The Indians could have one of the worst home records in franchise history

After yet another losing home stand and multiple losing series at Progressive Field, it seemed to me that the Tribe has struggled more than usual at home.  Let's take a gander at just how bad it has been.

It all began with the home opener and subsequent sweep by the Tigers. The next series was just a two-game split with the White Sox, then they lost a series to the Royals and split a four-game set with the Blue Jays. Then they lost to thw Twins and Cardinals as well. The one bright spot was a three-game sweep of the Reds in mid-May, but the luster came off quick, as the Tribe lost a series to the Rangers. The next home stand included series losses to the Orioles and Mariners. There was a two-game split with the Cubs, then losses to the Rays and Tigers.

The Indians are a woeful 1-9-3 in series at home this year, with a 15-23 record at Progressive. Only the Brewers and their 13-25 record at Miller Park have been worse at home this season.

This is year 115 for the franchise. The Indians have been better more seasons than not, with just 52 losing records. But having a losing record doesn't always correlate to a losing record at home. In fact, the Tribe has had a losing record at home just 26 times, with 10 of those occurring in the dark ages between 1969 and 1991. Those 26 losing seasons at home represent just 22% of their 115 years of existence.

Only twice in those 26 losing home seasons did the team finished with a winning record overall, in 1947 and 1981. Obviously the Tribe had a better record on the road than at home on those seasons, which winning record or not, has not happened often.

Seasons in which the Indians were worse at home than they were overall:

In most of those seasons the difference is pretty slight, with a difference of no more than 2.5 percentage points (.025). The previous exceptions were 1928, 1981, and 2005, all of which were right around a 4% difference. (1981 was a strike-shortened seasons, 2005 was one of the more painful seasons in recent record, as the Indians lost 5 of 6 at home in the season's final week and missed the postseason despite winning 93 games.)

Now look at this season's number, -.070 a 7% difference. If that trend continues (granted we are just under halfway done with the home schedule), it would be by far the largest gap in franchise history. The current 0.395 win rate at home is 6th-worst in franchise history. Coming off a postseason appearance in 2013 and another winning record in 2014, this season will be a massive disappointment if things don't turn around, and a massive disappointment with remarkably poor results at home.