by It seemed as though the stars were lining up for the Indians to get an early jump on the Mariners as they had swept Boston and were able to rest as the Mariners were engaged in a five game battle with the New York Yankees. The series took every ounce out of the Seattle starting rotation including having to use their ace, Randy Johnson, in extra innings relief to close out game five making him unavailable in the first two games of the series with the Indians. Former Cleveland Indian general manager, John Hart, remembers that post season well, “We sat on the tarmac for an hour and a half waiting to find out if we were going to New York or Seattle as their game five was ending. We didn’t want to go to Seattle at first because we would have had to face Randy Johnson. Then in the ninth inning of that game, the Mariners had to bring in Randy Johnson in relief so we started rooting for them. Then they won and were happy because we found out that we would face unknown Robby Walcott. I said, “get the reports out because we were going to light this kid up!”
Despite the fact they had to open on the road, the Indians remained confident as they prepared to face unknown pitcher, Bob Wolcott. Cleveland loaded the bases in the first inning on three straight walks. With Albert Belle coming to the plate, it looked as though game one was on the verge of a possible blowout before one out was even made. Then, Wolcott shocked everyone by promptly striking out Belle and then forcing Eddie Murray to pop out and got Jim Thome out on a hard hit ball, allowing him to get out of the inning unharmed.
The failure of the Indians to score proved costly in the bottom of the second when Mike Blowers put Seattle on the scoreboard at 2-0 on a two run homerun by Mike Blowers. Dennis Martinez was pitching well, but left the pitch up and Blowers took it out of the ballpark. Jim Thome was able to knock in an RBI single in the top of the third, putting the Indians back in the game. Albert Belle hit a solo homerun off of Wolcott in the top of the seventh inning and just like that the game was tied. The tie would not last for very long as Jay Buhner hit a one out double to get the Seattle rally going in the bottom of the seventh. Two batters later, Luis Soho hit another double off of Dennis Martinez giving Seattle a 3-2 lead that they would hold onto for the game one win.
Game two was a pitching matchup between veteran pitchers, Orel Hershiser and Tim Belcher. The game was a pitcher’s duel until the top of the fifth when Carlos Baerga broke the scoreless tie with a two run single. In the top of the sixth, Manny Ramirez’s solo homerun and Sandy Alomar Jr.’s RBI triple increased the Indians lead to 4-0. Ken Griffey Jr. hit a solo homerun in the bottom half of the sixth to get Seattle on the board. Manny Ramirez hit his second homerun of the game in the top of the eighth increasing the lead to 5-1. The Mariners managed to score again in the ninth but it was too little too late as the Indians won 5-2.
Game three brought American League Cy Young award winner, Randy Johnson, to face Cleveland at Jacobs Field. Seattle quickly provided the giant pitcher with a two run lead by scoring in both the second and third innings off of Charles Nagy. Cleveland was able to rally for a run in the bottom half of the fourth when Kenny Lofton continued to be a thorn in Johnson’s side with a leadoff triple. Moments later, Omar Vizquel sacrificed Lofton in with a long fly ball that cut the lead in half. The score remained 2-1 until the bottom half of the eighth when Kenny Lofton singled and drove in pinch runner, Wayne Kirby, to tie the game. Kenny Lofton was wreaking havoc with the normally unflappable Randy Johnson.
Cleveland Indian manager, Mike Hargrove, called upon his strong bullpen as the game entered extra innings. Seattle caught the bullpen off guard and managed to tag them for 3 runs in the top half of the eleventh when Eric Plunk gave up a three run homerun to Jay Buhner. The blow was too devastating to overcome as the Mariners held on for the 5-2 victory, retaking the lead in the series.
It was a devastating loss for the Indians, but one that was character building as they came out stronger the next night for game four. If the Indians were to climb back in the series, they would have to do it short-handed as both Albert Belle and Sandy Alomar Jr. were out of the lineup with injury. The Mariners were sending Andy Benes to the mound against Ken Hill for the Indians.
The Indians wasted no time jumping on Benes in the bottom half of the first inning as Carlos Baerga hit a sacrifice groundout that put them ahead 1-0. Eddie Murray, who was batting cleanup because of the injury to Belle, followed with a two run homerun that put Cleveland in the lead, 3-0. One inning later, Lofton hit a sacrifice fly to increase the lead to 4-0. The next inning, Jim Thome hit another two run homerun to increase the lead to 6-0 and ended all doubt for the outcome of the game.
Ken Hill was mowing down Seattle hitters one-by-one and it looked apparent that the series would soon be even. In the seventh inning, Omar Vizquel hit a RBI double that increased the lead to 7-0. The Mariners were not able to score a single run and Ken Hill picked up his first playoff win as a Cleveland Indian.
With the series tied at two games apiece, it was time for the pivotal game 5 at Jacobs Field. Mike Hargrove decided to skip Dennis Martinez’s scheduled start in favor for the hot hand of Orel Hershiser. It was a gutsy move, but one that Hargrove was confident would work based on Hershiser’s excellent playoff history.
