The Baseball Scholar

The 20 Greatest Cleveland Indians of All-Time

Dave Franks
1–2 minutes

Rankings based on seasons 1901 – 2025.

To be eligible, position players need 1,500 plate appearances, starting pitchers have to have started a minimum of 75 games, and relief pitchers need to have 150 innings pitched for the franchise.

  1. Nap LajoieHOF

    Nap Lajoie Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    79.6 152 1614 6695 6034 865 2046 424 78 34 919 240 15 408 32 .339 .388 .452 .841

  2. Tris SpeakerHOF

    Tris Speaker Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    74.9 156 1519 6628 5546 1079 1965 486 108 73 884 151 66 857 146 .354 .444 .520 .965

  3. Bob FellerHOF

    • Age: 17 – 22, 26 – 37
    • Years: 1936 – 1941, 1945 – 1956
    • Positions: SP
    • Teams: Cleveland Indians
    Bob Feller Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    65.2 82 570 484 266 162 3.25 3827 279 44 21 1557 1384 1764 2581 16.0% 1.315

  4. Stan CoveleskiHOF

    Stan Coveleski Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    56.8 77 360 305 172 123 2.80 2501.4 194 31 20 972 779 616 856 8.3% 1.23

  5. Shoeless Joe Jackson

    Shoeless Joe Jackson Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    35 176 674 2852 2502 474 937 168 89 24 353 138 25 267 71 .375 .441 .542 .983

  6. Lou BoudreauHOFMVP

    Lou Boudreau Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    61.8 123 1560 6707 5754 823 1706 367 65 63 740 50 50 766 297 .296 .382 .416 .798

  7. Jim ThomeHOF

    • Age: 20-31, 40
    • Years: 1991-2002, 2011
    • Positions: 1B, 3B, DH
    • Teams: Cleveland Indians
    Jim Thome Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    48 150 1399 5805 4711 928 1353 263 20 337 937 18 14 1008 1400 .287 .414 .566 .980

  8. Jose RamirezActive

    Jose Ramirez Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    57.6 130 1609 6759 5970 1001 1668 398 43 285 949 287 62 666 802 .279 .353 .504 .857

  9. Larry DobyHOF

    Larry Doby Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    43.1 140 1235 5082 4315 808 1234 190 45 215 776 44 32 703 805 .286 .389 .500 .889

  10. Addie JossHOF

    Addie Joss Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    47.7 70 286 260 160 97 1.89 2327 234 45 5 729 488 364 920 0.967

  11. Earl AverillHOF

    Earl Averill Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    51.3 133 1509 6708 5909 1154 1903 377 121 226 1084 66 55 725 470 .322 .399 .542 .940

  12. Sam McDowell

    Sam McDowell Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    42.5 85 336 295 122 109 3.00 2107.8 97 22 11 805 702 1072 2159 24.3% 1.27

  13. Kenny Lofton

    Kenny Lofton Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    48.6 110 1276 5767 5045 975 1512 244 66 87 518 452 104 611 652 .300 .375 .426 .800

  14. Al RosenMVP

    Al Rosen Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    32.3 138 1044 4374 3725 603 1063 165 20 192 717 39 33 587 385 .285 .383 .495 .878

  15. Manny Ramirez

    Manny Ramirez Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    30 150 967 4095 3470 665 1086 237 11 236 804 28 24 541 780 .313 .407 .592 .998

  16. Corey Kluber2x Cy Young

    Corey Kluber Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    32.5 75 208 203 98 58 3.16 1339.8 17 7 0 518 471 292 1461 27.1% 1.09

  17. Gaylord PerryHOFCy Young

    Gaylord Perry Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    28.6 74 134 133 70 57 2.71 1129.5 96 17 1 377 340 330 773 17.1% 1.10

  18. Albert Belle

    Albert Belle Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    27.4 145 913 3925 3441 592 1014 223 16 242 751 61 25 396 622 .295 .369 .580 .949

  19. Elmer FlickHOF

    Elmer Flick Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    30.8 143 935 4020 3537 535 1058 164 106 19 376 207 0 355 0 .299 .371 .422 .792

  20. Mel Harder

    Mel Harder Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    48.5 90 582 433 223 186 3.81 3421.9 181 25 23 1714 1447 1118 1160 7.8% 1.41

    21. The Next 5

  21. 21. Joe Sewell
  22. 22. Early Wynn
  23. 23. Wes Ferrell
  24. 24. Bob Lemon
  25. 25. Travis Hafner

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

    7 responses to “The 20 Greatest Cleveland Indians of All-Time”

    1. Joe Mama Avatar
      Joe Mama

      Where’s Frankie Lindor, Asdrúbal Cabrera, Bob Lemon, and Mel Hall.

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    2. Avatar
      Anonymous

      What about Rocky Colavito?

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      1. Avatar
        Anonymous

        ROCKY is #1 on my All-Time Indians list.

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    3. Avatar
      Anonymous

      get rid of Albert Belle he cheated

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      1. Avatar
        Anonymous

        put in bob lemon

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    4. Avatar
      Anonymous

      bob feller is the greatest Cleveland Pitcher of all time.,

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      1. Avatar
        Anonymous

        Bob it the goat he will strike out or hit all of you guys

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