2017 Cleveland Indians season

The 2017 Cleveland Indians season was the 117th season for the franchise. It was the fifth season under the leadership of manager Terry Francona and second under general manager Mike Chernoff. The team entered as the defending American League champion and World Series runner-up. The Indians played all of their home games at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.

2017 Cleveland Indians
American League Central Champions
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record102–60 (.630)
Divisional place1st
Other information
Owner(s)Larry Dolan
General manager(s)Mike Chernoff
Manager(s)Terry Francona
Local televisionSportsTime Ohio · WKYC
(Matt Underwood, Rick Manning)
Local radioWTAM · WMMS
Cleveland Indians Radio Network
(Tom Hamilton, Jim Rosenhaus, Rick Manning)
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On September 13, the Cleveland Indians won their 21st game in a row, surpassing the 2002 Oakland Athletics for the longest winning streak in American League history and tying the 1880 Chicago White Stockings and the 1935 Chicago Cubs for the second longest winning streak in Major League Baseball history. Their win streak reached 22 games on September 14, giving the Indians the longest winning streak in Major League Baseball history. They were 5 games short of tying the all-time record for longest streak without a loss of 27 games (26 wins, 1 tie) held by the 1916 New York Giants. On September 15, the 22-game win streak ended in a 4–3 loss to the Kansas City Royals.

The Indians finished the season with a record of 102–60, the best record in the American League. They won their second straight American League Central title but were upset by the New York Yankees in five games in the American League Division Series. Their 102 win total was the most wins the Indians had since the 1995 season.

Offseason

Regular season

Opening Day starting lineup
No.NamePos.
Batting order
41Carlos SantanaDH
12Francisco LindorSS
23Michael BrantleyLF
10Edwin Encarnación1B
11José Ramírez3B
7Yan GomesC
30Tyler NaquinCF
36Yandy Díaz3B
35Abraham AlmonteRF
Starting pitcher
28Corey Kluber

April

The Indians opened the season by sweeping the Texas Rangers in Arlington. This series was highlighted by a 9−6 win on April 5 in which Francisco Lindor hit his first career grand slam during the five-run 9th inning in which the Indians erased a 6-4 deficit.[3] However, the Indians would go on to lose six of their next seven games. The Indians' lone win in that stretch was a 2-1 win in the team's home opener over the Chicago White Sox. The Indians started the season with two of their key contributors from 2016 - Lonnie Chisenhall and Jason Kipnis - on the disabled list. Chisenhall returned to the Indians on April 13.

The Indians finished April 14-10, with the bright spot of the month being a 5-0 road trip against the Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins.

May

On May 2, starting pitcher Corey Kluber left the game with a lower back strain, and would miss the rest of the month. He had posted a 3−2 record, 5.06 ERA, 41 strikeouts and 13 walks in ​37 1⁄3 innings.[4] Without Kluber in the rotation, the Indians could not establish any consistency, finishing the month 13-14, their only sub-.500 month of the season. The month was highlighted by a sweep of the AL West leading Houston Astros in Houston.

June

SP Corey Kluber would return to the Indians' rotation on June 1, as he would go six shutout innings en route to an 8-0 win over the Oakland Athletics. After struggling through the early part of June, the Indians would win six in a row from June 15–19, including a 4-game road sweep of the Minnesota Twins, with whom the Indians were battling for the lead in the AL Central. However, the Twins would return the favor a week later, sweeping the Indians in Cleveland. On June 26, the Indians had one of their more impressive wins of the season, coming back from a 9-2 deficit to defeat the Texas Rangers, 15-9.

José Ramírez collected nine consecutive multi-hit games in June, the longest such streak for an Indians player since Roy Hughes in 1936.[5] Ramírez was named AL Player of the Week for the first time in his career on June 18, after batting .516 with 16 hits, three home runs, seven RBI and a stolen base. He raised his average from .265 to .320 over his previous 22 games.[6]

The Indians went 15-12 in June, to improve to 42-36 on the season. Kluber was selected as the AL Pitcher of the Month for June after posting a 4–0 record, 43 IP, 1.26 ERA, 64 SO, 0.67 WHIP and 13.4 K/9 in six starts. It was the third time in his career he had won the award.[7]

July

On July 2, OF Michael Brantley, SP Corey Kluber, SS Francisco Lindor, RP Andrew Miller, and 3B José Ramírez were all named to the American League team for MLB All-Star Game, played at Marlins Park in Miami. Ramírez started the game at third base, becoming the first Indian to start in the game since Juan González in 2001. As the AL representative in the 2016 World Series, the Indians' coaching staff coached the AL team.[8] Manager Terry Francona had to miss the game, as well as six Indians games due to a heart procedure.

