The Top Infield & Catching Groups of the Past 20 Years

In the next part of our series, we take a look back at the best infield/catching groups of the Jacobs/Progressive Field era. The Indians of the mid to late had so many stars and big bats, but once the turn of the century rolled around and the payroll cuts came into play, lets be honest, there was a lot of dreck. So much so that I really could only come up with four groups that were worth discussing.

I mean lets face it, even the two most recent playoff team (’07 & ’13) didn’t exactly have all stars at every position. Ryan Garko, Josh Barfield/Asdrubal Cabrera, Jhonny Peralta, and Casey Blake would probably get the nod over the cavalcade of first baseman, Jason Kipnis, Cabrera, and the Lonnie Chisenhall/Mike Aviles/Mark Reynolds triumvirate. But even still, both crews miss the cut. The top four though are all worthy. So without further ado……

4. 2005

1B Ben Broussard – .255/.307/.770/19 HR/68 RBI/59 R
2B Ronnie Belliard – .284/.325/.774/17 HR/78 RBI/71 R
SS Jhonny Peralta – ..292/.366/.885/24 HR/78 RBI/82 R
3B Aaron Boone – .243/.299/.677/16 HR/60 RBI/61 R
C Victor Martinez – .305/.378/.858/20 HR/80 RBI/73 R

There were three groups that ran away from everyone else. This fourth group makes the conversation, but mostly because of the dreck of the 2000s. I’ll say this about this five-man crew – they epitomize the phrase “solid, but unspectacular.”

Up the middle, this team was extremely strong. Belliard is criminally under appreciated. He had pop in his bat and loved going the other way. During his years in Cleveland, Ronnie was also a White Sox killer. Most of all, we will always remember Belliard for how he played short right fi…..errrrr…..second base. Meanwhile, his double play combo-mate Peralta was just hitting his stride. At age 23, Peralta was asked to replace a legend in Omar Vizquel. Many fans were upset by it. By the time the All-Star break rolled around, nobody cared. Jhonny helped carry the offense with a monster breakout campaign.

Speaking of breakout players, Martinez was in the midst of his run as the heart and soul of the ball club. For the second straight year, the then-26 year old catcher kept on hitting and didn’t stop. This was the kind of production that few teams received from behind the plate. Not to mention, he was a team leader.

The corner infield left a lot to be desired. Boone turned out to be a flop whom the Indians were really counting on. The last time he was seen was as a a Yankee.  His walk off game seven winner in the 2003 ALCS against the Red Sox set off a wild celebration and was a moment for the ages. That winter, Boone tore up his knee and missed the entire 2004 season. The Yankees let him walk and brought in Alex Rodriguez. The Tribe took a flyer on him. On the other corner was Ben Broussard. The front office had high hopes for this AAA batting champion from the Reds organization, but they never really materialized. Bennie had a nice glove but never hit the way the team hoped he would. The lasting memories of Boone and Broussard were their “automatic outs” during the final series of the season against the White Sox, where the Indians were swept. The bottom of the order that week was a black hole to say the least as the Indians missed out of the playoffs by one game.

3. 1997

1B Jim Thome – .286/.423/1.001/40 HR/102 RBI/104 R
2B Tony Fernandez – .286/.323/.746/11 HR/44 RBI/55 R
SS Omar Vizquel – .280/.347/.715/5 HR/49 RBI/89 R/43 SB
3B Matt Williams – .263/.307/.795/32 HR/105 RBI/62 R
C Sandy Alomar Jr. – .324/.354/.900/21 HR/83 RBI/63 R

1997 was the season of Sandy. I have long maintained that Alomar Jr. is the single most overrated player in Indians history, but nobody can take away 1997 from him. Sandy was simply magical. He had a 30-game hit streak, hit a homer in the ALl-Star game in Cleveland where he was named MVP, and seemed to deliver one clutch hit after another in the postseason. For that, I will always be grateful. It was the season of dreams for the catcher. The rest of the infield was a changed group.

Veteran All-Star Williams was acquired from San Francisco to play third. His gold glove pushed Thome over to first, replacing the mish/mosh in ’96 which included Julio Franco, Mark Carreon, and Jeff Kent among others. Gone too was Carlos Baerga, shipped out at the trade deadline a year earlier. Fernandez was added as a stop gap measure and eventually split time with deadline acquisition Bip Roberts. Vizquel manned the shortstop position with his soft hands and contact bat.

This was a big year for Thome who had to step to the forefront of the Indian offense with Albert Belle gone via free agency. He responded with 40 homers. Williams went through a prolonged mid-season slump where he literally could not hit the ball, but still finished with 32 and 105 while playing a stellar hot corner. This group was together just one year, but they certainly worked gelled well.

