Beginning tomorrow, a new series will be starting. It's a series that has been in the works for several months, and before that, in my mind for quite awhile.
In 2001, the Cleveland Indians announced their 100 Greatest Indians as part of a celebration of 100 years of American League baseball in Cleveland. Achievements on the baseball diamond were part of the criteria for selection, but some players were included for other reasons, including popularity, intrinsic value, and other off-the-field factors. So I think there's room for another list that includes the top 100 players Cleveland history by purely on-field achievements. In addition, this list will rank those 100 players from 100 to 1.
So how was this list compiled? The selection process took place during the off-season, and occurred by vote in groups of 10. Roughly once a week, after a short discussion, a ballot for a group of 10 spots went out to the voters, and after a couple of days, the votes were tallied using a points system much like the MVP voting process. This process repeated ten times, and early this month the list was finalized. Seven voters, all of whom are users here, participated in the voting.
As mentioned above, the criteria was rather simple: on-field achievements in an Indians uniform. We were voting for only Cleveland baseball careers, not including what a player did before or after he left the organization. No players from the Cleveland National League franchise were included; only those who played for the AL franchise from 1901-2011 were eligible.
The results will be released one at time; one profile a week will post during the season, and two profiles a week will appear during the off-season. If everything goes well, the #1 player will be revealed in September of 2013. As each player is revealed, I'll add his name to this post, so this will serve as a table of contents for the series.
The profiles themselves will follow the same basic format, but may be changed slightly to fit the player. You'll be getting the basic biographical facts and statistical analysis, but it may also include amusing anecdotes, historical background, and other interesting details.
Before the series begins, I would like to thank again, this time publicly, the voters who selected the players for their time and patience.
The Top 100 Indians
100. RHP Ray Narleski (1954-1958)
99. C Sandy Alomar, Jr. (1990-2000)
98. RHP Earl Moore (1901-1907)
97. LF Leon Wagner (1964-1968)
96. 3B Max Alvis (1962-1969)
95. RHP Orel Hershiser (1995-1997)
94. CF Harry Bay (1902-1908)