In the fifth inning of the July 7, contest against the Detroit Tigers, Carlos Carrasco pitched an immaculate inning, striking out the side on the minimum nine pitches. He became only the second pitcher in Indians history to do so, following Justin Masterson in 2014, and the 84th in MLB history.[9]

When Jason Kipnis sustained a hamstring injury on July 9, the Indians placed him on the 10-day DL,[10] and shifted Ramírez to cover second base to replace him for much of the remainder of the season.[5]

The Indians started July 6−8, including a tough west-coast trip following the All-Star break that saw the team go 1−5 against the last place Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants. After that trip, however, the Indians swept a seven-game home stand as part of a nine-game winning streak. On July 22, Lindor hit his first career walk-off home run in the 10th inning against the Toronto Blue Jays for a 2−1 victory.[11]

The Indians would finish the month 15-10. On July 31, the Indians acquired RP Joe Smith from the Blue Jays.[12]

August

On August 3, Corey Kluber struck out 11 batters and gave up three hits in a 5−1 complete game win against the New York Yankees, making him the fourth pitcher ever to get eight or more strikeouts in 12 consecutive starts. The preceding three were Nolan Ryan, Pedro Martínez and Randy Johnson.[13]

The Indians finished the month of August with a 19−9 record, including eight straight wins to end the month. Kluber won his second AL Pitcher of the Month Award of the season for August, totaling a 5−1 record and 1.96 ERA.[14]

September/October

On September 3, José Ramírez tied a major league record with five extra-base hits, which included three doubles and two home runs.[15] Ramírez was named AL Player of the Week on September 5.[16]

Corey Kluber pitched his third shutout of the season with 12 strikeouts on September 12, against the Detroit Tigers, giving the Indians their 20th consecutive win, matching the 2002 Oakland Athletics for the American League record. Kluber scattered five hits while allowing no walks and struck out eight.[17] On September 13, Cleveland broke the AL record for consecutive wins with its 21st straight, surpassing the 2002 A's, and moved into a tie with the 1935 Chicago Cubs for the second-longest winning streak in baseball history. The major league record is 26 consecutive wins, set by the New York Giants, accomplished September 7−30, 1916.[18] The Indians would win a 22nd straight game the next day, but their streak was snapped on September 15, with a 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals.[19] During the streak, the Indians had outscored their opponents 142–37, trailing after just eight of a possible 199 full innings.

Kluber won the AL Player of the Week Award for September 17 after becoming the third Indians pitcher with multiple 250-strikeout seasons.[20] Carrasco struck out 14 Minnesota Twins batters on September 28, 2017, in a 5−2 score to give Cleveland their 100th win of the season. It was the third time in franchise history they had reached 100 wins in one season, following the 1954 club (111 wins) and the 1995 club (100).[21]

Kluber, later named the AL Pitcher of the Month for September, produced a 5−0 W−L record, 0.84 ERA, 50 strikeouts and 43 innings pitched. The Indians' record for the month was 25−4, and included the majority of the 22-game win streak, with Kluber pitching Cleveland to three of those victories in September.[22]

The Indians clinched a playoff spot on September 14, the AL Central championship on September 17, and the #1 seed in the American League playoffs on September 30. The team finished the season with a record of 102–60 (.630). The 102 wins marked the team's second highest win total in franchise history, trailing only the 1954 Indians. The Indians led the major leagues in both ERA (3.30) and in pitching strikeouts (1,614). It was the fourth consecutive season they led the American League in strikeouts.[23]

Season standings

American League Central
AL Central W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cleveland Indians 10260 0.630 — 49–32 53–28
Minnesota Twins 8577 0.525 17 41–40 44–37
Kansas City Royals 8082 0.494 22 43–38 37–44
Chicago White Sox 6795 0.414 35 39–42 28–53
Detroit Tigers 6498 0.395 38 34–47 30–51

American League Wild Card
Division Leaders W L Pct.
Cleveland Indians 10260 0.630
Houston Astros 10161 0.623
Boston Red Sox 9369 0.574


Wild Card teams
(Top 2 qualify for 1-game playoff)		 W L Pct. GB
New York Yankees 9171 0.562 +6
Minnesota Twins 8577 0.525 —
Kansas City Royals 8082 0.494 5
Los Angeles Angels 8082 0.494 5
Tampa Bay Rays 8082 0.494 5
Seattle Mariners 7884 0.481 7
Texas Rangers 7884 0.481 7
Toronto Blue Jays 7686 0.469 9
Baltimore Orioles 7587 0.463 10
Oakland Athletics 7587 0.463 10
Chicago White Sox 6795 0.414 18
Detroit Tigers 6498 0.395 21

