Countdown to Indians’ 2020 Opening Day – 99

December 18, 2019 | Bob Toth

Baseball takes little time off in between seasons, so neither can we. Follow along at Did the Tribe Win Last Night as we count down to March 26, when the Cleveland Indians host the Detroit Tigers for game one of the 2020 season. – BT

Countdown to Opening Day – 99 Days

When Indians fans think of the #99, chances are the most frequently recalled one in the 119-year history of the Cleveland franchise was a fictional one.

Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn, the juvenile delinquent and the pride of the California Penal League, joined the big screen Indians in 1989 and helped lead the revival of the long-dead franchise, taking his wild flame-throwing right arm to the mound with plenty of success against other American League opponents, with the exception of the rival New York Yankees.

Vaughn and the Tribe got their revenge in a one-game play-in game for the American League East title, as the young hurler struck out the dangerous American League Triple Crown winner Clu Haywood (.341 average, 48 HR, 121 RBI) on three straight heaters before the Indians walked off in the bottom of the ninth on the heroics of veteran catcher Jake Taylor and the hustle of speedster Willie Mays Hayes. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 99

December 19, 2018 | Bob Toth

Major League Baseball will kick off the 2019 season with its earliest start ever (excluding international openers) as all 30 teams will take the field on March 28. Follow along with Did The Tribe Win Last Night as we count down the days until Opening Day 2019. – BT

Countdown to Opening Day – 99 Days

Easily the most recognizable #99 in the 118-year history of the Cleveland Indians organization is a fictional one – Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn. The juvenile delinquent and the pride of the California Penal League joined the Indians in 1989 and helped lead the revival of the long-dead franchise, taking his flame-throwing right arm to the mound with plenty of success against other American League opponents, with the exception of the rival New York Yankees.

Vaughn and the Tribe got their revenge in a one-game play-in game for the American League East title, as the young hurler struck out the dangerous American League Triple Crown winner Clu Haywood (.341 average, 48 HR, 121 RBI) on three straight heaters before the Indians walked off in the bottom of the ninth on the heroics of veteran catcher Jake Taylor and the hustle of speedster Willie Mays Hayes. Read More

Tribe and Twins Battle at Target Field with AL Central Top Spot on the Line

June 16, 2017 | Bob Toth

While things have not gone as planned for the Cleveland Indians this season, the opposite might be said for the American League Central’s top club, the Minnesota Twins (34-29). The Twin Cities representative remains atop the division, holding a two-game lead over the Indians despite being outscored by their opposition this season. Injuries have knocked out several veteran pitchers from the starting rotation, and yet with a patchwork staff, the Twins have continued to chug along. They have held at least a share of the number one spot in the Central since the second week of May.

The Indians (32-31) will need to take advantage of the series’ location this weekend as the two teams meet for a four-game series, with Saturday serving as a doubleheader day for the two clubs to make up a previous rainout. The Twins have not had a ton of success against the Indians, as they have dropped four of the six games played between the two clubs this season. The Indians will need to take advantage of the Twins’ struggles at Target Field this season, as Minnesota is just 14-20 at home, compared to 20-9 on the road. Read More

Chisenhall Plates Five in Half a Game as Indians Avoid Sweep; Indians 12, Dodgers 5

June 15, 2017 | Bob Toth

Lonnie Chisenhall delivered a clutch pinch-hit three-run home run in the fifth inning and the Cleveland bats tacked on as the Indians defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 12-5 to avoid the sweep in the final game of their homestand Thursday afternoon.

The bats were alive and well in a rare series finale between the Tribe and Dodgers as the club’s met for just the 12th time in the regular season. It required an unusual mid-game turn to the bench by manager Terry Francona, but the move worked to perfection as the Indians extended a one-run lead and did not look back. Read More

Bellinger’s Big Night Blasts Dodgers Past Tribe; Dodgers 7, Indians 5

June 13, 2017 | Bob Toth

Cody Bellinger hit a pair of home runs and Los Angeles held off a late rally as the Dodgers defeated the Indians in a rare trip to Cleveland, 7-5, on Tuesday night.

