Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 4: Catching Up With David Bell

As Did The Tribe Win Last Night helps fans count down the days until the Indians retake the field in an official Major League game, we look back at some of the players who wore the Cleveland jersey with pride.

Countdown to Opening Day – 4 days

Former infielder David Bell may have only worn the Indians #4 jersey for two games, but the first one, at least, was a very memorable one.

A top prospect in the Tribe system through the early 90’s, the middle infielder was the son of former Tribe All-Star and bench coach Buddy Bell. When he made his Major League debut in May of 1995, his dad was in the dugout as manager Mike Hargrove’s right-hand-man.

“Being in the dugout that day was the best and the worst thing because I was nervous as hell,” the elder Bell said. “It being at the Big League level made it that much worse.” Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 7: Catching Up With Kenny Lofton

As Did The Tribe Win Last Night helps fans count down the days until the Indians retake the field in an official Major League game, we look back at some of the players who wore the Cleveland jersey with pride.

Countdown to Opening Day – 7 days

Hal Trosky and Al Rosen both wore #7 throughout their Indians’ careers. Mike Garcia, John Romano, Joe Azcue and Harvey Kuenn all had cameos in the number as well.

The Cleveland Indians #7 jersey, however, belongs to Kenny Lofton.

Acquired via trade in December of 1991, Lofton brought little fanfare but plenty of talent with him from the Houston Astros. Lofton was just three years removed from a Final Four run as the sixth man on the Arizona Wildcats basketball team and had just about two years of professional baseball experience when he was dealt to Cleveland, but he proved to be up for anything at that point. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 9: Catching Up With Buddy Bell

As Did The Tribe Win Last Night helps fans count down the days until the Indians retake the field in an official Major League game, we look back at some of the players who wore the Cleveland jersey with pride.

Countdown to Opening Day – 9 days

For a young boy, not much could be cooler than having your dad play Major League Baseball. For a father, not much could be cooler than having your son play in the Big Leagues either.

Former Indian Buddy Bell is just one of four people in history to know what both are like. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 15: Catching Up With Sandy Alomar

As Did The Tribe Win Last Night helps fans count down the days until the Indians retake the field in an official Major League game, we look back at some of the players who wore the Cleveland jersey with pride.

Countdown to Opening Day – 15 days

Some baseball players have a special connection with a city because of their outstanding talent. Some players have a special connection because of their outstanding personalities.

Former Indians catcher Sandy Alomar had both. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 21: Catching Up With Mike Hargrove

As Did The Tribe Win Last Night helps fans count down the days until the Indians retake the field in an official Major League game, we look back at some of the players who wore the Cleveland jersey with pride.

Countdown to Opening Day – 21 days

The Indians’ #21 jersey will never be worn again, as the team retired the number for their Hall of Fame pitcher, Bob Lemon, in 1998. The last player to actually don the number was pitcher Greg Swindell during the 1991 season, but the last person to wear it was former Tribe manager Mike Hargrove.

Grover wore #21 on his back for all 12 years of his playing career – including the seven he spent in Cleveland – and then again for the first seven and a half years he spent as a manager. He surrendered the number and switched to #30 nearly two decades ago in the middle of the ’98 season when the Indians raised Lemon’s number up into the mezzanine section at Jacobs Field. The uniform switch occurred almost a decade and a half after Hargrove hung up his playing spikes as well. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 25: Catching Up With Jim Thome

As Did The Tribe Win Last Night helps fans count down the days until the Indians retake the field in an official Major League game, we look back at some of the players who wore the Cleveland jersey with pride.

Countdown to Opening Day – 25 days

When Indians legend Jim Thome was first called up to the Major Leagues, he, the Indians, and their fans all had no idea what a ride we were all about to be put on. In fact, even Thome worried about whether or not he would be able to stick around at first.

“I did,” Thome said, “because I wasn’t a very good player…There were many nights that I didn’t know if I would make it.”

Now, Thome’s #25 jersey may never be worn by another Cleveland Indian again. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 32: Catching Up With Dennis Martinez

As Did The Tribe Win Last Night helps fans count down the days until the Indians retake the field in an official Major League game, we look back at some of the greats who wore the Cleveland jersey with pride.

Countdown to Opening Day – 32 days

In the early 1990’s, the young and talented Cleveland Indians ball club was on the brink of something special. All that they needed after their 1993 season was a couple of veteran leaders to bring all of the pieces of the puzzle together.