Record against opponents
2017 American League Records

Source: AL Standings Head-to-head
Team BAL BOS CWS CLE DET HOU KC LAA MIN NYY OAK SEA TB TEX TOR NL
Baltimore —10–94–31–63–41–53–32–42–57–124–34–28–116–112–78–12
Boston 9–10—6–14–33–43–42–42–45–28–113–43–311–85–113–616–4
Chicago 3–41–6—6–1310–94–210–93–47–123–41–53–43–34–33–36–14
Cleveland 6–13–413–6—13–65–112–76–012–75–23–44–24–36–14–26–14
Detroit 4–34–39–106–13—3–48–113–48–113–31–51–62–51–53–38–12
Houston 5–14–32–41–54–3—3–412–75–15–212–714–53–412–74–315–5
Kansas City 3–34–29–107–1211–84–3—6–18–112–53–35–24–31–63–39–11
Los Angeles 4–24–24–30–64–37–121–6—2–54–212–711–73–48–114–311–9
Minnesota 5–22–512–77–1211–81–511–85–2—2–43–33–42–44–34–313–7
New York 12–711–84–32–53–32–55–22–44–2—2–55–212–73–39–1015–5
Oakland 3–44–35–14–35–17–123–37–123–35–2—7–122–510–92–57–13
Seattle 2–43–34–32–46–15–142–57–124–32–512–7—5–111–81–612–8
Tampa Bay 11–88–113–33–45–24–33–44–34–27–125–21–5—2–49–1011–9
Texas 1–61–53–41–65–17–126–111–83–43–39–108–114–2—3–414–6
Toronto 7–126–133–32–43–33–43–33–43–410–95–26–110–94–3—9–11

Roster
2017 Cleveland Indians
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

  • 39 Giovanny Urshela

Outfielders

 Manager

Coaches

  • 64 Armando Camacaro (bullpen catcher)
  •  2 Brad Mills (bench/outfield)
  • 82 Ricky Pacione (bullpen catcher)

Game log
2017 Game Log: 102–60 (Home: 49–32; Away: 53–28)
April: 14–10 (Home: 6–6; Away: 8–4)
May: 13–14 (Home: 5–8; Away: 8–6)
June: 15–12 (Home: 7–7; Away: 8–5)
July: 15–11 (Home: 10–3; Away: 5–8)
Legend:           = Win           = Loss           = Postponement
Bold = Indians team member

Postseason game log
2017 Postseason: 2−3 (Home 2−1; Away 0−2)
Legend:           = Win           = Loss     
Bold = Indians team member

Player stats

Batting
Player G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI AVG SB
Cody Allen 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Greg Allen 25 35 7 8 1 0 1 6 .229 1
Abraham Almonte 69 172 26 40 8 3 3 14 .233 2
Shawn Armstrong 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Trevor Bauer 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Michael Brantley 90 338 47 101 20 1 9 52 .299 11
Jay Bruce 43 149 21 37 9 2 7 26 .248 1
Carlos Carrasco 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Lonnie Chisenhall 82 236 34 68 17 1 12 53 .288 2
Mike Clevinger 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Yandy Díaz 49 156 25 41 8 1 0 13 .263 2
Edwin Encarnacion 157 554 96 143 20 1 38 107 .258 2
Yan Gomes 105 341 43 79 15 0 14 56 .232 0
Erik Gonzalez 60 110 18 28 6 0 4 11 .255 1
Nick Goody 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Brandon Guyer 70 165 23 39 7 1 2 20 .236 2
Austin Jackson 85 280 46 89 19 3 7 35 .318 3
Jason Kipnis 90 336 43 78 25 0 12 35 .232 6
Francisco Lindor 159 651 99 178 44 4 33 89 .273 15
Boone Logan 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Michael Martinez 14 11 1 4 1 0 0 0 .364 0
Zach McAllister 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Francisco Mejia 11 13 1 2 0 0 0 1 .154 0
Andrew Miller 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Tyler Naquin 19 37 4 8 2 0 0 1 .216 0
Dan Otero 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Roberto Pérez 73 217 22 45 12 0 8 38 .207 0
José Ramírez 152 585 107 186 56 6 29 83 .318 17
Daniel Robertson 32 80 9 18 4 1 1 7 .225 0
Carlos Santana 154 571 90 148 37 3 23 79 .259 5
Bryan Shaw 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Josh Tomlin 3 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 .143 0
Giovanny Urshela 67 156 14 35 7 0 1 15 .224 0
Bradley Zimmer 101 299 41 72 15 2 8 39 .241 18
Totals 162 5511 818 1449 333 29 212 780 .263 88

