Cleveland Indians: The Striking Similarities Between 2016 and 2007
Oct 2, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner (48) hits a two-run home run in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Indians waited nine years to claim a division title. Let’s take a look at how this year’s club compares to the last team to raise a banner at Progressive Field.
The Cleveland Indians are American League Central Division champions, and the playoffs are headed to Progressive Field on Thursday with game one of the ALDS against the Boston Red Sox. It’s the Tribe’s first division crown since 2007, which also happens to be the year they last reached the division series and last met the BoSox in October.
Cleveland’s 2016 version will be handing the ball to Trevor Bauer to make the start against the highest-scoring team in the AL and a leading Cy Young award candidate in Rick Porcello. Corey Kluber and David Price, themselves former Cy winners, will be matched up in game two on Friday.
A lot of things are coming full circle with this most recent success story for Cleveland. There are myriad connections between the Indians and the Red Sox, and there are similarities with the 2007 club that are slightly uncanny.
But a span of nearly a decade may as well be a century to a fanbase that has been treated to very little autumn baseball over the past sixty years, so let’s take a closer look at a team that was so close, yet fell short, and how today’s club compares.
The Skipper
May 20, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona (17) exits the field after talking with an official after a foul at home plate as they take on the Boston Red Sox in the fourth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
The most obvious connection in this series, and one that is sure to be talked to death, is that Tribe manager Terry Francona was the Boston manager in 2007. That Tito was at the helm of a team that came to rip the hearts of Cleveland fans out in the American League Championship Series is part of the ancient history that nine years has covered up.
The Indians had a 3-1 lead in the ALCS (no Golden State jokes, please), only to be crushed in the final three games by scores of 7-1, 12-2, and 11-2. The Red Sox went on to sweep the Colorado Rockies in the World Series, giving Francona his second world championship.
But, Cleveland’s skipper having a connection to their opponent is something he is treading lightly around.
“The one thing I think I need to be cognizant of, is the players have worked so hard — both sides — to get to this,” Francona said Saturday morning. “I can’t let my personal feelings ever get in the way or take away from what they’ve done. So, whatever my feelings are need to remain my feelings, and let the players [have the spotlight]. They’ve worked so hard for this. It needs to be about them.”
The Indians have no players remaining on their roster from that team, though Coco Crisp, who the club acquired in August from the Oakland A’s, was a member of that Boston team. David Ortiz, Clay Buchholz, and Dustin Pedroia are the holdovers from that series with the Red Sox.
As is manager John Farrell, who at the time served as Francona’s pitching coach. Farrell, who was also a teammate of Tito’s in Cleveland and is widely known to be his best friend in baseball, is in his fourth year at the helm of the BoSox, and led them to another World Series victory in 2013 (of which Mike Napoli was a part of).
“It’s tough when you’re going to compete against one of your best friends,” Francona said. “That’s actually kind of hard, but I am so proud of him and happy for him, what he’s accomplished. I kind of consider it an honor to actually compete against him.”
This ALDS contains connections, storylines, and familiarity that will make it perhaps the most heavily-scrutinized series of October. The Tribe will be aiming to make sure that the present day does not follow the same script of the past, and that old friends are watching the next round of the playoffs from the comfort of their living rooms.
Statistical Similarities
Sep 17, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis (22) scores the winning run after third baseman Jose Ramirez (not pictured) hit a single during the tenth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. The Indians won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The 2007 Indians, managed by Eric Wedge, won 96 games, tying with Boston for the best record in the American League. They beat out Detroit in the AL Central by eight games, clinching on September 23rd, their first division title since 2001.
For comparison’s sake, the 2016 Tribe won 94 games in the regular season, bested the Tigers by eight games, and clinched on September 26th. Eerie, right?
The similarities don’t end there, though, as a quick check of Cleveland’s schedule in 2007 shows utter dominance of its divisional rivals, a clear advantage playing at home, and a long run in first place. That club went 48-24 (.666) against the Central, 51-29 (.638) at Progressive Field, orchestrated 10 walk-off wins, and spent 121 days of the season atop the standings.
This year, the Indians posted a 48-26 (.649) record against divisional opponents, went 53-28 (.653) at home, walked off 11 times, and spent 122 days in first place. If you’re head is starting to spin a little, it’s okay, it’ll pass.
Furthering the similarities, the 2007 home opener, against the Seattle Mariners, was postponed due to snow, which isn’t a statistic, but should bring back memories of this past April for Tribe fans who trudged downtown only to have Mother Nature intervene.
The entire opening series, in fact, was snowed out, with the two sides playing three makeup games in one-off fashion over the course of the season, and the second home series, against the Los Angeles Angels, was relocated, bizarrely enough, to Miller Park in Milwaukee.
Roster Construction
Sep 18, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. The Tigers won 9-5. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Take a look at the Cleveland roster that won the AL Central in 2007. You see names like Grady Sizemore, Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner, and Jhonny Peralta in the lineup. C.C. Sabathia, Jake Westbrook, and Fausto Carmona (aka Roberto Hernandez) held down the mound. It’s a surreal trip back down memory lane for many fans of the team.
It also provides an interesting comparison to the 2016 club, how it was constructed, and who the major pieces are. That 2007 Indians team was the result of a rebuild that began after the disintegration of the historic clubs of the late-1990s and early-2000s, a youth movement that began when the likes of Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Roberto Alomar, and Bartolo Colon left then-Jacob’s Field for new cities via free agency and trades.
This year’s Tribe is the culmination of a youth movement as well, with a core of players that were signed long-term, most of whom were drafted by the organization or traded for as young players and developed. This is the same blueprint the franchise used a decade ago.
The 2007 team also had a few veterans like Jason Michaels, Trot Nixon, and Paul Byrd that were free agent signings along the lines of Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis, and traded midseason for a former fan favorite near the end of his career in Kenny Lofton, much as happened with Crisp in 2016.
The one glaring difference between this year’s Indians and that one is the willingness of the former’s front office to go all in at the trade deadline to acquire Andrew Miller. The 2007 club made no such splashy move, as impact players such as closer Eric Gagne (who went to Boston) and slugger Mark Teixeira were dealt.
What This All Means
Oct 2, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) celebrates with right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall (8) after defeating the Kansas City Royals 3-2 at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
In the grand scheme of things, the similarities between Cleveland’s 2007 club and this year’s mean basically nothing. That was nine years ago, and none of the current Indians players were involved other than Crisp. Playoff baseball is nothing if not unpredictable, and the success or failure of one team from year to year has little impact, let alone after nearly a decade.
The Indians team that was one win away from the World Series back then never contended again. Things were blown up, with players finding their way to new teams through trades and free agency, and finding their way out of the game entirely through injuries, age, and diminishing skills. Cleveland would not, in fact, post another winning record in any season until 2013, the first year of Francona’s tenure.
But baseball is also about narratives, and the upcoming ALDS between the Tribe and the Red Sox is crammed full of them. So many connections, both between the two sides and between this October and that other, past one, just waiting to be examined, turned over, and analyzed. If baseball is the storyteller’s sport, this series is a dream come true.
Though fans of the Indians that have this team watched all season long may at times have felt a feeling of deja vu, remembering the 2007 squad, the 2016 Tribe is not beholden to the past. Perhaps this year’s club meets the same fate as nine years ago, or perhaps it goes on to do what that team couldn’t. What’s important is that the postseason is finally back in Cleveland, and with it an opportunity to defy the ghosts of history and write a new story for the franchise.
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