Facing the Indians for game five for the Mariners was veteran pitcher, Chris Bosio. It had all the makings of a baseball classic and did not disappoint. The Indians jumped on Bosio in the first when Vizquel reached on an error. Carlos Baerga followed with a single and they had two on with only one out. Albert Belle struck out which made the Eddie Murray at bat even more dramatic. Murray came through with a two out RBI single that put Cleveland ahead 1 -0.
Orel Hershiser managed to hang on to the lead until the top of the third when Ken Griffey Jr. hit an RBI ground rule double to tie the game. Seattle scored again in the fifth to take the lead after an ill-timed error, 2 -1. With the pressure mounting, Jim Thome stepped up in the bottom of the sixth and smashed a two run homerun deep into the right field stands of Jacobs Field to give the Indians a dramatic 3-2 lead. The homerun knocked Chris Bosio from the game.
In the top of the seventh, the Mariners had the top of their order coming up to face the Indians bullpen. Relief pitcher, Julian Tavarez, managed to get one out, but not before getting himself into a bit of trouble and allowing two runners to reach base. Hargrove wasted no time pulling Julian Tavarez in favor of his left handed specialist, Paul Assenmacher, to face the two best hitters in the Seattle lineup. Assenmacher showed he was up for the test as he set down both Griffey Jr. and Buhner with beautiful back-to-back strikeouts. He made two of the best hitters in baseball look clueless with an excellent display of off-speed breaking ball pitches. A few innings later, Jose Mesa closed the game out in the ninth and the Cleveland Indians were only one win away from going to the World Series.
Cleveland traveled back to Seattle for game six in the raucous Seattle Kingdome. The date was October 17, 1995 and the Cleveland Indians were only nine innings away from returning to the World Series for the first time since 1954. Standing in their way was a six foot ten inch giant, Randy Johnson, nicknamed, “The Big Unit”. Randy Johnson was the most feared pitcher in all of baseball and an eventual five time Cy Young Award winner. He appeared in ten All Star games before his playing days were over and was known for having a wicked slider and untouchable fast ball. He excelled against left handed hitters.
Taking the mound for the Indians was veteran ace, Dennis Martinez, who had a lot to prove after being bumped from his regular start in gave five. Seattle had a “refuse to lose” attitude for months as they overcame a large deficit in the Western division, behind Anaheim, to capture the division in a one game sudden death playoff game. They were used to having their back against the wall and played their best when they were in a must-win situation. It would be the job of the crafty veteran right hander, Martinez, to shut them down for good and punch the Indian’s ticket to the World Series.
How did the Indians get ready for this critical game six? Mike Hargrove tells what he told the team in the clubhouse before the game, “You don’t have to tell guys in that situation too much because they are fully aware of the magnitude of the situation. They knew what was going on so we didn’t have to prepare them for too much. We had played top pitchers well all year long so I wasn’t really worried about us not being able to get to Randy. I was more worried about shutting down their great offensive ball club.”
Carlos Baerga remembers the pre-game strategy on how the team decided to beat Randy Johnson, “We had a meeting before the game and decided we needed to score runs by bunting the ball and making them crazy. We wanted to get him pissed off at us. We had to force him to make mistakes and not wait for the big homerun. The little things would be important for us to win. We told Kenny to steal bases and bunt on him because we needed to get Johnson crazy. It was so loud that night that we needed to put in ear plugs, on top of having to face a giant on the mound. It was crucial to win that game because it was going to be tough to have to come back and face them for game seven if we didn’t. It turned out to be one of my biggest games as I went three for three against him and hit a homerun, it is something I will never forget about.”
The Indians were clinging to a 1-0 lead as they entered the top half of the eighth inning. Tony Pena continued his post-season heroics by leading off with a double to deep right field. Pinch runner, Ruben Amaro, was then inserted in the game to replace Pena on the base paths. Kenny Lofton continued to play mind games with Johnson as he bunted to the right of the mound where Johnson was unable to field the ball in time to throw Lofton out. The Indians now had runners on first and third with no outs. Lofton continued to wreak havoc as he stole second base, which put two men in scoring position with no outs. Johnson, who was clearly rattled from Lofton’s antics on the base paths and his ability to get big hits off him all series long, threw the next pitch wild and past catcher, Dan Wilson.
As Amaro strolled home on the wild pitch, Johnson slowly walked to home plate with little-to-no urgency, he didn’t even notice that Lofton was flying by third base and heading for home. By the time Johnson realized what was going on, it was too late as Lofton flew past him to score the second run of the play. It was a back breaking moment for Johnson and Seattle as the heart and hustle of Lofton had single handily given Cleveland a 3-0 lead late in the game.
