Cleveland Indians: Looking back at the acquisition of Tris Speaker

When we first started this series, we noted how Shoeless Joe Jackson had arrived on the Cuyahoga banks in a very lopsided deal. Jackson had worn out his welcome and had been dealt to the White Sox in 1915. Owner Frank Somers had lost out on the baseball side of the deal as Jackson went on to more glory in Chicago before being banned by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, but Somers did stave off bankruptcy by landing $31,500.

After dealing Jackson, the Indians outfield became a mix of Jack Graney, Braggo Roth, Elmer Smith and Denney White. While each was capable, especially Roth who was one of the pieces in the Jackson deal, it wasn't a given who would be around in 1916. Trading one of the best hitters in the league left a gaping hole in the lineup as well.

At the tail end of spring training, Somers ended up making another landmark deal in club history, trading for another one of the premier outfielders in the game in Tris Speaker.

Speaker had been born in Texas, just south of Dallas, and got noticed by the Boston Red Sox playing in Houston in 1907. He struggled mightily in his brief call-up that year and was sent to Little Rock in the Southern Association. He had a great year and was pursued by many teams, but the Red Sox were able to purchase him back based on a previous agreement for $500. Although he didn't play well in late 1908, he won the center field job in 1909.

From 1909 onwards, the biggest argument in most baseball discussions was who was a better center fielder, Speaker or Ty Cobb. Check out the OPS+ for Speaker from 1909 to 1915: 151, 170, 157, 188, 181, 177, 151. He was always at the top of the leader board for doubles, triples, and steals. Now, Cobb usually had slightly better numbers offensively, but Speaker was definitely better defensively, with massive range and a cannon arm. He played one of the shallowest centers as well, sometimes being "noted" as a fifth infielder.

Even though the Red Sox had won the title in 1912 and 1915, the clubhouse was mostly toxic. Speaker, a devout Protestant, quarreled with many of the Catholics on the roster, even brawling with catcher Bill Carrigan on several occasions. After Babe Ruth arrived in 1915, Speaker found another enemy as Ruth had ticked off Smoky Joe Wood, Speakers confidant.

After winning the title in 1915, Red Sox president Joe Lannin wanted to slice his salary from $18k to $9k as his "average" had slipped three years in a row, even though he was still one of the best players in the league. Speaker decided to hold out during spring training, which ended up propagating the deal to Cleveland.

Even though Somers was claiming close to bankruptcy just a year prior, he somehow was able to pony up $55k and sent Sad Sam Jones and Fred Thomas with that cash for Speaker.

Speaker would end up playing the next eleven seasons in Cleveland. He took over as manager from Lee Fohl midway in 1919 and was player-manager until he left in 1926. He led the Indians to their first title in 1920 and finished his eight-year managing stint at 617-520 with that one pennant/title, three second-place finishes, one third, one fourth and two sixth-place finishes.

And as talented of a manager he was, his obvious forte was as a player. His initial season in Cleveland must have been disheartening to the Red Sox as he slashed .386/.470/.502 (186 OPS+), leading the league in all categories. In the World Series season, he had his best outing as an Indian, .388/.483/.562 (172 OPS+) with a league-leading 50 doubles. In 1923, at age 35, he hit .380/.469/.610 (182 OPS) with league-leading 59 doubles and 130 RBI.

His tenure in Cleveland ended due to a non-confirmed accusation of fixing a game with Ty Cobb. A former teammate, Dutch Leonard, who felt that Cobb was blackballing him from the league made the accusation to Landis about a game in 1919. And even though Landis cleared both of the accusation, American League President Ban Johnson persuaded both Cobb and Speaker to resign from their managerial roles. That's is why both moved onto new teams in 1927. Cleveland released Speaker and he sent his final two years with the Washington Senators and Philadelphia Athletics.

Pitcher Sad Sam Jones spent six years in Boston before being traded to the New York Yankees in 1922. He did make 124 starts for them but was league average over that tenure. Infielder Fred Thomas didn't make it to Boston until 1918, where he only played in 44 games before being sold the Athletics. The cash that the Red Sox received was not enough to prevent them having to sell off Babe Ruth a few years later. The rest is history as they say.

The final totals on the deal:

Red Sox

+ $55,000 cash

Indians

- $55,000 cash

Net Result:

Not sure if I need to actually state that this trade was a sure-fire win for Cleveland, but there you have it.