Gary Bell is generally considered the greatest relief pitcher in Indians history, if for no other reason that the fact that he has done it the most. After three years as a starting pitcher, Bell was converted to the teams closer in 1962. He struggled some that season, earning 12 saves, but giving up a 4.26 ERA and a WHIP of 1.40. The next year he was used more in middle relief and had a great season, allowing just 39 runs in 58 appearances including 7 starts. Bell also picked up 8 wins to go with his five saves that year. For the next three years Bell was used as closer and late reliever and was generally successful, ending his relief years with 45 career saves and a 3.16 ERA. He also struck out more batters out of the bullpen with a 7.2 K/9 compared to his starting average of 5.8. In his final year with the Indians in 1967 he was switched back to full time starter and made 9 starts before he was traded to Boston for Don Demeter and Tony Horton. After he left the Indians he was never quite as good as he was with the Tribe and he switched teams a few times, including playing in the only season of the Seattle Pilots. 

All-Time with the Tribe, Bell is in the top five in games pitched and home runs allowed and is in the top 10 for walks and strike outs. As a pitcher who was primarily a reliever, he is first in innings pitched, games played, wins, hits allowed, runs allowed, walks and strike outs. The next closest in most of these numbers is Steve Gromek, who was a starter for a larger percentage of his career than Bell, but still had more than 200 less innings and 18 less wins. He also struck out 500 less batters. There wasn't much glory associated with the time that Bell was on the team, or much recognition, but he deserves to be recognized as the first great Indians relief pitcher.

Joe Gordon is a recent inductee of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame (2009) and the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame (2008) as well. While he was inducted as a Yankee for his 7 years of service there, he contributed enough to the Indians that he deserves recognition here as well. Gordon was the rare case of an amazing player being traded from the Yankees to another team. In 1946 the Indians made the deal in exchange for Allie Reynolds following top 25 MVP finishes in 7 of Gordon's 8 seasons and seven consecutive All-Star game appearances. 

When he came to Cleveland he picked his game up even more, earning career highs in home runs and RBI in 1948. That same season he lead the Indians to their second World Series championship as their starting second baseman against the Boston Braves. Gordon was the top offensive player on the Tribe for both 1947 and 1948 when he lead the team each year in home runs and RBI. 1949 saw the emergence of Larry Doby as a powerful force and 1950 brought around the advent of Al Rosen, but Gordon continued to produce through his entire time with the Tribe, hitting at least 19 home runs every year, including 1950 when he only played 119 games. Even though his time in Cleveland was short, he still managed to hit 100 home runs for the Indians, one of only 23 players to accomplish that feat.

Gordon was also a successful manager for the Indians, taking over for Kerby Farrell in 1958. Gordon is currently ranked 20th all time in wins by an Indians manager while his winning percentage is ranked 5th. Joe Gordon died in 1978 at the age of 63.

Jack Graney was another player who managed to stick around for a long time, even though he wasn't the most talented player, and turn it into a solid career. From 1910 to 1919 Graney was the starting left fielder until he was replaced by another long term Indian, Charlie Jamieson. During his time, he racked up significant at bats to be in the top five in career walks (he is also in the top ten for single season walks with 105 in his 1919 season), top ten in triples and eleventh in games played. All these numbers combined helped him get listed as one of the Indians top 10 left fielders. He won his ring in 1920 as part of the Indians first championship team, but didn't fare to well himself. He had already been replaced as a starter in the lineup and only received three at bats during the series. He went 0-3 with two strikeouts.

If all that isn't enough to make Jack an all-time great, here is why he is truly listed. After playing his entire career with the Tribe, in 1933 Graney became the first former player to announce games for the Cleveland Indians on the radio and he held his position until 1953. He was loved by the fans and is still held in high esteem today as one of the most popular Indians announcers of all time. Graney died in 1978, but is still being honored as he was placed in the Indians Distinguished Hall of Fame for non-uniformed personnel in 2012. He was the first announcer to be placed in the Indians Hall of Fame solely for his announcing.

From 1929 to 1932, Wes Ferrell was the Indians best pitcher. As the ace, he pitched in over 40 games and won more than twenty each year during that four year span. His 25 wins in 1930 (his career high) remain in the top ten best of all Indians pitchers in a single season. Ferrell filled the talent gap between the time Hall of Famer Stan Coveleski left the team in 1924 and Mel Harder became the ace in 1933. Even though his best statistical year was 1930 (at least as far as ERA, wins and strikeouts go), Ferrell didn't start to receive accolades until a few seasons later, when he was voted 11th in the AL MVP vote in 1931 and 19th in 1932. He made his first All-Star game in 1933, during what was his worst, and final, season as a Cleveland Indian. In 1934 Ferrell was traded to the Red Sox, ending his career with the Indians. He went along with Dick Porter in exchange for Bob Seeds and Bob Weiland.