Kenny explains why he had so much success against Randy Johnson, “My goal was to help the team, Cleveland hadn’t been in the playoffs in a long time. It was my job to do the best I could and I was a guy who always looked for a challenge. The challenge presented itself with the best pitcher in the league and I wanted it. I wanted to go against him and do whatever I had to do to take care of my job as the leadoff hitter. I wanted to be the guy out there to see how good he was because it was a challenge for me. I think in the 1995 playoffs it was a challenge and I felt like I was the best leadoff hitter in the game facing the best pitcher in the game. My job as a leadoff hitter was to rattle him up and get the team going. I felt comfortable as a leadoff guy and it didn’t matter who was on the mound because I just wanted to go out there and do my job to perform to help my team. My teammates told me that when I went, they went. I needed to do my job as a leadoff hitter for the rest of the team to be able to play well and it worked out. We ended up doing some magical things.”
Lofton goes on to explain the magical play few fans will ever forget, “You always have to be aggressive, I always made sure to run the bases hard. You should always turn each base corner with an intent for something to happen. In that situation by me naturally doing what I do on a passed ball it naturally dictated for me to do what I did. On that play as I rounded third I looked at the player and the ball and just kept my speed going. I looked up in front of me and didn’t hesistate to keep going. I just felt like being aggressive, I just needed to react. It was more of a reaction thing than anything else, I just saw the play in front of me and reacted. As a guy with speed, you have to go off your instincts and reactions, and that’s what I did.”
Omar Vizquel took the next Randy Johnson pitch to deep left field before it was tracked down just in front of the warning track for the first out. It would be the last out recorded by Johnson as the next batter, Carlos Baerga, smacked a solo homerun over the wall and put Cleveland ahead 4-0, chasing Johnson from the game in the process.
Julian Tavarez showed his relief pitching dominance by shutting down all three batters that he faced in the bottom of the eighth. The Cleveland Indians were only three outs away.
Cleveland fans everywhere held their breath as Jose Mesa took the mound in the bottom half of the ninth inning. For more years than anyone would care to remember, the Indians had been the joke of baseball. There had even been movies, such as “Major League”, poking fun at the long losing history our city endured. Jose Mesa was only three outs away from ending all the jokes and putting Cleveland back on the sports world map once again.
Mesa began the bottom of the ninth by forcing Ken Griffey Jr. to groundout to Carlos Baerga for the first out. Edgar Martinez, who was having a stellar series, struck out and brought the Indians just one out away from the World Series. The Indians would have to wait a little longer as Mesa walked Tino Martinez to extend the drama one more batter. Jay Buhner swung at the 0-1 fastball from Mesa and hit it on the ground to Jim Thome at third base. Thome fielded the ball cleanly and threw it across the diamond to first base to record the final out and send Cleveland fans into a frenzy.
Mike Hargrove shares his feelings as the Indians brought the pennant home to Cleveland, “I will never forget when Jim Thome caught that ball to win the division earlier in the season. I don’t think that it really stuck me that we were actually going to the World Series until I had showered and was walking to the buses. It hit me as I was walking to the bus that we were actually going to the World Series. It was a real sobering and exhilarating moment and also pretty cool!” General manager John Hart also remembers the celebration in Seattle fondly; “Carlos Baerga and my wife danced down the hallway in Seattle after the series win. It was a great night with Dennis Martinez beating Randy Johnson and we won the American League pennant. When we won the pennant that night, it was one of the best pitched ballgames I have ever seen. Martinez was fabulous and slowed the game down doing what he did. I remember going down to the locker room and saw all the guys we traded for and young players that came up together. It was a great group, then I looked over and saw all the veterans like Orel, Eddie, Dennis and Tony Pena. I looked at this group of guys that were finally going to a World Series in Cleveland and I sat over in the corner and I cried like a baby. We really were going to the World Series and it was a very special time.”
The World Series saw two great pitching performances by Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine in games 1 and 2 in Atlanta to give the Braves a 2-0 lead heading back to Jacobs Field. The Indians managed to take games 3 and 5 wrapped around a game 4 loss to force the series back to Atlanta. Game six saw the Braves win by a narrow 1-0 margin and take the World Series. It was a somber end to an amazing season.
Charlie Nagy explains his emotions about pitching in the first World Series home game in 41 years, when he started game three, a game in which the Indians won, “It was just awesome being in Cleveland at that time, seeing the whole renaissance of the city. The energy that the fans brought day in and day out propelled a lot of our wins that season and lead into the playoffs. We were excited to put Cleveland back on the map and showoff the city with its great fans! With the way the city embraced the fans, it was just great to be a part of it.”
Kenny Lofton explains why the Indians struggled in the 1995 World Series against Atlanta, “We had an incredible season leading the American League in almost every single offensive category. We had the best team and we knew the proper strike zone. I feel that the strike zone in the World Series was not correct. It was not the way we were used to seeing it called. If the ball is over the plate it is a strike and if it is off the plate it is a ball. We were having to go out of our element swinging at balls off the plate because the umpires were calling it five inches off the plate for the Atlanta Braves. The umpires were giving the Atlanta Braves pitchers a wide strike zone. We were used to swinging at balls on the plate and not off the plate, it took us off our game because that’s not who we were. It took us off our game as a team because we were used to getting all the walks and doing what we were supposed to do to get on base. For me it was tough as a leadoff hitter to try and swing at a ball off the plate because that’s not what I was taught to do. I was taught that if the ball is off the plate you don’t swing. In the World Series it got us all messed up, especially in the National League ballpark. They were not calling the strike zone accurate, that is the biggest reason because we had to go outside of our element to play the game of baseball.”
