Cleveland Guardians All-Time Team

Nearly 20 years ago I took a road trip with my best friends. We were coming from the northeast, so we stopped in Cleveland for a day before spending the rest of the week in Chicago. These All-Time Teams posts are going in the opposite direction, since Chicago comes before Cleveland alphabetically. 

Anyway, here's the All-Time roster for the Cleveland franchise - which changed its name since the original series ran in 2019-20.

Hold on - was Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Brooklyn??

Formerly known as the Indians, Cleveland won their last World Series title in 1948 while calling this stadium their home. The Tribe lost the 1954 World Series and didn't appear in the postseason again until 1995.

Mike Hargrove managed the Indians throughout most of the 1990s, culminating in two AL championships in 1995 and 1997. [Terry Francona has managed Cleveland longer and has a slightly superior winning percentage - but he's managing the all-time Red Sox.]

Hargrove's All-Time lineup features much of that '90s core of stars:

Kenny Lofton and Omar Vizquel didn't measure up to Cleveland legends Tris Speaker and Lou Boudreau. 1953 AL MVP Al Rosen was a beast over his seven full seasons, but he's got some competition for the starting third base job:

	Guardians stats	WAR	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
	*Al Rosen	32.3	0.285	0.384	0.495	0.879	137
	Jose Ramirez	41.2	0.279	0.355	0.503	0.858	129
	Ken Keltner	33.2	0.276	0.337	0.441	0.778	112

Cleveland's decision to lock in Jose Ramirez long term [and trade Francisco Lindor] looks like the right one. The Guards' slugger gets the nod.

No room for Kenny Lofton here, either. He's likely to re-up with the Barnstormers. HOFers Joe Sewell and Larry Doby are secure, while Rosen battles fellow brief-but-dominant corner infielder Hal Trosky to stay on the team:

	Guardians stats	WAR	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
	*Jim Hegan	5.7	0.230	0.299	0.349	0.648	76
	Steve O'Neill	24.7	0.265	0.348	0.341	0.689	91
	*Hal Trosky	29.6	0.313	0.379	0.551	0.930	135
	*Al Rosen	32.3	0.285	0.384	0.495	0.879	137
	*Rocky Colavito	22.9	0.267	0.361	0.495	0.856	137
	Elmer Flick	30.8	0.299	0.371	0.422	0.792	144
	Grady Sizemore	27.7	0.269	0.357	0.473	0.830	120

Hegan was one of the worst hitters on an All-Time roster, totaling 4.6 WAR over his 17-year career. O'Neill began catching for Cleveland back when they were the Naps. He'll be an incremental upgrade. Trosky holds off Rosen, while Colavito's one-dimensional power is superfluous. Hall of Famer Elmer Flick wins the last spot with his speed and ability to make consistent contact.

Mike Hargrove called in more Hall of Fame reinforcements for Cleveland's starting rotation.

"Sudden" Sam McDowell threw a lot of wild pitches, but his ERA and WHIP averages were actually better than Bob Feller's.

	Guardians stats	WAR	ERA	ERA+	K/BB	WHIP
	*Sam McDowell	42.5	2.99	119	2.01	1.268
	*Stan Coveleski	56.8	2.80	129	1.39	1.225
	Bob Lemon	37.6	3.23	119	1.02	1.337
	Early Wynn	36.2	3.24	119	1.46	1.274
	Mel Harder	48.5	3.80	113	1.04	1.408

 
Early Wynn nearly won, but Hargrove decides to stick with his guys.

In the bullpen, the Guardians have the potential to upgrade from swingman Steve Gromek and Don Mossi, who pitched effectively but made just 224 appearances for the franchise. Rafael Betancourt was assigned to Colorado, but Bryan Shaw has a chance.

	Guardians stats	SV	ERA	ERA+	K/BB	WHIP
	*Steve Gromek	16	3.22	111	1.35	1.230
	*Don Mossi	32	3.34	116	1.89	1.270
	Bryan Shaw	12	3.44	122	2.49	1.248

Mossi stays, primarily because he's left handed. Gromek is slightly less hittable than Shaw, a workhorse who has led the league in appearances four times. The 35 year-old Shaw hasn't made an MLB roster for 2023 but he squeaks onto the Guards' All-Time squad.

Looking ahead - and looking at this bullpen - the All-Time IndGuards desperately need Emmanuel Clase to continue his ninth-inning dominance for a few more seasons. Shane Bieber is a long shot, but he's already compiled half of Corey Kluber's Cleveland career.

TL; DR: Five changes from the original roster. Rosen, Colavito, Hegan, Gromek, and offensive name out. Ramirez, Flick, O'Neill, Shaw, and Marvel movie name in.

Come back tomorrow for our next All-Time team, the Detroit Tigers.

 

Thanks for reading!



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