Pitching
Player W L ERA G GS SV IP R ER BB K
Cody Allen 3 7 2.94 69 0 30 67.1 24 22 21 92
Shawn Armstrong 1 0 4.38 21 0 0 24.2 12 12 10 20
Trevor Bauer 17 9 4.19 32 31 0 176.1 84 82 60 196
Craig Breslow 0 0 4.15 7 0 0 4.1 2 2 2 5
Carlos Carrasco 18 6 3.29 32 32 0 200.0 73 73 46 226
Mike Clevinger 12 6 3.11 27 21 0 121.2 46 42 60 137
Kyle Crockett 0 0 10.80 4 0 0 1.2 2 2 1 2
Nick Goody 1 2 2.80 56 0 0 54.2 20 17 20 72
Corey Kluber 18 4 2.25 29 29 0 203.2 56 51 36 265
Boone Logan 1 0 4.71 38 0 0 21.0 13 11 9 28
Michael Martinez 0 0 0.00 1 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0
Zach McAllister 2 2 2.61 50 0 0 62.0 18 18 21 66
Ryan Merritt 2 0 1.74 5 4 0 20.2 6 4 4 7
Andrew Miller 4 3 1.44 57 0 2 62.2 11 10 21 95
Tyler Olson 1 0 0.00 30 0 1 20.0 0 0 6 18
Dan Otero 3 0 2.85 52 0 0 60.0 23 19 9 38
Danny Salazar 5 6 4.28 23 19 0 103.0 51 49 44 145
Bryan Shaw 4 6 3.52 79 0 3 76.2 36 30 22 73
Joe Smith 0 0 3.44 21 0 1 18.1 7 7 0 20
Josh Tomlin 10 9 4.98 26 26 0 141.0 80 78 14 109
Totals 102 60 3.30 162 162 37 1440.2 564 529 406 1614

Postseason player stats

Batting
Player G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI AVG SB
Greg Allen 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Michael Brantley 3 11 0 1 0 0 0 0 .091 0
Jay Bruce 4 16 4 4 1 0 2 4 .250 0
Lonnie Chisenhall 4 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Edwin Encarnacion 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Yan Gomes 3 6 1 2 1 0 0 1 .333 0
Erik Gonzalez 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Austin Jackson 4 10 2 2 0 0 0 0 .200 1
Jason Kipnis 4 18 0 4 0 1 0 1 .222 0
Francisco Lindor 4 14 2 1 0 0 1 4 .071 0
Roberto Perez 3 7 1 2 0 0 1 1 .286 0
José Ramírez 4 17 2 2 0 0 0 0 .118 0
Carlos Santana 4 15 2 4 0 0 1 4 .267 0
Giovanny Urshela 4 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 .111 0
Totals 4 133 16 23 2 1 5 15 .173 1

Pitching
Player W L ERA G GS SV IP R ER BB K
Cody Allen 0 0 0.00 3 0 1 4.1 0 0 2 6
Trevor Bauer 1 1 0.00 2 2 0 8.1 4 0 3 11
Carlos Carrasco 0 0 0.00 1 1 0 5.2 0 0 3 7
Mike Clevinger 0 0 13.50 2 0 0 1.1 3 2 4 3
Corey Kluber 0 0 20.25 1 1 0 2.2 6 6 1 4
Andrew Miller 0 1 3.00 3 0 0 3.0 1 1 2 3
Tyler Olson 0 0 0.00 3 0 0 2.0 0 0 0 5
Danny Salazar 0 0 0.00 1 0 0 1.2 1 0 2 3
Joe Smith 0 0 0.00 3 0 0 2.0 0 0 1 3
Bryan Shaw 0 0 2.25 2 0 0 4.0 1 1 0 2
Josh Tomlin 1 0 0.00 2 0 0 3.0 0 0 0 4
Totals 2 2 2.37 4 4 1 38.0 16 10 18 48

Awards and league leaders

Awards

League leaders

Batting
  • Ref:[27]
  • At bats: Francisco Lindor (651)
  • Doubles: José Ramírez (56)
  • Extra base hits: José Ramírez (91)
  • Plate appearances: Francisco Lindor (723)