Jim Thome disagrees with Lofton when asked about the series, “They threw strikes and pinpointed pitches against very well. They knew how to change speeds. They had greats like Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz and Avery. They knew how to pitch to our lineup which not a lot of teams knew how. We were a very talented lineup and you have to give the Braves a lot of credit because they pitched great.
Two years later, with a revamped roster, the Cleveland Indians returned to the fall classic. It would go down as one of the most exciting World Series of all time. Cleveland fans everywhere wondered if this time the last game would end in victory.
The expectations were high heading into the 1996 season for the Cleveland Indians. They made it to the World Series the prior season for the first time in forty one years, losing to the highly talented Atlanta Braves in six closely contested games.
They almost had the entire starting lineup coming back with the exception of first baseman, Paul Sorrento, who had left for Seattle. Sorrento was replaced by a returning Indian from years earlier, Julio Franco. It was a fairly lateral move as Sorrento’s and Franco’s 1996 numbers were close, with Sorrento having the slight edge in power.
While the majority of the roster continued with their dominant ways, Eddie Murray and Carlos Baerga seemed to be struggling. In a surprising move, John Hart dealt Eddie Murray to the Baltimore Orioles half-way through the season. In return for Murray, the Indians received pitcher, Kent Mercker. It was a surprising move, but nothing compared to what Hart was set to do just eight days later.
On July 29, 1996, John Hart made a trade that broke the hearts of many, if not all, Cleveland Indians fans. He sent fan favorites, Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza, to the New York Mets in exchange for shortstop, Jose Vizcaino, and second baseman, Jeff Kent. It sent shockwaves throughout Cleveland. Carlos Baerga was struggling badly, but not many fans expected the sudden trade. In the summer of 2013 during his introduction weekend into the Indians Hall of Fame, John Hart reflected back on this trade, “It was the hardest trade I ever had to make. Carlos was a defining player in an earlier trade and was one of the first guys that we bought into Cleveland when we wanted to do multi-year contracts. He was such a large part of the team and such a leader. He was the happiest player in our locker room and was great. His first five years in the big leagues drew comparisons to Roger Hornsby. I loved my players, but I had to take that hat off and make moves for the best of the organization. It was painful because of the relationship that I had with Carlos and still do to this day.”
Carlos Baerga was a core player in the organization for many years and the news shocked him as well as his many legions of fans. Carlos had these comments when asked about how hard it was to be traded, “In the beginning, it was very hard because I didn’t understand why I was traded. We had a very good record and were headed to the playoffs again. I was hurt in the playoffs the year before when I had hurt my ankle. I was never healthy and the decision was hard to take because I was happy here and the captain of the team. It was something that took me a couple of years to forget about. I understand it better now. I had lost my concentration for the game and preparation for the game. Things happen for a reason in life and I’m more mature now and able to talk to my son about it now. I explained to him what happened to me and also tell a lot of young players to be careful. When you put on a uniform you represent an entire organization, so you have to be cautious of what you do outside of the field. Sometimes you may lose your job because you lose that focus.”
The Indians went on to win the Central Division again in 1996, but never seemed to recapture the magic of 1995. With the newcomers never quite fitting in and poor pitching, the Indians got upset in the first round of the playoffs by the upstart Baltimore Orioles. It was an early end to the season which led the Indians organization to have to face numerous offseason questions.
On October 28, 1996 power hitting left fielder, Albert Belle, became a free agent. Most fans assumed that it would only be a matter of time before Belle resigned with the Indians. In the first of many signs to come that baseball is still a business to many players, Belle betrayed his hometown fans and signed with the rival, Chicago White Sox. He joined perennial All Star, Frank Thomas, and with the new power duo in place, many in the media declared the White Sox as the new team to beat.
With Albert Belle gone, the Indians needed to replace his power in the lineup and searched for a trade to do so. John Hart found his trade partner with the San Francisco Giants, who were looking to improve their defense. On November 13, 1996, Hart sent Jose Vizcaino, Julian Tavarez and Jeff Kent to the Giants for power hitting veteran third baseman, Matt Williams. He made the National All Star team in 1990, 1994, 1995 and 1996. He led the majors in homeruns in 1994 by hitting 43 in only 112 games during a strike shortened season. Many felt that if the season had gone the full length, he could have broken the home run record of 61 set by Roger Maris. His power matched his teammate, Barry Bonds, as they became one of the most feared combinations in all of baseball. Along with his power hitting swing, he also brought three Gold Gloves Awards with him. His fielding had been good enough to win the award in 1991, 1993 and 1994.
