The 1966 Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fifth in the American League with a record of 81–81, 17 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. This was the first season to feature the players' last names on the back of the jerseys.

Offseason Vernon Stouffer bought 80% of the Cleveland Indians for $8,000,000.Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball, p. 4, Bill Madden, Harper Collins Publishing, New York, 2010, November 28, 1965: Hank Peters resigned from the Kansas City Athletics and became the minor league director for the Cleveland Indians.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.95, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010,

Notable transactions November 29, 1965: Al Closter was selected by the Indians from the New York Yankees in the first-year player draft.Al Closter page at Baseball Reference November 29, 1965: Al Luplow was purchased from the Indians by the New York Mets.Al Luplow page at Baseball Reference December 1, 1965: Joe Rudi and Phil Roof were traded by the Indians to the Kansas City Athletics for Jim Landis and Jim Rittwage.Joe Rudi page at Baseball Reference January 14, 1966: Lou Clinton was traded by the Indians to the New York Yankees for Doc Edwards.Doc Edwards page at Baseball-Reference March 10, 1966: Cam Carreon was traded by the Indians to the Baltimore Orioles for Lou Piniella.Lou Piniella page at Baseball Reference

Regular season On May 1, Sam McDowell threw his second consecutive one-hitter for the Indians. On May 8, 1966, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Frank Robinson hit a 540-foot home run off Indians pitcher Luis Tiant, becoming the only player to hit a fair ball out of Memorial Stadium.100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5, p.117

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions April 6, 1966: Ralph Terry was traded by the Indians to the Kansas City Athletics for John O'Donoghue and cash.Ralph Terry page at Baseball Reference

Opening Day Lineup +Opening Day Starters # Name Position25 Vic Davalillo CF10 Max Alvis 3B27 Leon Wagner LF21 Rocky Colavito RF23 Chuck Hinton 1B24 Pedro González 2B16 Larry Brown SS7 Del Crandall C48 Sam McDowell P 1966 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference

Roster 1966 Cleveland Indians Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders

Other batters Manager (Aug 20 - Oct 2) (Apr 11 - Aug 19) Coaches

(First Base) (Third Base) (Pitching)

Player stats

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 Joe Azcue 98 302 83 .275 9 37 1B Fred Whitfield 137 502 121 .241 27 78 2B 110 352 82 .233 2 17 SS 105 340 78 .229 3 17 3B Max Alvis 157 596 146 .245 17 55 LF Leon Wagner 150 549 153 .279 23 66 CF Vic Davalillo 121 344 86 .250 3 19 RF Rocky Colavito 151 533 127 .238 30 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 Chico Salmon 126 422 108 .256 7 40 Chuck Hinton 123 348 89 .256 12 50 85 158 35 .222 3 14 Dick Howser 67 140 32 .229 2 4 Duke Sims 52 133 35 .263 6 19 Del Crandall 50 108 25 .231 4 8 Vern Fuller 16 47 11 .234 2 2 Jim Gentile 33 47 6 .128 2 4 23 38 6 .158 1 4 17 32 6 .188 0 3 Buddy Booker 18 28 6 .214 2 5 Tony Martínez 17 17 5 .294 0 0 Tony Curry 19 16 2 .125 0 3 George Banks 4 4 1 .250 0 1 Paul Dicken 2 2 0 .000 0 0

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 40 254.1 14 15 3.22 194 Sonny Siebert 34 241.0 16 8 2.80 163 35 194.1 9 8 2.87 225

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 38 192.0 13 10 2.48 132 Luis Tiant 46 155.0 12 11 2.79 145 32 108.0 6 8 3.83 49 Tom Kelley 31 95.1 4 8 4.34 64 Lee Stange 8 16.0 1 0 2.81 8 Bob Heffner 5 13.0 0 1 3.46 7 5 9.2 0 2 8.38 6

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 Dick Radatz 39 0 3 10 4.61 49 36 2 2 5 4.21 33 Jack Kralick 27 3 4 0 3.82 31 Don McMahon 12 1 1 1 2.92 5

Farm system

Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

Notes

References 1966 Cleveland Indians season at Baseball Reference