Tribe Backstop Best - Cleveland Indians

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Tribe Backstop Best - Cleveland Indians

The top five players at Andrew Triggs Jersey catcher, first base, second base, shortstop and third base will be ranked, and the top 15 outfielders, 25 starting pitchers and 10 relief pitchers. Only players who were with the Indians for at least four seasons -- or players with three Cleveland seasons but at least two All-Star Game selections -- are considered. The Indians' top five all-time catchers (seasons with the Indians in parentheses):5. LUKE SEWELL (1921-32, 1939) Sewell was the younger brother and longtime Indians teammate of Joe Sewell, one of Cleveland's best-ever shortstops and a Hall of Famer. Luke Sewell was a top-notch catcher defensively and a good-enough hitter at a position from which -- during his era -- not much was expected offensively. The 20-year-old Sewell caught three games for the 1921 Indians, then averaged 42 games behind the plate for them over the next four campaigns. He then caught 108 games per season in the next seven years. Sewell was traded to the Washington Senators following the 1932 season and went on to complete a 20-year big league career, including a 16-game stint with Cleveland in 1939. Sewell played 978 games for Cleveland, including 941 behind the plate. He threw out 48 percent of baserunners attempting a stolen base, about five percent better than the American League average during those seasons. With the Indians, he led AL catchers in a sists and caught stealings three times, in double plays twice, and in games caught and caught stealing percentage once. The right-handed hitting Sewell had a .259 batting average in Dennis Eckersley Jersey 3,195 at bats during his Cleveland career. He totaled 171 doubles, 34 triples and eight home runs. He had 388 RBI, 381 runs scored and 41 stolen bases. He didn't draw many walks (263) nor did he strike out often (196). Brother Joe struck out at the second-lowest rate of any qualifying player in major league history: once every 62.6 at bats. Luke Sewell was ninth in the American League Most Valuable Player voting in 1927, when he hit .294 with 27 doubles, six triples, no homers, 53 RBI and 52 runs scored in 470 at bats. He led the AL in four catching categories defensively. In 1928, Sewell placed 12th in the MVP tally. He hit .270 with 16 doubles, nine triples, three homers, 52 RBI and 52 runs in 411 at bats, and was first in three defensive categories behind the plate.4. VICTOR MARTINEZ (2002-09) The case could be made that Martinez -- still the Tigers' primary designated hitter -- should be higher on this list because he was probably the best-hitting catcher in Indians history. His work behind the plate, however, drops him in this estimation. Martinez was sometimes complimented for his handling of pitchers, but overall, he was generally regarded a subpar catcher defensively. Martinez caught a combined 49 games to begin his big-league and Indians careers in the 2002-03 seasons. He averaged 132 games and 127 starts at catcher over the next four years. He was behind the plate for just 55 games in an injury-laden 2008 campaign. After catching 52 games and playing 47 at first base over the first four months of the 2009 season, Martinez was sent to the Boston Red Sox on July 31 -- just before the trade deadline -- for pitchers Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price. In 821 games with Cleveland, including 684 at catcher, the switch-hitting Martinez hit .297 with 191 doubles, two triples and 103 home runs in 3,035 at bats. He had 518 RBI and 413 runs scored, and posted a .369 on-base percentage and .463 slugging percentage. Martinez threw out 24 percent of base-runners attempting to steal, about five percent below the league average. A three-time all-star with Cleveland, Martinez finished seventh in the MVP voting in 2007, when the Indians won the AL Central title, then defeated the Yankees three games to one in an AL Division Series before yielding a 3-1 lead to the Red Sox and losing the Championship Series, 4-3. Martinez hit .301 in 562 at bats over 147 games (121 at catcher) in 2007, with 40 doubles, 25 homers, 114 RBI and 62 walks. He was 6-of-17 (.353) with a double, homer and four RBI in the division series, singling twice and driving in two runs Joe Morgan Jersey in Cleveland's 6-4 series-clinching win at Yankee Stadium. Then, against Boston for the AL pennant, Martinez was 8-of-27 (.296) with a double, homer and three RBI. In 2005, when the Indians were in playoff contention until the final weekend, Martinez finished seventh in the AL with a .305 batting average. He was 10th (108) in RBI in 2004, seventh (114) in 2007 and fifth (108) in 2009 when he was hitting .284 with 67 RBI before he was traded to Boston. Twice with the Indians, Martinez was second in the AL in games caught, and he led the league's catchers with 61 a sists in 2004.3. SANDY ALOMAR (1990-2000) Alomar is the Catfish Hunter Jersey Indians' current first base coach and the older brother of Hall of Famer Roberto, who played for Cleveland from 1999-2001. Considered one of baseball's premier prospects, Sandy Alomar broke into the big leagues by playing eight games for the San Diego Padres in 1988-89. He was traded with promising infielder Carlos Baerga and veteran outfielder Chris James to Cleveland for star outfielder-first baseman Joe Carter following the 1989 campaign. Alomar made an immediate impact for the Indians, being voted by the fans as the American League's starting catcher in the All-Star Game, and then winning the AL Rookie of the Year award and Gold Glove award as the league's best defensive catcher. He hit .290 with 26 doubles, two triples and nine homers in 445 at bats, with 66 RBI and 60 runs. Alomar made six all-star teams with the Indians, including when he was voted a starter in 1991 and 1992, despite mi sing a combined 184 games in those seasons, and hitting .238 in a combined 483 at bats with two homers and 33 RBI. From 1991 through 1995, Alomar averaged just 70 games played and 239 at bats a season. In 1995, he played in 66 games but helped the Indians win the AL Central Division title by batting .300 with 10 homers and 35 RBI in 203 at bats. He played in 13 of 15 postseason games, hitting .220 (9-of-41) with four doubles, a triple and three RBI as the Indians swept the Red Sox, three games to one, in a division series; bested the Mariners, 4-2, to win their first AL pennant in 41 years; and lost to the Braves, 4-2, in the World Series. Alomar set up the Indians' 7-6 Game 3 World Series win -- cutting the Braves' series lead to 2- Santiago Casilla Jersey 1 -- with a run-scoring double that tied the game 6-6 in the bottom of the eighth inning at Jacobs Field (now Progre sive Field). Alomar finally enjoyed a healthy season in 1996 and began another string of three straight All-Star Game selections (though not as a starter). In 1997, Alomar fashioned a remarkable season featuring one clutch hit after another and his usual expert handling of the pitching staff. During the regular season, he played 125 games and hit .324 in 451 at bats. He slugged
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