Fielding
  • Ref:[28]
  • Assists at first base: Carlos Santana (95)
  • Double plays turned at shortstop: Francisco Lindor (111)
  • Fielding percentage at pitcher: Carlos Carrasco (1.000)
  • Games at pitcher: Bryan Shaw (79)
  • Total zone runs at first base: Carlos Santana (13)
  • Range factor per nine innings at catcher: Roberto Pérez (10.80)

Pitching
  • Wins Above Replacement: Corey Kluber (8.0)

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Columbus Clippers International League Chris Tremie
AA Akron RubberDucks Eastern League Mark Budzinski
A-Advanced Lynchburg Hillcats Carolina League Tony Mansolino
A Lake County Captains Midwest League Larry Day
A-Short Season Mahoning Valley Scrappers New York–Penn League Luke Carlin
Rookie AZL Indians Arizona League Anthony Medrano
Rookie DSL Indians Dominican Summer League

See also

References
  1. Bastian, Jordan (January 5, 2017). "Indians sign free agent Edwin Encarnación to a three-year contract". MLB.com. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  2. Indians Press Release (March 28, 2017). "Indians sign José Ramĺrez to a long-term contract". Indians.MLB.com. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  3. Hoynes, Paul (April 5, 2017). "Francisco Lindor atones for error with game-winning slam as Cleveland Indians sweep Texas with 9-6 win". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  4. Bastian, Jordan (May 3, 2017). "Lower back strain lands Corey Kluber on 10-day DL". MLB.com. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  5. Beck, Jason (October 12, 2017). "Indians' exit shouldn't overshadow the journey: Plenty of great memories—102 wins, 22 in a row, historic pitching". Indians.MLB.com. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  6. Roto Wire Staff (June 21, 2017). "Indians' Jose Ramirez: Named AL Player of the Week". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  7. Staff Report (July 3, 2017). "Kluber named AL Pitcher of the Month for June". The News-Herald. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  8. Indians Press Release (July 2, 2017). "Five (5) Indians earn American League All-Star nods". Indians.MLB.com. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  9. Stats AP (July 7, 2017). "Carrasco has 'immaculate inning' as Indians roll Tigers 11−2". CBSsports.com. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  10. "Indians' Jason Kipnis on disabled list again with hamstring injury". USA Today. Associated Press. August 23, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  11. Lewis, Ryan (July 22, 2017). "Francisco Lindor hits walk-off home run, Indians top Blue Jays 2−1 in 10 innings". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  12. Shaikin, Bill (July 31, 2017). "Blue Jays trade Joe Smith to Indians. He'll be close to his ailing mom now". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  13. Hoynes, Paul (August 3, 2017). "Cleveland Indians beat Yankees, 5−1, as Corey Kluber throws 3-hitter with 11 strikeouts". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  14. Beery, Kyle (September 3, 2017). "Kluber earns AL Pitcher of Month honors". MLB.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  15. Castrovince, Anthony (September 16, 2017). "Let's honor The Streak with some awards". MLB.com. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  16. Staff Report (September 5, 2017). "Jose Ramirez named AL Player of the Week". The News-Herald. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  17. Jaffe, Jay (September 13, 2017). "Corey Kluber's shutout continues Indians rotation's excellence amidst 20-game streak". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  18. "21 pilots! Tribe flying, win streak is AL record". MLB.com. September 13, 2017.
  19. Dodd, Rustin (September 15, 2017). "Streak struck down: Royals beat the Indians, snap longest winning streak in 101 years". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  20. Noga, Joe (September 18, 2017). "Cleveland Indians pitcher Corey Kluber earns American League Player of the Week honors". Cleveland Plain-Dealer. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  21. Withers, Tom (September 28, 2017). "Carrasco strikes out 14; Indians beat Twins for 100th win". The News-Herald. Associated Press. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  22. Noga, Joe (October 2, 2017). "Cleveland Indians' Corey Kluber named American League Pitcher of Month for September". Cleveland Plain-Dealer. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  23. Adler, David (October 22, 2017). "Source: Mets to name Callaway manager". MLB.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  24. Baseball America Press Release (October 5, 2017). "From afterthought to foundation of a winner". Baseball America. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  25. USA Today Sports (November 9, 2017). "Jose Altuve, Nolan Arenado among repeat Silver Slugger Award winners". USA Today. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  26. USA Today Sports (November 10, 2017). "Byron Buxton named Major League Baseball's defensive player of the year". USA Today. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  27. "2017 American League batting leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  28. "2017 American League fielding leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
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