Williams’ signing forced third baseman, Jim Thome, to learn a new position, first base. Thome’s power numbers were too good to remove him from the everyday lineup and he was young enough to learn a new position. Thome again proved how much of a team player he was by welcoming the new challenge. Thome had this to say about the transition to first base, “I had just become comfortable at third base and had to take on this unknown. With losing Albert, we needed Matt Williams. It was ironic that year because I ended up making the All Star team which is great karma when you think about it.”
The biggest move took place just a week before the new season was set to begin. On March 25, 1997, John Hart once again shocked Indians fans when he traded away perennial All Star and fan favorite, Kenny Lofton, along with reliever, Alan Embree, to the Atlanta Braves. In return, the Braves sent power hitting outfielder, David Justice, along with speedy leadoff hitting centerfielder, Marquis Grissom. Kenny Lofton was shocked to be traded, he explained his reaction to the stunning news he was suddenly faced with, “I was called into the office from the clubhouse and I didn’t think too much of it. Then I saw Davie Nelson with a strange look on his face and I started to wonder what was going on. They told me I was traded, I asked why and they said that they were worried I was going to leave in free agency after the season was over. I asked them why they didn’t bother talking to me about this first, and they said they just expected me to demand the same amount of money Albert did and they couldn’t afford it. It was basically a done deal and I was pretty shocked, I didn’t know what to do. I was heartbroken but it was out of my control. I just felt like if they were to talk to me in the beginning about this whole thing it never would have happened, but they didn’t and that is what happened. It was a shock but I had to live my life, I was disappointed but I had to move on.”
The addition of Justice was met with a mild reception by the Cleveland fans as the memory of him hitting the winning homerun for the Braves in the 1995 World Series was still fresh in their minds. Despite the sour memories, he was a talented player that would combine with Williams, Thome and Ramirez to keep the lineup potent with power.
Mike Hargrove shares how he handled all of the player changes to mold the Indians into a contender, “Players of that caliber make it somewhat easier. It wasn’t like we traded away Kenny Lofton and brought in Joe Blow. We thought Grissom and Justice were dynamite players in their own right. We knew it was coming because we had talked about a possible trade earlier in spring training, so when it did happen I wasn’t surprised. It was one of those things that you learn to live with. In baseball, the more things stay the same the more they change. I felt like that with the ball club we have and the hitters we brought back that we would be alright.“
At the All Star break, the Indians had reached a season high 8 games over .500 at 44-36. They were catching fire at the right time and looked to have a strong second half of the season. The mid summers classic that year would be held at Jacobs Field. It was a spotlight for Cleveland as “The Jake” was widely considered one of the nicest ballparks in baseball. The excitement over having the All Star Game in Cleveland gave the city an extra reason to puff out its chest.
The Indians’ hottest player was Sandy Alomar Jr. He was in the midst of a thirty game hitting streak and was on pace to surpass all of his career high numbers. He added to his great season with an outstanding performance in the All Star Game. The ballgame was close when Sandy Alomar Jr. came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning. The game was tied at one run apiece and the American League had a man on base. If there were any doubts that Sandy was having a special season, they were quickly erased when he hit a Shawn Estes fastball over the fence to give the American League a 3-1 lead. They would hold on to win and Alomar was later named game MVP.
The Indians rode the wave of momentum from the All Star game to win their first five of seven games following the break. They stayed consistent the rest of the way and finished the season in first place with a record of 86 – 75. It wasn’t the usual dominant season, but it was enough to get them back into the playoffs. One of the biggest question marks of the 1997 season was the role of closer.
The 1997 season was different than years past as the Indians won the division but didn’t dominate the league. The season record was the lowest of all division winners heading into the postseason. Hargrove explains how the team felt like the underdogs before heading into the playoffs. “I think we most likely did. I felt that no one was picking us to do anything. We had always played well when we had to in years past and the tougher the competition the tougher we played. There were a lot of rough spots on the road that season and we didn’t find our identity until late in the season at Anaheim. It was Jim Thome’s birthday so all the players got together and decided that they would pull their socks up high to honor him. We won real handily, so we decided to do it again and got on a roll and that was the rallying point of that season and brought that team together. They jelled after that and became good.“
Game one of the division series in New York ended badly for the Tribe. They got off to an early five run lead, but the bullpen struggled and they lost game one by a score off 8-6.
Game two from Yankees Stadium in the Bronx took on a desperation feel for the Indians. Down one game to zero, they knew they couldn’t afford to lose. They turned to their rookie sensation, Jaret Wright, who quickly made everyone question the decision to start him, by walking the bases loaded in the bottom of the first. The Yankees would make him pay with a two run double by Tino Martinez followed by an RBI sacrifice fly by Charlie Hayes. Before the fans in Yankee Stadium could digest their first hot dogs, the hometown team had spotted starting pitcher, Andy Pettitte, with a three run lead.
The Indians knew from their own experience in game one that no lead is safe when playing October baseball. Jaret Wright had settled down and starting mowing down Yankee hitters in order for the next couple of innings. The Indians still trailed 3-0 when they went up to bat in the top half of the fourth inning, but something in the air was about to change drastically. After Pettitte forced Bip Roberts to line out to center field to begin the inning, he allowed a single to Vizquel, who then advanced to second on a throwing error.