Even though Wes Ferrell's 13 year career wasn't quite good enough to get him into the Hall of Fame, his time with the Tribe was significant enough to garner him a spot in the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame. His brother Rick has been enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame as a catcher for the Washington Senators. The two brothers did get to play together for Washington in 1938. Wes Ferrell died in 1976.

The entrance of Sandy Alomar with the Cleveland Indians was a changing of an era. In 1989 the Indians traded their best player, Joe Carter, to the Padres for two young players, Alomar and Carlos Baerga, who became 2/9th of the starting line up from 1990-1996. By 1992 along with those two players, the backbone of the powerhouse 1990s Cleveland Indians had been set with players like Charles Nagy, Albert Belle, Jim Thome and Kenny Lofton. Having a solid backstop proved integral to the Tribe as Alomar's peak seasons (1994-1998) coincided directly with the Prime of the Indians as a team. Sandy did have some problems with injuries during his career, but when his career ended, he solidly stood among the top Indians catchers of all time.

In 1990 Alomar came on strong, winning both the AL Rookie of the Year and the Gold Glove at catcher. This was his first and last such award because of the emergence of another young catcher named Pudge Rodriguez. In 1997 the stars aligned for Sandy. He was the healthiest he had ever been in his career and he really showed what everyone expected after his rookie campaign. He set career highs in home runs, doubles, RBI, hits and runs and was chosen for his fifth All-Star game. The game was played at Jacob's Field in Cleveland and Sandy put on a show for his hometown fans. In the seventh inning, he hit a two run home run to break a 1-1 tie and score what ended up being the winning run for the American League. For his efforts he was given the MVP in that game. Sandy ended up repeating his power stroke in the post season, becoming the first player to ever hit a home run in an All-Star game and every round of the playoffs including the World Series in a single season. He excelled in that World Series as well, hitting .367 and setting Indians records for most at bats (30) and RBI (10) in a single playoff series.

Sandy Alomar's playoff numbers shine for his career as well, aided by his five appearances with the Tribe. He holds the Indians record for most postseason doubles and ranks in the top five in every other couting stat except walks. For the regular season, Sandy ranks second all time among catchers with 92 home runs (trailing Victor Martinez) and fifth all time in RBI. His .277 batting average is the third best among catchers with more than 400 games played. As an Indian the only two catchers that can even compare to Alomar are Martinez and Jim Hegan.

Alomar has been inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame, but the Indians policy of only retiring the numbers of MLB Hall of Famers makes it unlikely that his #15 will be retired. Since ending his playing days he has rejoined the Indians and currently serves as the team's bench coach (since 2011). 

Charlie Jamieson was a long tenured Indians who played through the entire decade of the 1920's. His lengthy career placed him in the top ten of many offensive statistics for the Indians including games played, at bats, doubles, triples and walks and in the top five for at bats and hits. It also allowed him to become the Indians player with the most times caught stealing in team history, showing that he was very aggressive on the basepaths, if not very smart or talented. He is considered as one of the top ten left fielders in Indians history.

Jamieson also pitched a few innings for the Tribe, throwing almost 20 innings in six games between 1919 and 1922. He wasn't too bad, giving up 10 runs (4.82 ERA)  on 19 hits (1.66 WHIP) over that time.

Charlie won the World Series in just his second year with the Tribe and was ranking highly in the MVP votes by 1923. He took over the role of starting left fielder in 1920 and didn't relinquish it until 1931. In his great season of 1923 he set records for at bats, runs and hits that remain in the top ten all time for the Cleveland Indians. He also lead the American League in hits and at bats that year, coming in sixth in the MVP voting. Jamieson has never really recieved the credit he is due, especially as a stat accumulator. He was never voted for in any capacity for the Baseball Hall of Fame and has not been inducted into the Indians Hall of Fame, even though he spent over a decade with the team playing at an above average talent level. Charlie Jamieson died in 1969.

The story of Herb Score is another Indians tale of what could have been. This story, however had a much better ending than some of the other tragedies like Ray Chapman and Steve Olin. Score came out of nowhere in 1955 to win the Rookie of the Year and lead the league in strikeouts each of his first two seasons. Just when he was looking like the next coming of Bob Feller (his 9.4 strike outs per nine innings is the greatest of all time by an Indian), Score was struck by a ball hit by Yankee infielder Gil McDougald. This occured in May of 1957 and he missed the rest of that season. When he came back he didn't even resemble the fire-baller he used to be. He was only able to pitch 41 innings in 1958 and won a total of two games. 1959 was slightly better as he pitched in 30 games, but his ERA rose to 4.71 and he was only able to win nine games. In 1960 Score was traded to Chicago for Barry Latman as part of the dismantling of the Indians by Frank Lane.

