by A lot of fans praise the 1995 Cleveland Indians season and roster, and rightfully so. However, when those same fans go back to 1994 and look over those games and numbers, they are almost every bit as impressive.
1994 was a special spring and summer in Cleveland, and had the strike not happen, I firmly believe the Indians would have contended for a title.
At the time of the work stoppage in 94, the Indians were 66-47 and surging. It was a perfect storm as veteran leadership and youthful talented meshed perfectly and almost instantly! They were only a game back of the Chicago White Sox for the Division, and held the wildcard spot as well.
The Indians were also only 4 games back of the New York Yankee’s for the best overall record in the American League. However, you choose to slice it, the Indians were rolling towards a memorable October run.
Lofton did what leadoff hitters do, he got on base. With a season total of 160 hits, he flirted with hitting 400 at one point early in the season. Lofton would finish at 349 after a late season slump, but he did rack up 60 stolen bases along the way. He set the table many a time for Belle to clear!
Baerga did as well batting 314 directly in front of Belle. In fact, one could argue that without Belle hitting behind him, Baerga struggled early and often. Baerga never did anything after getting traded in 96 and removed from Belle batting behind him.
Something to consider when you go back and look at all the numbers. That’s not to say Baerga wasn’t an excellent hitter from 92- 95, he sure was and the fans still love him for it.
Speaking of Belle, this was perhaps his finest performance yet. He continued to mash everything in sight. In just 106 games he compiled 36 more homeruns with 101 RBI and a career high .357 batting average at the time of the strike.
His numbers were on par if not better than every other hitter in the league. With Murray hitting behind him, Belle produced exactly as they hoped he would when they signed him to the large 3-year extension.
If the season didn’t end in a strike, Belle would have been a favorite for MVP. 36 home runs in 106 games, that is roughly a home run every 3 games. Remarkable as you average that over 162 games and it is 54 total.
Despite the 1994 season being a solid one for Belle, it was once again not without controversy. His bat was confiscated by umpires at Comisky Park to be checked for illegal corking.
Belle’s teammate Jason Grimsley later tried crawling through the vents at Comisky Park to the umpires room and switch the bat with one that wasn’t corked, the problem being that most of Albert’s bats were corked.
It was eventually sawed open and found to be corked. It earned Belle a six-game suspension and another black mark on his record full of them.