2. 1994-1995 (’95 stats)

1B Paul Sorrento – ..235/.336/.847/25 HR/79 RBI/50 R
2B Carlos Baerga – .314/.355/.807/15 HR/90 RBI/87 R
SS Omar Vizquel – .266/.333/.684/6 HR/56 RBI/87 R/29 SB
3B Jim Thome – .314/.438/.996/25 HR/73 RBI/92 R
C Sandy Alomar Jr. – .300/..332/.810/10 HR/35 RBI/32 R (played just 66 Games)

One would think this group would be number one, but they fell just short. It is however, the crew that so many young Indians fans remember from their youth as “their guys.” When the brand new stadium opened up, a splash was clearly made. Vizquel came to Cleveland basically known as a defensive shortstop who hit very little. He replaced Felix Fermin. Baerga was on his way to becoming an All-Star who really broke through during the 94 and 95 seasons. The guy was just flat out clutch, doing it from both sides of the plate while hitting in the coveted third spot. ’95 was the peak of Carlos’s powers and popularity. It ended up going to his head and ruined his career.

Thome was one of the Indians top prospects who grew into an everyday player with the big club. Defensively he was good enough, but it was his eye and his ability to get on base which made him early in his career. Most remember him now as a home run guy, but the truth is back then he hit more for average. Sorrento was given his first every day job by the Tribe in 1992, coming from Minnesota. He was 26 and ready to show off his power stroke. Pauly was lucky enough to be a part of a modern day murderers row where he hit near or at the bottom of the order. ’95 would be his last year in Cleveland and he hit 25 homers.

Behind the plate was Alomar Jr. As we would be learning at the time, Sandy just could not stay healthy. He only played 146 games during this two-year span. When he was playing, he certainly produced (.294/.339/.832), but it was less than half the time. In 95, veteran backup Tony Pena played in 91 games while Alomar appeared in 66. At age 38, Pena was the ideal backup and will always hold a special place in the hearts of all Tribe fans thanks to THIS!

 1. 1999-2000-2001 (2001 stats)

1B Jim Thome – .291/.416/1.040/49 HR/124 RBI/101 R
2B Roberto Alomar – .336/.415/.956/20 HR/100 RBI/113 R/30 SB
SS Omar Vizquel – .255/.323/.657/2 HR/50 HR/84 R/13 SB
3B Travis Fryman – .263/.327/.662/3 HR/38 RBI/34 R
C Einar Diaz – .277/.328/.714/4 HR/56 RBI/54 R

This was not an easy call to make, but I decided to go with the 99-01 group for a few reasons. You had four true All Star, three future or current Hall of Famers (Alomar, Vizquel, Thome), and a professional savvy veteran at the hot corner who was a well respected rock in the clubhouse (Fryman). Thome was really in the middle of his stride, averaging just under 40 homers and 112 RBIs with an OPS of .978 in that three year stretch. On top of it, he led the AL in walks in ’99 and his worst walk total in those three years was 111.

Robbie arrived as a free agent in 1999 to play with his brother and spent three straight spectacular years in Cleveland. The Hall of Fame second baseman hit .323/.405/.920 with 106 stolen bases in his three seasons here. Three was the magic number for Robbie – he made three All Star games, won three gold gloves, and hit number three in the Indians lineup. Of all of the great things Alomar did here, there was no bigger joy than to watch he and Vizquel handle the middle of the Tribe infield. Those of us who were lucky enough to watch them day in and day out know; we will never see a better double play combo. Both Omar and Robbie won gold gloves in each of these three seasons. The things these two did on a daily/nightly basis were mind blowing. Plus, they were quite the one/two punch (well, two-three actually) in the Wahoo lineup. Omar set the table and Robbie brought him in. In 1999, Vizquel enjoyed a career year at the plate, hitting .333/.397/.833 with 42 steals and 112 runs scored. That coincidentally was Alomar’s first year in Cleveland.

Fryman came in 1998 and spent five seasons with the Tribe. Three of those five were injury plagued. In 2000, Fryman went .321/.392/.908 with 22 homers and 106 RBIs while making his lone All Star appearance as an Indian and winning the first gold glove of his career. Inside the clubhouse, Fryman commanded respect and got it. He was a quiet leader, but nevertheless a leader. The example he set coming to the ballpark every day and laying it all on the line was something that did not go unnoticed. You will notice the name Einar Diaz listed above as the catcher. Most think it was Sandy Alomar Jr. who was the main backstop, but he could never stay healthy. In fact, it was Diaz who caught the majority of the game in ’99 and ’00 before taking over completely in ’01. Diaz reminds me a lot of what we thought Yan Gomes was going to be. He was a solid defensive catcher who hit more than what many expected him too. His worst slash line of those three seasons, where he hit ninth, was .272/.323/.715. Diaz was far from a star, but he was dependable and called a great game.