The 1989 Cleveland Indians season was their 89th season in the American League. For the third consecutive season, the Indians had a losing record. The Indians had at least 73 wins for the second consecutive season.
Offseason November 28, 1988: The Indians traded a player to be named later to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Denny González and a player to be named later. The deal was completed on March 25, 1989, with the Pirates sending Félix Fermín to the Indians and the Indians sending Jay Bell to the Pirates.Félix Fermín at Baseball Reference December 2, 1988: Luis Aguayo was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians. December 3, 1988: Jesse Orosco was signed as a free agent by the Indians.Jesse Orosco at Baseball Reference December 5, 1988: Bud Black was signed as a free agent by the Indians.Bud Black at Baseball Reference December 6, 1988: Julio Franco was traded by the Indians to the Texas Rangers for Pete O'Brien, Oddibe McDowell, and Jerry Browne.Julio Franco at Baseball Reference March 26, 1989: Keith Atherton was traded by the Minnesota Twins to the Cleveland Indians for Carmelo Castillo.
Ohio Cup The first Ohio Cup, which was an annual pre-season baseball game, was played in 1989. The single-game cup was played at Cooper Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, and was staged just days before the start of each new Major League Baseball season.
No.YearWinnerRunner-upScoreVenueDateAttendance11989IndiansReds1-0Cooper StadiumApril 215,978
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions June 5, 1989: 1989 Major League Baseball draft Alan Embree was drafted by the Indians in the 5th round. Player signed September 6, 1989.Alan Embree at Baseball Reference Jim Thome was drafted by the Indians in the 13th round. Player signed June 18, 1989.Jim Thome at Baseball Reference Brian Giles was drafted by the Indians in the 17th round. Player signed July 18, 1989.Brian Giles at Baseball Reference June 22, 1989: Willie Cañate was signed by the Indians as an amateur free agent.Willie Cañate at Baseball Reference July 2, 1989: Oddibe McDowell was traded by the Indians to the Atlanta Braves for Dion James.Oddibe McDowell at Baseball Reference July 27, 1989: Doug Piatt was traded by the Indians to the Montreal Expos for Rick Carriger (minors).Doug Piatt at Baseball Reference August 7, 1989: Keith Atherton was released by the Cleveland Indians.
Opening Day Lineup +Opening Day Starters # Name Position20 Oddibe McDowell LF14 Jerry Browne 2B30 Joe Carter CF9 Pete O'Brien 1B 28 Cory Snyder RF25 Dave Clark DH26 Brook Jacoby 3B6 Andy Allanson C16 Félix Fermín SS21 Greg Swindell P 1989 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference
Roster 1989 Cleveland Indians Roster Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Other batters Manager (April 3 - Sept. 10) (Sept. 11 - Oct. 1) Coaches (Third Base) (Bullpen) (Hitting) (First Base) (Pitching)
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 111 323 75 .232 3 17 1B 155 554 144 .260 12 55 2B 153 598 179 .299 5 45 3B 147 519 141 .272 13 64 SS 156 484 115 .238 0 21 LF 69 239 53 .222 3 22 CF 162 651 158 .243 39 112 RF 132 489 105 .215 18 59 DH 102 253 60 .237 8 29
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 71 245 75 .306 4 29 62 218 49 .225 7 37 71 198 47 .237 8 33 79 178 41 .230 1 13 47 97 17 .175 1 8 30 83 17 .205 4 8 30 77 17 .221 2 7 32 59 11 .186 1 5 Paul Zuvella 24 58 16 .276 2 6 Dave Hengel 12 25 3 .120 0 1 Beau Allred 13 24 6 .250 0 1 Tommy Hinzo 18 17 0 .000 0 0 8 17 5 .294 0 1 Danny Sheaffer 7 16 1 .063 0 0 Pat Keedy 9 14 3 .214 0 1 Mark Higgins 6 10 1 .100 0 0 Tom Magrann 9 10 0 .000 0 0 Pete Dalena 5 7 1 .143 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 33 222.1 12 11 3.36 88 31 208.0 9 14 3.63 132 31 206.0 13 6 3.37 129 28 184.1 13 10 3.10 124
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 34 113.2 5 9 4.28 47 Rich Yett 32 99.0 5 6 5.00 47 Rod Nichols 15 71.2 4 6 4.40 42 Ed Wojna 9 33.0 0 1 4.09 10 12 25.2 1 1 8.06 12 Joe Skalski 2 6.2 0 2 6.75 3
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 59 7 10 32 2.34 65 69 3 4 3 2.08 79 32 0 3 2 4.15 13 Steve Olin 25 1 4 1 3.75 24 Tim Stoddard 14 0 0 0 2.95 12 Brad Havens 7 0 0 0 4.05 6 6 0 1 0 7.36 4 5 0 0 0 3.60 7 3 0 1 0 15.00 0 Kevin Wickander 2 0 0 0 3.38 0
Awards and honors All-Star Game Doug Jones, relief pitcher, reserve Greg Swindell, pitcher, reserve
Team leaders Games – Joe Carter (162) AB – Jerry Browne (598) Runs – Jerry Browne (83) Hits – Jerry Browne (179) Doubles – Joe Carter (32) Triples – Brook Jacoby (5) Home runs – Joe Carter (35) RBI – Joe Carter (105) Walks – Pete O'Brien (83) Strikeouts – Cory Snyder (134) Stolen bases – Jerry Browne (14) Batting average – Dion James (.306) On-base percentage – Jerry Browne (.370) Hit by pitch – Joe Carter (8) Wins – Tom Candiotti, Greg Swindell (13) Strikeouts – John Farrell – (132) Earned run average – Greg Swindell – (3.10) Saves – Doug Jones – (32)
Farm system
Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
References
1989 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Reference 1989 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Almanac