by On April 2, 1995, baseball fans across North America breathed a sigh of relief when the 232 day Major League Baseball strike finally ended. The player strike had eliminated the previous year’s World Series and cast a dark shadow over baseball. When the strike ended, it not only meant baseball would start new in 1995, but it also meant that the Cleveland Indians would have a chance to prove that their 1994 season wasn’t a fluke.
John Hart wasted no time improving the Indians by signing Orel Hershiser. This off-season addition improved the already stealth starting rotation. Hershiser was well respected throughout the league and was seen as the missing link that would take Cleveland to the playoffs.
John Hart saw something in Hershiser and felt that the rewards far outweighed the risk. With Martinez and Nagy already in place and the later season addition of Ken Hill, the Indians rotation became one of the most talented and experienced in baseball.
By the time the season began on April 27, 1995, the Indians were more than ready to pick-up where they had left off the previous season. They began the 1995 season with a blow-out win in Texas against the Rangers by a score of 11-6. As they approached a critical series on Memorial Day with the Chicago White Sox, they were rolling along with a record of 18-9. The White Sox were seen as the division favorite by many experts and it was predicted that it would only be a matter of time before they caught up with the Indians for the Central Division lead. The Indians knew that a sweep of the White Sox would start to quiet the critics and show that they were a real threat to win the division. That is exactly what they did as they took all four games from the White Sox and never looked back.
At the All Star break, the red hot Indians had accrued a 46 -21 record with a staggering 12 game lead in the division. They were well represented at the mid -summer classic All Star Game at Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. Carlos Baerga was starting at second base and Albert Belle was voted in as the starting left fielder position. Sitting in the bullpen was Dennis Martinez and Jose Mesa. Four Cleveland Indians on the roster was something almost unheard of just a few years prior. This was another sign that the Cleveland Indians were becoming one of the elite teams in baseball.
On Friday night September 8th, 1995, in the words of Tom Hamilton, “A season of dreams became a reality”, when the Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles in front of a sold out crowd at Jacobs Field to clinch the Central Division. It was their first playoff berth since 1954 and ended a drought that eclipsed most fans entire lives. It was a moment that many fans believed they would never see and one that defined a generation of die-hard fans.
When the season ended, the Indians had won the division by an astronomical 30 games over the second place Kansas City Royals. They finished the year on a five game winning streak that brought their final record to 100-44. They were the only team in American League history to win 100 games in a season that was shorter than 154 games.
The 1995 season became known by many as a season of dreams as the Indians dominated the American League. Mike Hargrove, the manager of this talented team reflects on the positives and the challenges of coaching the extremely talented roster, “The 1995 season was shortened because of the strike and we ended up winning 100 out of the 144 games which is really hard to do. The season was unique because I don’t think we ever lost more than three games in a row. We had a tremendous offensive ball club, so it was a magical season. Normally during a season you will have your ups and downs with major fires to put out, but that year there weren’t huge fires to put out. We had a new hero every night so that made it a real fun season. The challenge was to keep the players focused the entire season. We had such a large lead so the biggest challenge was keeping everyone focused on what we wanted to accomplish and that was more than just getting to post season but also winning a World Championship. I had a lot of help with a great coaching staff and veteran leaders. The veteran players really did a nice job policing the clubhouse. They were guys who had been there before and were able to teach are young kids how to win.”
Carlos Baerga also recalls the magical 1995 season, “Everyone followed our team like we were the Yankees. We would beat anyone and our confidence was so high. We won 100 times in only 144 games and not too many people can do that. It was an unbelievable lineup and we were living a dream. We were so cocky and felt like we couldn’t be beat. Before our first playoff game against Roger Clemens, we were yelling at him from the dugout saying that, “We are going to kill you tonight, you better be ready!” It was really a special time. I couldn’t believe I got to hit third in that lineup for six years. At least six players from that lineup should go into the hall of fame. It was a very special lineup and I got to hit third. It didn’t matter the pitcher or the inning we knew we could score. How many times did we comeback, it didn’t matter. The Indian fans should be very proud of that team. I was very lucky to play with players of their caliber and players who cared about the game the way they did. We would work out every winter.”
Charles Nagy reflects on what made his 1995 season one of his best, “We had a phenomenal team with a lot of great comebacks, that was one great thing about having such a talented lineup. As long as you pitch your innings and give your team a chance to win, it was just incredible. As pitchers we just went out there and tried to give our team a chance to win every night. We knew if we just stayed out there long enough, that was going to happen. We just had a great group of guys.”
Kenny Lofton recalls the magical 1995 regular season, “We had a job to do and everyone knew their role. We as individual players knew exactly what we needed to do to win. We each had our roles and did our best to perform them. I knew I had to get on base so Omar could get me over. Then from there Carlos, Albert, Eddie and Sandy had the job of getting me in. We all knew what we had to do because we did our job. I don’t think people understand just how important that is. It takes a group of players to focus on doing their part for a team to be successful. In 1995 we pretty much did that. We understood our exact roles and I knew if I did my job of getting on base, my teammates would know exactly what their job was as well. It was just magical during the season with Mesa closing the games and all those comebacks we had. We didn’t have the best pitching staff but they were good enough to give us the chance to score enough runs to win, and we did exactly that.”
The excitement of the fans was at an all-time high as the playoffs began with the Indians set to do battle with the American League East winners Boston Red Sox. Tribe fever had the fans in a frenzy during that time, Indian t-shirts, sweatshirts and jerseys were being sold everywhere.
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