Baseball egg

20 Greatest Cleveland Guardians

20

Shoeless Joe Jackson

“When a Cincinnati player would bat a ball out in my territory I’d muff it if I could—that is, fail to catch it. But if it would look too much like crooked work to do that, I’d be slow and make a throw to the infield that would be short. My work netted the Cincinnati team several runs that they never would have had if we had been playing on the square.” — Shoeless Joe Jackson about his role in the 1919 World Series scandal, in testimony leaked by at least three newspapers in 1920.
19

Wes Ferrell

Wes Ferrell was the most handsome player of his time, with penetrating blue eyes. He was a well-built farm boy raised in tobacco country in North Carolina. His pitching style was fluid and poised, which concealed a volcanic temper that boiled beneath the surface. Ferrell was known to destroy dugouts, clubhouses, and uniforms when things didn’t go his way. Several times in his career, Ferrell refused to leave the mound when his manager tried to remove him from the game. You’d need a word beyond intense to describe his attitude. One time, when he allowed six runs in less than two innings, Ferrell punched himself in the face repeatedly on the bench and banged his head into the water cooler before teammates halted his self-abuse.
18

George Uhle

Uhle threw a good fastball and curveball, both of which he sent to home plate with a sidearm delivery. He was 28 years old and had 127 victories before the injury, at which point the Indians dealt him to the Tigers assuming he was finished. But Uhle survived for several more years, winning 73 games to finish with exactly 200 wins.
17

Terry Turner

16

Early Wynn

15

Sam McDowell

He was probably about 95 percent the pitcher Sandy Koufax was, but McDowell was stuck on the Indians. His nickname, “Sudden Sam,” is one of the best.
14

Larry Doby

“I was never bitter because I believed in the man upstairs. I [did] my best. I let someone else be bitter. If I was bitter, I was only hurting me. I prefer to remember Bill Veeck, Jim Hegan, and Joe Gordon, the good guys. There is no point in talking about the others.” — Doby, on the difficulty of integrating the American League
13

Mel Harder

12

Addie Joss

11

Joe Sewell

10

Jim Thome

“He’s a worker. He’s one of the modern-day pros who connects with the people… He’s just an everyday guy.” — former Phillies’ outfielder Greg Luzinski
9

Bob Lemon

“I have to rate Lemon as one of the very best pitchers I ever faced. His ball was always moving, hard, sinking, fast-breaking. You could never really uhmmmph with Lemon.” — Ted Williams
8

Kenny Lofton

7

Earl Averill

Let’s go through all the nicknames Averill acquired, he had several. He was “The Earl of Snohomish.” because he hailed from Snohomish, Washington. They called him “Popeye” after the comic strip character that became popular in 1929, the same year Averill debuted with the Indians. Averill was 5’9 (about average for an American male in the 1930s) but (like Popeye) he had prominent forearms and he was very strong. He was opinionated and stubborn, which is why teammates dubbed him “Rockhead” or simply “Rock.” When Cleveland purchased his contract from the San Francisco Seals, Averill insisted that he get a portion of the money. He battled the Indians over his salary almost every year of his career. “The way I look at it,” Averill once said, “a player ought to get all the money he can.” Roommate Lew Fonseca noted that Averill never made his bed and often wore wrinkled suits on road trips, prompting the nickname “Sloppy.” Find a photo of Earl Averill and you’ll see why his teammates playfully called him “Elephant Ears.”
6

Stan Coveleskie

When people discuss the greatest performances in World Series history they usually forget about Stan Coveleskie’s pitching in the 1920 World Series. The spitballer started Game One, Game Four, and Game Seven (it was a best-of-nine back then). He allowed a total of two earned runs in his three starts, walked only two batters, and won all three games. He pitched Game Four on three days’ rest, and Game Seven on two days’ rest. With grief still on his mind, Coveleskie pitched brilliantly to lead the Indians to their first World Series title. It was a long way from sorting coal by hand.
5

Jose Ramirez

Ramírez became the first Cleveland player to have 40 home runs and stolen bases in the same season, in 2024. He’s the only Cleveland ballplayer to have three 30-30 seasons. He’s clearly the greatest third baseman in franchise history, and could wriggle his way into the discussion with Chipper Jones as the greatest switch-hitter to ever play the position.
4

Lou Boudreau

Banks became a superstar in his third year when he hit 44 home runs. He hit 40 homers four more times before he was 30, and he won two MVP awards.
3

Bob Feller

2

Tris Speaker

“He had the best natural ability to get a fly ball of anyone I ever saw,” said Philadelphia manager Connie Mack.
1

Nap Lajoie

Lajoie had a way of gliding toward the ball, like Cal Ripken Jr. did. He was a tall man but graceful, with a strong arm. He had some peculiar habits in the field: he liked to take his glove with him to the dugout between innings, shunning the practice of tossing the glove into short right field; and he liked to use a new glove each summer, breaking it in by coating it with whale oil and twisting and bending the leather until it was soft and pliable; he also removed the wrist strap so he could keep the glove low on his wrist, giving him more reach. It worked: “Larry” was a solid defender up the middle.