75 Years and Counting Part XXI: The Story of the 1969 Cleveland Indians

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The 1969 Indians started 2-15, and it became worse. The end. There, I simply saved you from needing to learn more concerning how horrible this group was. Not only was it terrible, yet it was one of those seasons where everything that might go wrong failed. 1969 was a big year for baseball as 4 teams were included, the Seattle Pilots (currently the Milwaukee Brewers), Montreal Expos (Washington Nationals), Kansas City Royals, and San Diego Padres all signed up with Big league Baseball. In addition to the brand-new teams, 1969 was the very first year of local play and playoffs. Two divisions in each league (the eastern and west) would certainly play each various other in a 7 game collection to determine who got to most likely to the Globe Collection, a novel idea at the time. The Indians just lost 2 gamers in the development draft, both to Seattle as the Pilots picked Chico Salmon and Lou Piniella (later traded to Kansas City). Notably this was the 2nd time that Cleveland had shed Piniella in an expansion draft as he 'd been picked by the Washington Senators in the '62 draft. Obviously they really did not get the message other groups were attempting to send out that Piniella was a valuable asset. Passing by to secure him would certainly come back to attack them as he would take place to win AL Novice of the Year and have a strong MLB profession. Safe to say though that most remember him for his time as a manger. The Indians blew 50 leads in 1969. A pitching personnel that was among the very best in the background of Big league Baseball was suddenly near all-time low of the American League in runs enabled Nationals Shorts. Just how was the violation? Well on a positive note we can say, for one of the very first times in this series, that they were much better than the Yankees! However that's due to the fact that the Yankees had among their worst offenses in franchise business history finishing 2nd to last in the AL in runs racked up. However hey! It's still great to beat the Yankees at something. The offense at the very least saw some renovation as newcomer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson linked Tony Horton for the team lead in home runs with 27, nearly twice as several as the 14 homers that Horton led the group with the year before. Ray Fosse, the team's top prospect, got an early period tryout with the club however was unimpressive in what was, for all intents and purposes, his initial real big league activity. He had gotten a tiny handful of at bats the previous 2 years, but this was his first chance to really see major league throwing. Fosse would go on to have an incredible year in 1970 (much more on that particular tomorrow) yet the growing pains appeared for the 22 year old as he struggled to adjust to the Major Organization level. Seeing Ray Fosse's name appear in baseball reference as I was checking out the '69 period advised me of the reality that we're currently in the Amateur Draft age of Big league Baseball. Gone were the days of precursors running around like university football instructors throwing gobs of money at top novices hoping they would certainly sign. Currently groups picked gamers backwards order of the standings. Fosse was the initial draft pick in franchise business history. I figured over the course of this collection I might too consist of a little blurb on who our initial rounder was every year and perhaps any type of noteworthy other draft picks. With the 15th general choice in the 1969 Amateur Draft, the Cleveland Indians chose Alvin McGrew, outfielder from A. H Stephen Strasburg Shorts. Parker HS in Birmingham, Alabama. Currently I would not condemn you if your first response reading that was "That?" as McGrew never ever made it past AAA. He did hit. 316 throughout 2 levels as a 22 years of age in 1974, consisting of. 333 in ~ 60 video games at AAA, however he never made it to the majors. According to a linkedin page of a man called Alvin McGrew from Birmingham, Alabama, he functions as an agreements manager for a nuclear powerplant. The best player composed by Cleveland in the '69 Amateur draft would be David Gus "Friend" Bell out of Miami College in Oxford, Ohio. Though his ideal years came beyond Cleveland, Bell installed a sly 66 bWAR over the training course of his career. Join us tomorrow as we relocate on to the 1970's and discuss the 1970 period and the derailing of the professions of two of the couple of intense spots in the Cleveland lineup.