Petitte rebounded by striking out Many Ramirez before walking Matt Williams. With two on and two out, David Justice hit a single that gave Cleveland its first run. Sandy Alomar Jr. and Jim Thome followed with singles of their own and the game was tied 3-3. Tony Fernandez followed suit and hit a two run double that put Cleveland ahead by a score of 5-3. One inning later, Matt Williams hit a two run homerun and increased the Cleveland lead to 7 – 3.
While the Cleveland bats were coming alive, Jaret Wright was silencing the Yankee bats. After a shaky first inning, he rebounded to throw five scoreless innings, striking out five and only allowing two more hits. Jaret Wright showed incredible mental toughness and assured manager, Mike Hargrove, that he would be ready if called upon again. Jose Mesa took the mound a little earlier than normal when he came on in relief with one out in the eighth inning with a 7 – 3 lead. The Yankees proceeded to make things interesting by scoring on Mesa in the eighth and then again in the ninth on a Derek Jeter homerun. But, Mesa and the Indians managed to hold on for the 7 – 5 victory, to even the series. Mike Hargrove explains how important a come from behind win was on the team, “We lost a lot of game ones, but the one thing is that a team feeds on a history. I’m talking about the history of the team dating back to the 1920’s. All the players on the ballclub realized the Indians as a whole were really a pretty good ballclub. I think that what we had done in the recent history of 1995 helped keep our focus and realize that it was just one game.”
The series moved to Cleveland for Game three and noted Indians killer, David Wells, took the mound for the Yankees. It was a quiet Saturday night for Indians fans as the Yankees used a four run fourth inning to take a 6 – 1 lead and never looked back. David Wells was dominant and Charles Nagy couldn’t get out of the fourth inning. It wasn’t looking good for Cleveland.
Game four shaped up to be a battle of two veteran playoff heroes from the 1980’s: Orel Hershiser against Dwight Gooden. The Yankees jumped on Hershiser in the first by scoring two runs with clutch hits by Derek Jeter and Paul O’Neill, who continued to have an amazing series. The Indians cut the lead in half with a solo homerun by David Justice in the second inning. Both pitchers then settled down and there wasn’t any movement in the score as it remained 2 -1 heading into the bottom of the eighth. The Indians were down to their last six outs and facing Mariano Rivera, one of the greatest closers of all time. Rivera wasted no time in striking out David Justice and forcing Matt Williams to fly out. He was only four outs away from eliminating Cleveland from the playoffs when he had to face a man who was having a season of destiny. Sandy Alomar Jr. stepped up to the plate and it was almost as if no other hitter in all of baseball was more qualified for that moment then him. Sandy continued his dream season by crushing a Rivera fastball over the fence in right field to tie the game.
Mike Jackson took the mound in the ninth and set down the Yankee lineup in order. It was up to Ramiro Mendoza to try to hold down the Indians hitters and send the game into extra innings. Marquis Grissom led off with a single. Bip Roberts sacrificed Grissom over to second with a bunt, which brought Omar Vizquel to the plate with a chance to win it. Omar wasted no time hitting a single off of Mendoza that had enough steam on it to roll past Derek Jeter in shallow center field allowing the speedy Grissom to score from second base and win the game.
It was high drama heading into game five as once again manager, Mike Hargrove, rolled the dice and started Jaret Wright. It was a gutsy move to start a rookie in such a high profile game, but Hargrove had faith in Wright after he shut down the Yankees after a shaky start, in game two. Hargrove looks back at his decision, “Jaret was the hardest thrower we had on the ballclub, he didn’t have a lot of pitches, but pitched well in New York in a tough spot. I just felt that he was a tremendous competitor, and I’m not saying that someone else wasn’t, but he just had a knack to really bear down and focus which gave him that pin point concentration to be as good as he should be and even a little bit better in those situations.” Wright proved Hargrove’s faith well-founded as he pitched four consecutive scoreless innings to start the game. Meanwhile, the Indians were doing well against Yankee starting pitcher, Andy Pettitte. They used singles by Grissom and Roberts to set the table for a two run double by Manny Ramirez. Matt Williams followed the Ramirez double with an RBI single giving the Indians a 3 – 0 lead. One inning later, in the fourth, Tony Fernandez hit a sacrifice fly that stretched the Indians lead to four runs.
The Yankees slowly climbed their way back into the game and managed to score three runs and cut the lead to 4 – 3 heading into the ninth. Cleveland Indians fans took a deep breath as Jose Mesa took the mound in the top of the ninth. He forced Tim Raines and the red hot Derek Jeter to groundout to get two quick outs. Paul O’Neill continued to be a thorn in the Indians’ side by hitting a two out double and keeping the game alive. Bernie Williams smashed a Mesa fastball to deep left center field that looked like it may leave the park before softly landing into Brian Giles glove and sending the Indians back to the American League Championship series.
