The 1988 Cleveland Indians season was the 88th season for the franchise. The team, managed by Doc Edwards, finished sixth in the American League East.
Despite its mediocre season, the team had a significant legacy in Major League Baseball in the 21st century. Twenty-five years later, five of the 30 MLB managers at the start of the were alumni of the 1988 Indians: Bud Black, pitcher – San Diego Padres Terry Francona, first baseman/outfielder – Cleveland Indians John Farrell, pitcher – Boston Red Sox Charlie Manuel, hitting coach – Philadelphia Phillies Ron Washington, utility infielder – Texas Rangers
The team also had players who became MLB Broadcasters, coaches, and front office executives:
Scott Bailes, pitcher- fill-in broadcaster for the Cleveland Indians Tom Candiotti, pitcher- radio color analyst for the Arizona Diamondbacks Rod Nichols, pitcher- former Philadelphia Phillies bullpen coach, current Iowa Cubs pitching coach Rick Rodriguez, pitcher- former Oakland Athletics bullpen coach, current Sacramento River Cats Greg Swindell, pitcher- former Arizona Diamondbacks pregame and postgame analyst. In 2011, Swindell served as the color commentator for the Little League Southwest Region tournament Chris Bando, catcher- former Milwaukee Brewers bench and 3rd base coach from 1996 to 1998 Jay Bell, infielder- former Arizona Diamondbacks bench and hitting coach, former Pittsburgh Pirates hitting coach, former Cincinnati Reds bench coach Brook Jacoby, infielder- former Cincinnati Reds hitting coach and current Toronto Blue Jays hitting coach Willie Upshaw, infielder- former San Francisco Giants 1st base coach Joe Carter, outfielder- former Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs TV analyst Dave Clark, outfielder- former Pittsburgh Pirates hitting coach, former Houston Astros interim manager, 3rd base coach, and 1st base coach, and currently the Detroit Tigers third base coach Cory Snyder, outfielder- hitting coach for the Jackson Generals, a Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners Pat Tabler, outfielder- Toronto Blue Jays TV color analyst Rod Allen, outfielder- former Arizona Diamondbacks broadcaster, current Detroit Tigers television analyst Dan Firova, catcher- current Washington Nationals bullpen coach Doug Jones, closer- current pitching coach of the Boise Hawks, the short-season A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies
Offseason January 15, 1988: Rick Rodriguez was signed as a free agent by the Indians.Rick Rodriguez at Baseball Reference January 19, 1988: John Moses was signed as a free agent by the Indians.John Moses at Baseball Reference January 19, 1988: Greg Harris was signed as a free agent by the Indians.Greg Harris at Baseball Reference February 3, 1988: Doug Piatt was signed as an amateur free agent by the Indians.Doug Piatt at Baseball Reference February 9, 1988: Dan Schatzeder was signed as a free agent by the Indians.Dan Schatzeder at Baseball Reference February 22, 1988: Chris Codiroli was signed as a free agent by the Indians.Chris Codiroli at Baseball Reference February 28, 1988: Terry Francona was signed as a free agent by the Indians.Terry Francona at Baseball Reference March 17, 1988: Mark Huismann was released by the Indians.Mark Huismann at Baseball Reference March 24, 1988: Greg Harris was released by the Indians. March 25, 1988: Willie Upshaw was purchased by the Indians from the Toronto Blue Jays.Willie Upshaw at Baseball Reference March 29, 1988: John Moses was released by the Indians.
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions May 11, 1988: Dan Firova was signed as a free agent by the Indians.Dan Firova at Baseball Reference June 2, 1988: Houston Jiménez was signed as a free agent by the Indians.Houston Jiménez at Baseball Reference June 3, 1988: Pat Tabler was traded by the Indians to the Kansas City Royals for Bud Black.Bud Black at Baseball Reference June 22, 1988: Dan Schatzeder was released by the Cleveland Indians. September 6, 1988: Chris Codiroli was released by the Indians.
Opening Day Lineup +Opening Day Starters # Name Position14 Julio Franco 2B20 Willie Upshaw 1B10 Pat Tabler DH30 Joe Carter CF27 Mel Hall LF26 Brook Jacoby 3B28 Cory Snyder RF16 Jay Bell SS6 Andy Allanson C49 Tom Candiotti P 1988 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference
Roster 1988 Cleveland Indians Roster Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Other batters
Manager
Coaches (Third Base) (Bullpen) (Hitting) (First Base) (Pitching)
Statistics
Batting Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases Player G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI AVG SB 133 434 44 114 11 0 5 50 .263 5 5 11 1 1 1 0 0 0 .091 0 32 72 6 9 1 0 1 8 .125 0 73 211 23 46 5 1 2 21 .218 4 157 621 85 168 36 6 27 98 .271 27 66 176 12 48 8 0 4 14 .273 6 63 156 11 41 4 1 3 18 .263 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 152 613 88 186 23 6 10 54 .303 25 62 212 24 66 8 0 1 12 .311 0 150 515 69 144 32 4 6 71 .280 7 152 552 59 133 25 0 9 49 .241 2 9 21 1 1 0 0 0 1 .048 0 7 9 0 1 0 0 0 1 .111 0 75 225 31 58 8 0 18 43 .258 0 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 16 51 10 13 0 0 6 8 .255 0 22 46 7 12 1 0 0 5 .261 0 142 511 71 139 24 3 26 75 .272 5 41 143 16 32 5 1 1 17 .224 1 9 24 1 4 0 0 1 2 .167 0 149 493 58 121 22 3 11 50 .245 12 69 223 30 57 14 2 2 21 .256 3 10 21 3 4 0 0 0 1 .190 0 11 31 7 7 2 0 1 3 .226 0 51 130 9 30 5 1 0 7 .231 0 Team totals 162 5505 666 1435 235 28 134 629 .261 97
Pitching Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts Player W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER BB K 9 14 4.90 37 21 0 145.0 149 89 79 46 53 2 3 5.03 16 7 1 59.0 59 35 33 23 44 14 8 3.28 31 31 0 216.2 225 86 79 53 137 0 4 9.31 14 2 1 19.1 32 22 20 10 12 1 0 4.54 21 0 1 33.2 35 20 17 21 17 14 10 4.24 31 30 0 210.1 216 106 99 67 92 3 4 4.40 38 0 1 59.1 65 33 29 19 20 2 3 3.14 28 0 1 57.1 62 22 20 17 30 3 4 2.27 51 0 37 83.1 69 26 21 16 72 0 0 0.00 3 0 0 2.2 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 5.18 17 0 1 24.1 32 16 14 6 17 1 7 5.06 11 10 0 69.1 73 41 39 23 31 0 2 5.49 10 0 0 19.2 25 12 12 11 10 1 2 7.09 10 5 0 33.0 43 28 26 17 9 0 2 9.56 15 0 3 16.0 26 19 17 2 10 18 14 3.20 33 33 0 242.0 234 97 86 45 180 0 1 7.27 3 1 0 8.2 8 7 7 10 7 9 6 4.62 23 22 0 134.1 146 72 69 55 71 Team totals 78 84 4.16 162 162 46 1434.0 1501 731 663 442 812
Awards and honors
All-Star Game
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: KinstonJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
References
1988 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Reference 1988 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Almanac