Herb Score came up with fellow star Rocky Colavito and made it look like the Indians were going to continue their success of the late 1940s and early 1950s. The trade of Colavito and Score's injury derailed that train and the Indians dropped into dispair for the the next 30 years, but even through the hard times, Score stayed with the Tribe. After his extremely short playing career, he became a television, then radio announcer for the Cleveland Indians and remained in that position with the team from 1964 through 1997. This made Score the voice of the Indians during one of the most exciting periods of Indians history along with fellow radio announcer Tom Hamilton.

Herb Score died in 2008 and the Indians honored him by wearing a patch on their sleeve during the entire 2009 season. He has been enshrined in the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame (class of 2006). Despite his short career, Score was still one of the greatest pitchers in Indians history.

Bill Bradley was a member of the original American League Cleveland team, the Cleveland Blues in 1901. He and Earl Moore were the only two players from the 1901 roster to play more than three seasons and Bradley played the most with ten. His 22 triples in 1903 remain in the top ten single season totals for the Cleveland Indians more than 100 seasons later. He is also among the top ten in career triples and stolen bases. Bradley is considered among the top ten Indians third basemen in team history.

Bill Bradley was born in Cleveland and even though he started his career with the Chicago Cubs, he defected to the American League as soon as he could to play for his home town team. He then played the rest of his pro career for the Blues and Naps. For his time with the team, he has been inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame (class of 1957).  Bill Bradley died in 1954 in Cleveland.

Jim Bagby was an integral part of the first Cleveland Indians championship team in 1920. He was the number two starter behind Stan Coveleski for most of his career with the Tribe, but he certainly stuck out. In 1920 he set the Indians record for most wins in a single season with 31 in 38 starts. This record will almost certainly never be broken. That same season he threw 339.2 innings, good enough to rank among the top ten most innings thrown in a single season. His 38 starts are also in the top ten for most starts. He also lead the league that year in wins, winning percent, complete games (30), and innings pitched (339.2). Over his career, his 131 complete games are tenth all time as an Indian, another record that will almost certainly not be surpassed as no Indians pitcher has had more than 35 career complete games since the 1980's.

In that first championship, Bagby started two games, throwing 15 innings. One of those games was a complete game and he only gave up a total of three runs overall. His impressive career postseason ERA of 1.80 remains among the top five all time. The twenty hits he allowed in that series are a record he probably would not want to hold as the most hits ever given up in a single postseason series. 

Another claim to fame for the elder Bagby is that his son played for the team as well from 1941 to 1945 and played on two all-star teams. They join the many father/son duos to play in Major League Baseball and are one of the best to play for the Indians. Jim Bagby, Sr has been inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame. He died in 1954.

Albert Belle taught the Indians what power was. Before him, the team never had a true power hitter. There were players with average power who played a long career, like Earl Averill and those who had slightly more power, but had shorter careers like Hal Trosky, Larry Doby and Andre Thornton, but none could compare to Belle. In 1995 Albert set a new high for home runs in a single season as an Indian with 50 (which was subsequently broken in 2002 by Jim Thome). At the same time he became the first player in baseball history to hit 50 doubles and 50 home runs in the same year. To make it even more impressive, it was a strike shortened season. The next year he blew past the team career record (226 by Averill) by smashing 38 home runs, destroying a record that had stood since 1939 (this record was also broken by Thome in 2001). He is considered the greatest leftfielder in Indians history.

Of all the members of the powerful Tribe teams of the 1990's, Belle stuck out the most. Not only was he the most talented offensively, but his love of the media and friendliness with the fans, especially children, made him infamous. His anger issues and disrespect towards members of the press were probably the only thing that cost him the MVP in 1995. His numbers far out-shined Mo Vaughn's that season, but the baseball writers decided to vote for the rotund Boston firstbaseman instead. This wall between him and the media is probably also kept him out of the baseball Hall of Fame.

Statistically, Belle remains second on the team in career homeruns and slugging percent (behind Manny Ramirez) and is first all time in isolated power. His slugging is especially impressive as he ranks 14th all time in all of baseball history. Every player in the top 40 in slugging percent is either in the Hall of Fame, is still on the ballot or is currently an active player (prior to the 2012 season), except Belle. In single season numbers, Belle owns the record for highest team slugging percent for his 1995 campaign and is in the top five for doubles (1995 and 1996) along with his number two in home runs. In postseason play, Belle is the only player that didn't play in both the 1995 and 1997 World Series to be in the top five in any important statistic. He holds that position in home runs, RBI and slugging percent, even though he only played in two seasons.

A story that exemplifies Belle's career occurred against the Milwaukee Brewers, before they moved to the National League. After being reprimanded by the first base coach for being tagged out to easily running to second during a double play, Belle made an adjustment to his game. Later in the game when the same situation happened, Belle slammed into Brewers' second baseman Fernando Vino, knocking him to his back. Belle was out, but the runner was safe at first and we were all reminded an important lesson on how you play the game. The fact that Belle is not in the Indians Hall of Fame yet is a complete travesty that will hopefully be rectified in the near future.

"Sit down. Men play this game."