Up next for the Tribe would be the American League Eastern Division Champion, Baltimore Orioles. This was a perfect chance to get revenge on the team that had beaten them the previous year in the playoffs. It would be a tall task as Baltimore was loaded with veteran talent and excellent pitching. The series would begin in Baltimore as the Orioles had the better regular season record.
Game one proved to be a pitcher’s duel as Baltimore starting pitcher, Scott Erickson, pitched a four hit shutout. Chad Ogea did a good job as well only giving up three runs, but it was three too many as Baltimore took a one game lead in the series.
Cleveland ace, Charles Nagy, took the mound for game two hoping to even up the series. The Indians gave him the early run support he would need by scoring two off of Baltimore veteran starter, Jimmy Key, in the first inning. Manny Ramirez’s two run homerun gave Nagy the early lead. The Cleveland lead would not last long as Cal Ripken Jr. hit his own two run homerun to tie the game. The game would remain tied in a tight pitcher’s duel until the bottom of the sixth when Mike Bordick hit a two run single off of Nagy, giving Baltimore the 4 – 2 lead and knocking Nagy from the game. The Cleveland bullpen, comprised of Alvin Moorman, Jeff Juden, Paul Assenmacher and Mike Jackson, held the Orioles scoreless and kept the score at 4 – 2 heading into the eighth.
Armando Benitez, one of the best relief men in baseball took the mound for the top of the eighth inning. This normally would have spelled doom for most teams. However, The Indians were not most teams and actually had good success in the past against Benitez. The table was set for high drama and Benitez would not disappoint. Benitez managed to strike out two of the first four batters he faced to start the inning. The problem for him was that the other two drew walks and brought Marquis Grissom, the go ahead runner, to the plate. Benitez continued to have horrible luck against Indian batters as Grissom crushed his pitch over the wall for a three run go ahead homerun. Suddenly after two games of futile hitting, the Indians held a 5 -4 lead and were only six outs away from evening up the series before heading back home for game three. Jackson and Mesa did exactly that and the series was tied.
Jacobs Field was packed on a sunny Saturday afternoon to watch one of the greatest pitched games in playoff baseball history. Orel Hershiser and Mike Mussina used the shadows of the setting sun against opposing batters all game and the game remained scoreless through six and a half innings. The Indians finally broke through against Mussina in the bottom of the seventh inning. A Matt Williams single to centerfield was good enough to score Jim Thome and give Cleveland a 1 – 0 lead. Mussina followed by getting two quick groundouts and after seven innings he and Hershiser had combined for a remarkable twenty two strikeouts and only one earned run.
Jose Mesa took the mound in the top of the ninth with the Indians clinging to a 1 – 0 lead. He immediately gave up a leadoff single to Chris Hoiles. Two batters later, Brady Anderson hit a fly ball that Marquis Grissom somehow lost in the lights and the ball fell in for a double, allowing the tying run to score. Just one game earlier Grissom was the hero, however, a short few days later he was in position to be the goat.
The game remained tied 1 – 1 heading into the bottom of the twelfth inning when Randy Myers took the mound for Baltimore and struck out Brian Giles to start the inning. Marquis Grissom, who seemed to be in the middle of any crucial situation, came up to bat and managed to draw a walk. Tony Fernandez followed the Grissom walk with a single to right field putting the winning run ninety feet away. With Grissom on third and only one out, Mike Hargrove called for Omar Vizquel to lay down a bunt in the hopes of sacrificing Grissom home to score.
Omar attempted to lay down the bunt on the next pitch and the ball missed his bat, however it also missed catcher Lenny Webster’s glove. The alert Grissom, who was already half way down the line, came home to score uncontested. It was a highly controversial call, but it gave the Indians the win and 2 – 1 lead in the series. Baltimore manager, Davey Johnson, and catcher, Lenny Webster, argued soundly, but it was too little too late. One of the finest pitched games in playoff history had ended on a fluke play, but also gave the Tribe the win!
A pivotal game four took place in Cleveland with the young Jaret Wright on the mound. Despite getting some early run support from a two run Sandy Alomar Jr. homerun, Wright struggled to remain consistent and fell behind 5 – 2 after only three innings. Geneva Ohio native, Brian Anderson, was called upon by Hargrove to keep the game close. Cleveland would attempt to mount a comeback against Baltimore pitcher, Scott Erickson, who had previously shut them down in game one. Manny Ramirez hit a solo homerun with one out in the bottom of the fifth to bring the Indians to within a couple of runs. Jim Thome and David Justice followed with back-to-back singles.
After a Matt Williams strike out, Sandy Alomar Jr. hit a RBI single to score Thome. Baltimore relief pitcher, Arthur Rhodes, then walked Giles before throwing a wild pitch allowing Justice to score from third and tie the game. As Justice scored, Webster lost track of the ball after colliding with the umpire. In the middle of the mass confusion, Alomar was able to race home and score to take the lead. It was another wild play in a series that had been filled with them.