Playing just the tenth regular season matchup in the long history of the two historic franchises, the Dodgers got the usual dominant performance from left-hander Clayton Kershaw. He would not go unscathed on the night but held on just long enough to earn his ninth win of the season. Read More

Tribe Travels to the Rockies for Rare Series at Coors Field

June 6, 2017 | Bob Toth

The Indians’ interleague tour of the National League West continues this week as Cleveland travels a mile high to Denver for a brief two-game set with the Colorado Rockies this week.

The Indians (29-26) could benefit from a trip out of the division. Their recently completed series with the Kansas City Royals highlighted an issue this season – too much time playing in the AL Central. The Indians fell to 4-5 against the Royals by dropping two of three over the weekend, which lowered their record in the division to 13-14. Interleague play has been a similar story for the club, as they have lost series to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds thus far this season to post a 1-5 record against National League opponents. Read More

Indians Avoid Sweep in KC with Seven-Hit Shutout; Indians 8, Royals 0

June 4, 2017 | Bob Toth

A rain delay of nearly two hours could not slow down the bats of the Cleveland Indians on Sunday as they scored four runs before rain and lightning hit and added four more when play resumed to defeat the Kansas City Royals by an 8-0 final from Kauffman Stadium.

After dropping each of the first two games of their series against the Royals, the Indians were able to get the bats going and received a united effort from the bullpen after weather knocked out the day’s starter, Trevor Bauer, after just an inning and two-thirds on the mound. Read More

Indians Head to Kansas City for Rematch with Royals

June 2, 2017 | Bob Toth

Things would be much different for the Cleveland Indians if they could just play the American League West all season. With a series win in four games over the Oakland Athletics during the week, the team improved to 13-3 against the westernmost division in the AL. The club departed Cleveland and headed west after its series with the A’s to take on Kansas City for three games for the second consecutive weekend of play against the Royals.

The Indians (28-24) did not start their homestand on a good note as they lost one game to rain and three straight to the Cincinnati Reds and the Royals. The Kansas City club put 6-4 and 5-2 victories on the Indians in the first two games of their series to drop the Indians to a game above the .500 mark, but the Tribe recovered with a resounding 10-1 victory in the finale of that series. They followed it up with much better results against the second-worst team in the league, the A’s, by outscoring them 23-10 in taking three of four. Read More

Tribe Hits Four Homers and Clings to Win in Cincy; Indians 8, Reds 7

May 23, 2017 | Bob Toth

While Cleveland sports fans were riding a roller coaster of a game between the NBA’s Cavaliers and Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Indians were playing out an up and down game against the Reds, one in which came down to an 8-7 finale in favor of the Tribe in the final contest of the Cincinnati portion of the home-and-home series.

The Indians hit four home runs off of rookie left-hander Amir Garrett, but the game still came down to the wire in the bottom of the ninth, when closer Cody Allen put the tying and winning runs on base but escaped the threat to save his franchise-record 13th straight game to start the season.

Cleveland jumped out to an early lead with one out in the first inning against Garrett as Francisco Lindor would hit his team-leading tenth home run of the season. The solo shot to left put the Indians on top, 1-0, but the lead would be just temporary. Read More

Guyer Goes to Disabled List as Indians Shuffle Roster Up

May 14, 2017 | Bob Toth

A left wrist injury has landed Cleveland Indians outfielder Brandon Guyer on the 7-day disabled list as the club made several roster moves on Sunday morning.

The Indians also designated utility man Michael Martinez for assignment in the roster shakeup. Cleveland brought up a pair of utility men from the minors as it recalled Erik Gonzalez from Columbus and purchased the contract of the Clippers’ Daniel Robertson to fill Martinez’s vacated spot on the 25- and 40-man rosters.

Guyer aggravated a lingering wrist issue with a swing on Friday and underwent an MRI on Sunday morning. He will see specialist Dr. Thomas Graham to review the results. Read More