A.L. Wake-Up Call: The Tribe Is Alive In ‘95 With Legends Murray And Winfield, Indians Have No Weaknesses In Lineup

Fans of the Cleveland Indians still have to pinch themselves when they hear announcements like the one that came over the P.A. system at Jacobs Field earlier this week:

“Pinch-hitting for Eddie Murray - Dave Winfield.”

Yet the depth of Cleveland’s starting lineup has made it possible for manager Mike Hargrove to keep Winfield and his 3,090 career hits in reserve most nights, a luxury far beyond anything the Indians have known in recent years.

Murray, meanwhile, is leading the American League with a .453 average as he closes in on 3,000 hits himself; he’s now 46 away.

They are just part of the reason the Indians may have the most powerful offensive team in their history.

“I played on some teams in Texas that could score some runs,” Hargrove said, “but this team, one through nine, is the most explosive I’ve been associated with.”

The Kansas City Royals learned that this week. First, Kevin Appier - who came to Cleveland with a 3-0 record and a 0.46 ERA gave up two runs in the first inning Monday night before getting an out. The Indians beat him 6-2.

Appier’s teammate, Doug Linton, wasn’t so lucky. Before he got anyone out the next night, the Indians had hit three home runs and scored eight times, tying a major-league record. And by the time they finished off that 10-0 win, the Indians ranked first in the league in batting average, at-bats, runs, hits, total bases, doubles, home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage.

They’re averaging 7.4 runs per game.

“I felt real sorry for that guy,” Cleveland pitcher Dennis Martinez said. “It happened so quick, so fast, he didn’t know what hit him. I don’t care who’s pitching against us, I know our guys think they’re going to get him, sooner or later.”

On Wednesday, the Indians were held in check for most of nine innings, but with the game on the line, pinch-hitter Wayne Kirby tied it with an RBI single in the ninth and Manny Ramirez won it with a run-scoring single in the 10th.

The Indians certainly aren’t sneaking up on anyone. They developed into the highestscoring team in baseball last year when they added Murray, Omar Vizquel and Ramirez to a lineup that already included All-Stars Kenny Lofton, Carlos Baerga and Albert Belle. Lofton may be the best leadoff hitter in the game, Baerga is a prototype third hitter, and Belle has become a plausible Triple Crown threat now that Murray is hitting behind him.

“We showed what we could do last year,” Baerga said. “From one to nine, we have maybe the best lineup in the league. We want to keep everything the same now. We don’t want to change anything.”