The Indians had a 7 – 5 lead to try to hold onto it for the second half of the game. The Indians bullpen looked sharp, only giving up one run and handing Jose Mesa a 7 -6 lead to start the ninth. Mesa, who had blown the save the prior day, looked shaky again as he took the mound. He walked Roberto Alomar to start the inning and then gave up a single to Geronimo Berroa which allowed Roberto to advance to third base with still no outs. Mesa recovered to strikeout Eric Davis before letting up the game tying single to Raphael Palmeiro. Mesa had blown two saves in two days; it was a bad omen of what was to come a few short weeks later.
The game remained tied as Mesa was able to get out of the inning without giving up any more runs. Manny Ramirez led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a walk and was sacrifice-bunted over to second by pinch hitter, Kevin Seitzer. Veteran pitcher and former Cleveland Indian pitcher, Jesse Orosco, forced David Justice to fly out for the second out before Davey Johnson pulled him for Armando Benitez. With first base open, Benitez gave Williams the free pass and decided to pitch to Sandy Alomar Jr. With the previous record Benitez had against Cleveland combined with the magical season Alomar was having, it came as no surprise when Alomar hit the game wining single to score Ramirez and give Cleveland the 3 – 1 series lead.
The Indians brought a commanding 3 – 1 series lead into game five with the hopes of clinching the series in front of their home crowd. Baltimore pitchers, Scott Kamieniecki and Jimmy Key, put a stop to any celebration plans the Indians may have had with a shutout through eight innings. Chad Ogea fell victim to no offensive support for his second straight start and the Indians ended up losing 4 -2. It was a crucial loss because it meant the series would return to Camden Yards in Baltimore for game six.
Game six took place Wednesday, October 15, 1997, on a sunny afternoon in Baltimore. The fans in attendance and fans watching at home viewed a classic as for the second straight start Mike Mussina was untouchable. Luckily for Cleveland, so was their ace, Charles Nagy. Through ten innings the game remained scoreless and Cleveland had managed only two hits. With Cleveland preparing to bat in the top of the eleventh, Baltimore reliever, Armando Benitez, jogged in from the bullpen to pitch. Benitez looked to shake off his past playoff game Cleveland demons as he put away the first two Cleveland hitters with ease.
In a storybook finish that was right out of a Hollywood script, Tony Fernandez hit a Benitez fastball over the wall in left field to give the Indians the lead. That was all they needed as Jose Mesa closed it out in the ninth and sent Cleveland back to the World Series. Mike Hargrove explains what happened in batting practice of game six that led to Bip Roberts not playing and Tony Fernandez getting the start that lead to his eventual series clinching home run, “I always felt that when you get in those situations that you indicate to whatever degree that you can’t go, then its best we don’t have you on the field. Bip came to me in the World Series that year and said that he had flu-like symptoms and I told him that he wasn’t playing. I know it pissed him off but if you don’t want out of the game then don’t tell me you’re sick. Because all you’re doing is saying that you don’t have a lot of confidence in your ability to do your job and you’re looking for an excuse. In those situations we don’t need people like that around.”
Roberts not wanting to play in those games was a surprise even to Hargrove, “Yeah, I was shocked!” Hargrove shares other memories from that playoff series, “There were three big things that stick out. The first was the Vizquel suicide squeeze when Lenny Webster lost his mind and the game. The second was when we ran the wheel play earlier in the game to get us out of a jam. The last thing was the Tony Fernandez home run to win the series in game six.” Hargrove goes on to reveal how the Indians dominated Armando Benetiz during the series, “He was tipping his pitches, both his fastball and his split. If our veteran hitters had any idea what you were going to throw, they could hit it really hard. He would come set in his glove and when his glove was straight up and down it was a fastball and when it was laid over to the side it was a splitter.”
Charlie Nagy explains what lead to his performance in game six, “We had a great defense behind us with a lot of new faces. It was a little bit of a different year and we came together in spring training with a mission to win. I had great teammates who sacrificed and worked hard all season to put us in that position. I was lucky enough and fortunate to keep us in the ball game long enough to win”
The Florida Marlins were an expansion team that came into the Major League in 1993. Most fans outside of Miami didn’t pay much attention to them as the Marlins rarely gave them any reason too. Just prior to the 1997 season, the Marlins loaded up their lineup with some high priced free agent talent to go along with a little bit of their home grown talent. For the first time in their short team history, they became a viable threat in the National League. To the surprise of many, they made the playoffs and swept the San Francisco Giants in the first round before knocking off the defending National League champions, Atlanta Braves, to advance to the World Series.
Game one of the World Series took place on a hot Saturday night in Miami. Orel Hershiser had built a reputation of being a post season ace. It came as a surprise and a disappointment to Cleveland fans that Hershiser had his worst playoff outing giving up seven runs in only five innings. The worst blows were back-to-back homeruns from Moises Alou and Charles Johnson. The Indians battled back with solo homeruns from Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome, but it was too little too late and the Indians dropped game one 7 – 4.
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