sports teams. They are part of the city and the city itself has a heartbeat and the people who live there are the only ones who feel that heartbeat. Thats why Ohio is shaped like a heart it was even on our license plates "The Heart of it all". Great article man CLEVELAND ROCKS!!!!!!

As a life-long Red Sox fan, I offer these words - BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR! Since the Sox reversed the Curse back in '04 (and again in '07) the ballclub and ballpark have completely lost their soul. Fenway has become an elitist social scene where the dogs cost $5 and the beers $7.50, the players have become entitled pussies who eat Popeye's chicken in the clubhouse while their manager takes the hit for their tanking. Sad to say, but I almost long for the days when the Red Sox, like the Indians, were the "have-nots" of the American League. Things were a lot more fun when the players cared

We now got a manager who used to manage the Red Sox when they won 2 World Series, Frank Francona...will I pay an arm and a leg for beer (It was $9.50 when I went for my Pastor's 20th Year at my church) or will we have $1.00 Beer Night?

@The Outlaw...how'd you feel when Justice went to Cleveland? The guy who won it all for Atlanta?

PS-The Indians Blew it again, if they lose tomorrow...I have ZERO hope for them and they'll return to the Mets State-of-Mind...having the Season end once the 1st Pitch is thrown!

PPS-When will it be Cleveland's Year?

As a Braves fan, the Indians earned my respect for the fits they gave me during that very tight '95 series.

The video made me laugh since I hate the damned Mets.

Well...The Indians Season is going to be long...we can't even outlast a team in 16 Innings! Looks like there's NEVER Next Year!

Great article, I feel the same way whenever I watch an Orioles game. I keep hoping that'll be their year. It's never going to happen though.

I hope the Indians have a good season this year, being a Indians fan and from Cleveland i give your article thumbs up

Great article! You covered one of the few things that makes me think of my childhood, the love of baseball. Unfortunately my home state has a minor league but hopefully this summer I'll get to see my team play a game (Go Braves, Go Jones!!)

It is so rare that we get a sports article on this site. I don't understand why, there certainly were a lot of great moments in sports history and a lot of great memories associate with them.