Re: 122 Franchises Ranked Bottom to Top:
59. Cleveland Indians
Why? A franchise that has its share of highs and lows. While they broke the American League record for consecutive wins this past season at 22, the Indians have baseball’s longest championship drought, not winning the Fall Classic since 1948.
The Good. Two World Series Championships (1920, 1948), set a then record 111 American League wins in 1954.
The Bad. When the Indians lost to the Cubs in the 2016 World Series, the Indians inherited baseball’s longest championship drought. The Indians have been to the World Series four times since 1948, (1954, 1995, 1997, 2016).
The Ugly. Known as The Curse of Rocky Colavito, prior to the start of the 1960 season, the Indians traded the defending home run champion to Detroit for Harvey Kuenn. At this turning point, the Indians went from good to bad being largely irrelevant until the mid-1990’s. Colavito claimed he never cursed the team but cursed its GM, Frank Lane. The Indians during this dark period traded a lot of young talent for veterans that never amounted to much. The Indians were so bad during this period, they were the “underdog” team used for the Major League movies starring Charlie Sheen amongst a bunch of star actors.
Where they play. Progressive Field, opened in 1994 as Jacobs Field, replaced Cleveland Stadium (i.e. The Mistake on the Lake). Considered one of the nicest ballparks in the league.
Owner: Larry Dolan, lawyer who bought the team from Richard Jacobs in 2000. Is the uncle of Knicks owner/tormenter James Dolan.
Manager: Terry Francona, a journeyman middle infielder in the 1980’s, Francona finished his fifth season as manager of the Indians, also had terms managing in Philadelphia and Boston.
Top Current Players: Corey Kluber, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Ramirez
Hall of Famers: Cy Young, Nap Lajoie, Earl Averill, Larry Doby, Lou Boudreau, Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, Al Lopez, Joe Sewell, Tris Speaker, Early Wynn
Up Next: The Minnesota Vikings