The 2022 Cleveland Guardians are a good ballclub, but they are not known for having the most power around the league.
Before Friday’s games, they ranked 27th out of 30 MLB teams with 53 home runs.
Who knows where would they be without Jose Ramirez?
However, the mid-1990s Cleveland Indians were probably the best and most powerful lineup in the game.
Of course, other clubs had a fair argument for that unofficial distinction, but Cleveland’s lineup was just something else.
“I don’t know why, but I feel the need to remind everyone that this was the 1995 Cleveland Indians/#Guardians lineup,” Andrew Ryan, a Cleveland sports fan, tweeted on Thursday.
Just look at this.
I don't know why, but I feel the need to remind everyone that this was the 1995 Cleveland Indians/#Guardians lineup. #ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/R3GG0dmgnF
— Andrew (@TheAndrewJRyan) June 23, 2022
That lineup was incredibly impressive, top to bottom.
A Hall Of Famer Hitting Sixth And Manny Ramirez In The Seventh Spot!
Imagine having Jim Thome, a Hall of Famer, as the sixth hitter in the lineup.
Perhaps more surprising would be Manny Ramirez as the seventh hitter.
Albert Belle led the league in home runs that year.
Wow… one can’t help but wonder how the Indians didn’t win the World Series with that lineup.
In the end, it came down to pitching: the Atlanta Braves had several future Hall of Famers in their rotation, and ended up winning the World Series, 4-2, against Cleveland.
The Indians would return to the Fall Classic two years from that point, in 1997, but this time, they lost to the Florida Marlins in the famous Jose Mesa series.
Even if those Cleveland teams didn’t end up taking home the trophy, baseball fans remember them fondly.
Between 1995 and 2001, Cleveland made the playoffs in six out of seven seasons.
They were really, really good at baseball.
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