1995 Cleveland Indians

Continuing our theme of Hall of Famers, we look at probably the best team Jim Thome was apart of, the 1995 Indians! They went 100-44, absolutely abusing pitchers in the first post-strike season with a monster offense on their way to the AL Pennant. Although Thome's the current Hall of Famer (and a third basemen this season!), the real star of this team was Albert Belle. Belle remarkably hit 50 HRs and had over 50 doubles!!

Print out this team and play them against yesterday's '95 Braves to relive that series. If you're a Cleveland fan like most of this site's creators are, it'll probably result in sweet restorative justice and an Indians win thanks to this team's bats!

Lineup: The Indians vaunted offensive firepower does not disappoint, with four all star hitters right off the cuff. Lofton's the elite leadoff man we remember, with speed and extra base pop to burn. He's followed by Baerga, who's got a stellar chart and should hit plenty of RBI single or just setting up ducks on the pond for the next few monsters. Of course, the Godzilla of the lineup is Belle. Dude is an On-Base 10 who doubles at 12 and HRs at 16 thanks to an absolute monster campaign in a strike shortened season. Manny is more than capable of being the best hitter on most teams, and his OB 10 HR at 18 card is in the cleanup spot. Thome brings a third OB 10 card to the fifth hole, although it pales next to the other two studs, it's still a very good fifth hitter card! OB 9 Eddie Murray slots in eighth, demonstrating their depth. Paul Sorrento may only be an OB 7, but with HR at 16 power he'll provide electricity vs lower control pitchers and the defensive wizard Omar Vizquel has a decent OB 7 chart and A speed in the ninth spot. Pena is an ok catcher but the obvious weaklink.

Rotation: With three Tier 3 starters, this is the best Cleveland rotation of their 90s teams that I've seen so far. No real drop off 1-3, with no real ace either, but their focus is preventing the other team from scoring more than 4 runs so the offense can bash their way to victory. In that regard, they should succeed. Mark Clark is a Tier 5 however and should be frequently overmatched, even as the number four starter.  The bullpen is stout, so that should get Clark out of games quickly and hopefully without too much damage.

Bullpen: Wow, Jose Mesa was an absolute beast in 95! His closer card should be more than capable of two inning saves and gives them a real fireman. He's supported by a pair of Tier 2 relievers, giving them depth and the capability to go four or five shutout innings without too much rolling luck needed. Even Poole is a Tier 3, although his low control makes him too dangerous against most team's heart of the order and he'll probably only pitch vs the bottom half or in games that are blowouts.

Overall: The Indians clock in at 5,180 points, with most of that attributable to the lethal lineup. Their top six is a brutal row of hitters for even the Tier 1 starters, with Sorrento making life especially hard if you're a Control 3 or lower. The top starters are good enough that they really should be very competitive in any seven game series, especially with their best three relievers capable of coming in early to help preserve a lead. Obviously, team MVP is Albert Belle and he should be a dominant card to play with, but I'm most excited to utilize Jose Mesa. A fun team with a lot of pop, I hope someone has fun replaying the 1995 World Series (the Braves are 5160 points, so it should be a super even match!).