The Baseball Scholar

Cleveland Indians Best Single Seasons

Dave Franks
1–2 minutes

These are the greatest individual seasons in Cleveland Guardians history, broken down by player and position. Since we’re celebrating standout seasons, players can show up multiple times especially if they logged meaningful time at different spots on the field. Outfielders and pitchers may also appear for multiple seasons when those performances rank as the franchise’s best at their respective positions.

Catcher

  • Victor Martinez – 2005

    Victor Martinez Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    5.2 128 147 622 547 73 167 33 0 20 80 63 78 0 1 .305 .378 .475 .853

    • First Base

  • Jim Thome – 2002HOF

    Jim Thome Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    7.4 189 147 613 480 101 146 19 2 52 118 122 139 1 2 .304 .445 .677 1.122

    • Second Base

  • Nap Lajoie – 1910HOF

    Nap Lajoie Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    9.8 194 159 677 591 94 227 51 7 4 76 60 26 .384 .445 .514 .960

    • Third Base

  • Al Rosen – 1953MVP

    Al Rosen Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    10.1 178 155 688 599 115 201 27 5 43 145 85 48 8 7 .336 .422 .613 1.034

    • Shortstop

  • Lou Boudreau – 1948HOFMVP

    Lou Boudreau Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    10.4 164 152 676 560 116 199 34 6 18 106 98 9 3 2 .355 .453 .534 .987

    • Outfield

  • Shoeless Joe Jackson – 1912

    Joe Jackson Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    9.6 186 154 653 572 121 226 44 26 3 90 54 35 .395 .458 .579 1.036

    • Outfield

  • Shoeless Joe Jackson – 1911

    Joe Jackson Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    9.2 184 147 641 571 126 233 45 19 7 83 56 41 .408 .468 .590 1.058

    • Outfield

  • Tris Speaker – 1916MVP

    Tristram Speaker Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    8.7 182 151 647 546 102 211 41 8 2 79 82 20 35 27 .386 .470 .502 .972

    • Starting Pitcher

  • Gaylord Perry – 1972HOFCy Young

    Gaylord Perry Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    10.8 60 41 40 24 16 1.92 342.2 29 5 1 79 73 82 234 17.4% 0.98

    • Starting Pitcher

  • Luis Tiant – 1968

    Luis Tiant Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    8.5 53 34 32 21 9 1.60 258.1 19 9 0 53 46 73 264 26.7% 0.87

    • Starting Pitcher

  • Corey Kluber – 2017Cy Young

    Corey Kluber Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    7.8 49 29 29 18 4 2.25 203.2 5 3 0 56 51 36 265 34.1% 0.87

    • Starting Pitcher

  • Sam McDowell – 1965

    Sam McDowell Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    8.2 63 42 35 17 11 2.18 273 14 3 4 80 66 132 325 29.1% 1.14

    • Starting Pitcher

  • Corey Kluber – 2014Cy Young

    Corey Kluber Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    8.1 63 34 34 18 9 2.44 235.2 3 1 0 72 64 51 269 28.3% 1.09

    • Relief Pitcher

  • Emmanuel Clase – 2024

    Emmanuel Clase Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    4.4 15 74 0 4 2 0.61 74.1 0 0 47 10 5 10 66 24.4% 0.66

    • Relief Pitcher

  • Jose Mesa – 1995

    Jose Mesa Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    3.9 24 62 0 3 0 1.13 64 0 0 46 9 8 17 58 23.2% 1.03

    • Relief Pitcher

  • Rafael Betancourt – 2007

    Rafael Betancourt Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    4.3 33 68 0 5 1 1.47 79.1 0 0 3 13 13 9 80 27.7% 0.76

    • Honorable Mention

  • Catcher – John Romano, 1961
  • First Base – Jim Thome, 2001
  • Second Base – Nap Lajoie, 1904
  • Third Base – Jim Thome, 1996
  • Shortstop – Lou Boudreau, 1944
  • Outfield – Tris Speaker, 1923
  • Outfield – Shoeless Joe Jackson, 1913
  • Outfield – Manny Ramirez, 1999
  • Starting Pitcher – Gaylord Perry, 1974
  • Starting Pitcher – Trevor Bauer, 2018
  • Starting Pitcher – Addie Joss, 1908
  • Starting Pitcher – Herb Score, 1956
  • Starting Pitcher – Early Wynn, 1956
  • Relief Pitcher – Michael Jackson, 1998
  • Relief Pitcher – Andrew Miller, 2017

    • All underlying data used in this analysis is available in The Baseball Scholar Data Library.

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