“We had said all along that we were going to try to develop our core players and when we felt like we had a chance to contend, we would try to trade for or sign a couple big time free agents that would help us to get over the top and contend,” Indians manager Mike Hargrove said. “We did that when we signed Dennis Martinez and Eddie Murray.” Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 38: Catching Up With Eric Plunk

As Did The Tribe Win Last Night helps fans count down the days until the Indians retake the field in an official Major League game, we look back at some of the players who wore the Cleveland jersey with pride.

Countdown to Opening Day – 38 days

There have been 38 Cleveland Indian players to wear #38 as their jersey numbers, so if the Tribe’s front office wanted to just be ironic, they could choose to never pass out the number again and retire it up in the mezzanine level at Progressive Field.

If they were going to retire #38—not that they should—the man who deserves it the most is probably former reliever Eric Plunk. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 45: Catching Up With Paul Assenmacher

As Did The Tribe Win Last Night helps fans count down the days until the Indians retake the field in an official Major League game, we look back at some of the players who wore the Cleveland jersey with pride.

Countdown to Opening Day – 45 days

Of the 23 former Cleveland Indians to don the #45 on their back, no player wore it longer—or better—than former southpaw reliever Paul Assenmacher.

In Assenmacher’s five seasons with the Tribe, the team won five American League Central Division titles and went to the World Series twice. Assenmacher pitched in more games than any other Indian over the club’s most successful half-decade stretch and smiles bigger when looking back on his time in Cleveland than any of his other four Major League stops. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 73: Catching Up With Wayne Kirby

As Did The Tribe Win Last Night helps fans count down the days until the Indians retake the field in an official Major League game, we look back at some of the greats who wore the Cleveland jersey with pride.

Countdown to Opening Day – 73 days

Yes, former outfielder Wayne Kirby is on most of the 1994/1995 highlight reels wearing his famous #35, but the now coach for the Baltimore Orioles broke into the Big Leagues with the Indians sporting #73 for 21 games in 1991. No matter the number that was on his back, Kirby always looks back on his time with the Cleveland Indians fondly.

“There’s so many memories,” Kirby said.  “I can’t pin-place just one.” Read More

Memories of The Greatest Summer Ever

I’ll never forget the summer of 1995.

I was 13 years old, just about to enter the eighth grade and in love with the Cleveland Indians.  But I wasn’t just some fair-weather fan.  In my mind, I had dealt with the hardships of the bad years, having lived through the late 80’s and early 90’s teams that lost almost all of the time.  I couldn’t stand that it was suddenly sopopular to root for the Indians.  The words “fair weather fans” became a part of my regular vocabulary during the summer of ’95.  Where were all of you when the rest of us were all rooting for a losing team?  It wasn’t until I was in college and the glory years were almost over that I realized that I hadn’t really “dealt” with anything.

“Kids growing up (in the 90’s) and that’s all they knew…they’re in trouble,” former Indian and TV color man Rick Manning said.  “Now look at it…it’s not even close.  (The way it is now) is how Indians baseball was when I played (1975-1983) and even before me.”

People my age are spoiled.  I’m only 30-some years old and have seen the best, most exciting stretch of baseball that Cleveland has ever had.  Sure, I haven’t seen my Tribe win the ultimate prize, but heck, my father just turned 60 and has seen the exact same amount of World Series titles that I have.  We’ve seen the same amount of pennants as well, unless you count the one in 1954 when he was two (even with as big of a baseball fan as my dad is, I doubt that he was paying attention at two).

Read More

1995 Game Recap: Royal Rout Gives Tribe a Perfect 100—Indians 17, Royals 7

Throughout the 2015 season, Did the Tribe Win Last Night will take a look back at the 1995 Cleveland Indians for the 20^th anniversary of their fourth pennant winning season. Included will be historic game recaps, headlining stories and a ranking of the team’s most influential players that truly made 1995 The Greatest Summer Ever. Today looks back October 1, 1995.

Any teacher who was grading the 1995 baseball season would have to agree on the score…the Indians get a perfect 100.

The Tribe finished their strike-shortened, regular season campaign with an amazing 100-44 record as they destroyed the second place Kansas City Royals by a score of 17-7 on Sunday afternoon at Jacobs Field. The Tribe finished a record 30 games ahead of the Royals and will appear in their first postseason in 41 years starting this week. Read More