The 1962 Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished sixth in the American League with a record of 80–82, 16 games behind the World Champion New York Yankees. Once again, the Indians got off to another fast start (48–36 at the All Star break), however they would lose their next nine games, 19 of their next 24, and 28 of their next 38 games to fall into the lower half of the standings. After the slump, the Indians would rebound slightly to win 22 of their final 40 games, but it was way too little far too late, and manager Mel McGaha would be finished by the end of the season. The Indians were one of only two American League teams to win the season series (Baltimore being the other one) against the Yankees (who would win the pennant, and later the World Series in 7 games over the San Francisco Giants), taking 11 of the 18 contests. However, they would go 9–9 against the 60–102 Senators.

Offseason October 5, 1961: Jimmy Piersall was traded by the Indians to the Washington Senators for Dick Donovan, Gene Green, and Jim Mahoney November 16, 1961: Johnny Temple was traded by the Indians to the Baltimore Orioles for Harry Chiti, Ray Barker and Art Kay (minors).Harry Chiti page at Baseball Reference March 1962: Duke Carmel was purchased by the Indians from the St. Louis Cardinals.Duke Carmel page at Baseball Reference Prior to 1962 season: Rubén Gómez was acquired by the Indians from the Philadelphia Phillies.Rubén Gómez page at Baseball Reference

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions April 2, 1962: Vic Power and Dick Stigman were traded by the Indians to the Minnesota Twins for Pedro Ramos.Pedro Ramos page at Baseball Reference April 26, 1962: Harry Chiti was purchased from the Indians by the New York Mets. April 29, 1962: Bob Nieman was purchased from the Indians by the San Francisco Giants.Bob Nieman page at Baseball Reference June 9, 1962: Lou Piniella was signed as an amateur free agent by the Indians.Lou Piniella page at Baseball Reference June 15, 1962: Harry Chiti was returned to the Indians by the New York Mets. August 20, 1962: Rubén Gómez was traded by the Indians to the Minnesota Twins for Jackie Collum, a player to be named later and cash. The Twins completed the deal by sending Georges Maranda to the Indians on October 9.Jackie Collum page at Baseball Reference

Opening Day Lineup +Opening Day Starters # Name Position9 Ty Cline CF14 Tito Francona 1B30 Chuck Essegian LF8 Willie Kirkland RF11 Johnny Romano C3 Woodie Held SS5 Bubba Phillips 3B1 Jerry Kindall 2B20 Dick Donovan P 1962 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference

Roster 1962 Cleveland Indians Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders

Other batters Manager

Coaches (Pitching) (Bullpen catcher) (First base) (Third base)

Player stats = Indicates team leader Batting

Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C Johnny Romano 135 459 120 .261 25 81 1B Tito Francona 158 621 169 .272 14 70 2B Jerry Kindall 154 530 123 .232 13 55 SS Woodie Held 139 466 116 .249 19 58 3B Bubba Phillips 148 562 145 .258 10 54 LF Chuck Essegian 106 336 92 .274 21 50 CF Ty Cline 118 375 93 .248 2 28 RF Willie Kirkland 137 419 84 .200 21 72

Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Al Luplow 97 318 88 .277 14 45 Willie Tasby 75 199 48 .241 4 17 Don Dillard 95 174 40 .230 5 14 Doc Edwards 53 143 39 .273 3 9 Gene Green 66 143 40 .280 11 28 Jim Mahoney 41 74 18 .243 3 5 Jack Kubiszyn 25 59 10 .169 1 2 Max Alvis 12 51 11 .216 0 3 Walt Bond 12 50 19 .380 6 17 Ken Aspromonte 20 28 4 .143 0 1 Hal Jones 5 16 5 .313 0 1 Tommie Agee 5 14 3 .214 0 2 Mike de la Hoz 12 12 1 .083 0 0 Marlan Coughtry 3 2 1 .500 0 1 Bob Nieman 2 1 0 .000 0 1

Pitching

Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Dick Donovan 34 250.2 20 10 3.59 94 37 201.1 10 12 3.71 96 Jim Perry 35 193.2 12 12 4.14 74 Mudcat Grant 26 149.2 7 10 4.27 90 Floyd Weaver 1 5.0 1 0 1.80 8

Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Barry Latman 45 179.1 8 13 4.17 117 Sam McDowell 25 87.2 3 7 6.06 70 15 45.1 1 2 4.37 21 Ron Taylor 8 33.1 2 2 5.94 15 Bob Hartman 8 17.1 0 1 3.12 11

Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Gary Bell 57 10 9 12 4.26 80 Frank Funk 47 2 1 6 3.24 49 30 1 1 4 5.87 23 Bill Dailey 27 2 2 1 3.59 24 Dave Tyriver 4 0 0 0 4.22 7 Wynn Hawkins 3 1 0 0 7.36 0 Jackie Collum 1 0 0 0 13.50 1 Don Rudolph 1 0 0 0 0.00 0

Awards and honors Dick Donovan, Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year. All-Star Game Dick Donovan, Pitcher, Reserve (both games) Johnny Romano, Catcher, Reserve (both games)

Farm system

References

External links 1962 Cleveland Indians season at Baseball Reference