History of the Cleveland Guardians
Somers, a wealthy industrialist and also co-owner of the Boston Americans, lent money to other team owners, including Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics, to keep them and the new league afloat.
[20] Manager Lee Fohl, who had taken over in early 1915, acquired two minor league pitchers, Stan Coveleski and Jim Bagby and traded for center fielder Tris Speaker, who was engaged in a salary dispute with the Red Sox.
Indians catchers Hank Helf and Frank Pytlak set the "all-time altitude mark" on August 20, 1938, by catching baseballs dropped from the 708-foot (216 m) Terminal Tower.
Recognizing that he had acquired a solid team, Veeck soon abandoned the aging, small and lightless League Park to take up full-time residence in massive Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
[45] Making the most of the cavernous stadium, Veeck had a portable center field fence installed, which he could move in or out depending on how the distance favored the Indians against their opponents in a given series.
With most of his money tied up in the Indians, Veeck was forced to sell the team[48] to a syndicate headed by insurance magnate Ellis Ryan for $2.5 million.
In 1956, Mike Wilson sold the team for $3.96 million to a three-man group led by William Daley, oil tycoon Ignatius Aloysius "Nashe" O’Shaughnessy,[49] and the return of Hank Greenberg.
In 1960, Lane made the trade that would define his tenure in Cleveland when he dealt slugging right fielder and fan favorite[55] Rocky Colavito to the Detroit Tigers for Harvey Kuenn just before Opening Day in 1960.
Kuenn, on the other hand, would play only one season for the Indians before departing for San Francisco in a trade for an aging Johnny Antonelli and Willie Kirkland.
The 1970s were little better, with the Indians trading away several future stars, including Graig Nettles, Dennis Eckersley, Buddy Bell and 1971 Rookie of the Year Chris Chambliss,[64] for a number of players who made no impact.
[65] In January 1973, Paul sold his remaining 7% interest in the Indians for $500,000[32] to become part of Steinbrenner's Cleveland-based syndicate that purchased the Yankees from CBS and team president.
In 1975, Cleveland broke another color barrier with the hiring of Frank Robinson as Major League Baseball's first African American manager; another move by Bonda that further strained relations with Mileti.
In May 1981, Len Barker threw a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays, joining Addie Joss as the only other Indian pitcher to do so.
Butler and Jacoby were joined by Joe Carter, Mel Hall, Julio Franco and Cory Snyder, which brought new hope to fans in the late 1980s.
The tax proceeds would be used to finance the building of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex which would include Jacobs Field and Gund Arena for the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team.
Alomar made an immediate impact, not only being elected to the All-Star team but also winning Cleveland's fourth Rookie of the Year award and a Gold Glove.
In 1991, he hired former Indian Mike Hargrove to manage and traded catcher Eddie Taubensee to the Houston Astros who, with a surplus of outfielders, were willing to part with Kenny Lofton.
The team suffered a tragedy during spring training of 1993, when a boat carrying pitchers Steve Olin, Tim Crews, and Bob Ojeda crashed into a pier.
The 1994 season had been halted two weeks earlier (it was eventually canceled a month later on September 14), so Winfield did not get to play for the Indians that year and no player was ever named in exchange.
[79] Having contended for the division in the aborted 1994 season, Cleveland sprinted to a 100–44 record (18 games were lost to player/owner negotiations) in 1995 winning its first ever divisional title.
Without a long reliever or emergency starter on the playoff roster, Hargrove started both Bartolo Colón and Charles Nagy in games four and five on only three days rest.
Mid-season trades brought Bob Wickman and Jake Westbrook to Cleveland, and free agent Manny Ramírez departed for Boston after the season.
However, with Freddy Garcia, Jamie Moyer and a strong bullpen, the Mariners won Games 4 and 5 to deny the Indians their first playoff series victory since 1998.
He traded Roberto Alomar to the New York Mets for a package that included outfielder Matt Lawton and prospects Alex Escobar and Billy Traber.
When the team fell out of contention in mid-2002, Shapiro fired manager Charlie Manuel and traded pitching ace Bartolo Colón for prospects Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, and Grady Sizemore; acquired Travis Hafner from the Rangers for Ryan Drese and Einar Díaz; and picked up Coco Crisp from the St. Louis Cardinals for aging starter Chuck Finley.
[92] The Indians finished with a 96–66 record tied with the Red Sox for best in baseball, their seventh Central Division title in 13 years and their first post-season trip since 2001.
[94] Indians Pitcher CC Sabathia won the second Cy Young Award in team history with a 19–7 record, a 3.21 ERA and an MLB-leading 241 innings pitched.
[97] The Indians, falling to last place for a short time in June and July, traded CC Sabathia to the Milwaukee Brewers for prospects Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson, and Michael Brantley.
[99] However, amid the mediocrity, some key players, such as shortstop Jhonny Peralta and catcher Kelly Shoppach, who took over starting duties after Martinez was injured, began to shine.
Shapiro made multiple trades: Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco to the Philadelphia Phillies for prospects Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson; Victor Martinez to the Boston Red Sox for prospects Bryan Price, Nick Hagadone and Justin Masterson; Ryan Garko to the Texas Rangers for Scott Barnes; and Kelly Shoppach to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Mitch Talbot.
