Happy Festivus!

If you've been reading our blog for a while now, you know that I am obsessed with jersey numbers. I use the jersey numbers of my favorite athletes to remember addresses, phone numbers, where I've parked, what hotel room I'm in, or what TV channel I want to make sure to check back to. Now, you may also have seen a feature on ESPN.com's Page 2 a while back (which they recycled a couple of weeks ago) in which they listed the greatest pro athlete at each of the jersey numbers, from 0 to 99. On ESPN's list, only one Cleveland athlete was chosen to represent his jersey number, that being Jim Brown (who edged Magic Johnson). Well, I've wanted to do an all-Cleveland version of this for a long time. This entry, in which I'll cover #0 through #9 (including #00), will be the first of 10 installments in the series. I intend to publish a new installment each week for the next ten weeks. Here we go...

#0 - Jeff McInnis

Cavaliers, '04-'05

I realize this may be an underwhelming way to begin such a monumental project, but the choices at #0 are really quite few. Even though McInnis has only played two half-seasons so far as a Cavalier, he's played very well, and has been a starter whenever healthy. Believe it or not, that alone is more than enough to qualify him for this honor. It's ironic that, just this past summer, Drew Gooden wanted to pay McInnis for the rights to this number, since, in Cavaliers history, McInnis was only the second man to wear it (the first man, Lari Ketner, wore it for all of 91 minutes in the '99-'00 season, scoring a total of 24 points in 16 games). Hopefully, McInnis will continue to perform well for many years, earning himself a more justifiable place among the great athletes on this list.

Runners-up: Junior Ortiz (Indians, '92-'93): shared catching duties with Sandy Alomar for two seasons; would've been a Hacking Mass all-star if Hacking Mass had been invented yet.

#00 - Paul Dade

Indians, '77-'79

At least single zero has McInnis. The choices for double zero are easily the most pathetic of any number. I gave serious thought to skipping it altogether, but since some players do wear it, I felt it was only fair. Paul Dade was the second man ever to wear #00 in the major leagues (don't ask me who the first man was; I haven't a clue). He was the Indians' regular left fielder for most of the '77 season, and parts of the next two seasons, before he was traded to San Diego (for Mike Hargrove, straight up, interestingly enough). His ability to hit for power was absolutely abyssmal, and his ability to draw walks was, let us say, unimpressive. He managed to make a name for himself, however, on the strength of a .291 batting average in 1977, the year in which he saw the most playing time. I will not pretend he was a decent player, but he edges Rick White for this prestigious honor because he spent more time in Cleveland.

Runners-up: Rick White (Indians, '04): pitched 78.3 innings last year, good for a 5.29 ERA; has already been signed by another team.

#1 - Bobby Avila

Indians, '49-'58

Avila was the first Mexican baseball player to enjoy real success in the major leagues. He was the Indians' starting second baseman through most of the 50's, including the historic '54 team, arguably the best squad in Indians history. That year, Avila won the AL batting title, batting .341/.402/.477 (pretty impressive for a middle infielder in the 50's). He was on the AL all-star team three times between '52 and '55. He was originally a soccer player, and it was supposedly still his favorite sport. Rumor has it that he often used his incredible soccer skills to kick the ball out of the fielder's glove when sliding into a base. I'm skeptical as to whether or not soccer prowess would allow someone to do that any better than a regular baseball player could. Nonetheless, Avila is easily the best #1 in Cleveland sports history.

Runners-up: Terrell Brandon (Cavaliers, '92-'97): enjoyed six solid years as Cavs' point guard; would need several more seasons to possibly eclipse Avila, though. Carlos Boozer (Cavaliers, '03-'04): I would prefer not to discuss it. Wesley Person (Cavaliers, '98-'02): ranks second all-time among Cavaliers in both 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage.

#2 - Tim Couch

Browns, '99-'03

I promise we'll cover some better athletes very soon. The choices for #2 happen to be rather thin, though. Say what you want about Couch; in this categroy, he towers over his competition. Couch-bashing has become a popular activity around town, but you can count me among those who don't think he got a fair deal in Cleveland. I'm not necessarily saying he's a good player, because he looked pretty awful at times. But he never had the slighest semblance of an NFL-caliber line blocking for him, nor did he ever have the slightest threat of a running game to keep defenses out of his grill. As a quarterback whose biggest weakness was making dumb decisions (usually leading to interceptions), I honestly believe he could have put up great numbers if he'd had more time to make his throws. For what it's worth, Couch's career completion percentage of 59.8% is still better than that of Graham, Ryan, Sipe or Kosar. The past is behind us; let us occasionally try to remember Tim Couch for his few triumphs, such as the two Hailmary wins, the two comebacks against Tennesse, and the sweep of the Ravens in 2001.

Runners-up: Dick Porter (Indians, '29-'34): known as "Twitchy" because of his batting stance; was a good hitter but was trapped in the minors until age 28. Brett Butler (Indians, '84-'87): spent four years as an Indians outfielder/leadoff hitter with decent on-base but horrible slugging; was regarded as a stolen base guy, but his success rate wasn't too good. Dajuan Wagner (Cavaliers, '03-'05): generally sucks.

#3 - Earl Averill

Indians, '29-'39

This one's a no-brainer. One of the greatest power hitters in Indians history, Earl Averill enjoyed a long career despite not making it to the majors until age 27. When he was traded to Detroit following 11 seasons as the Indians' star, the fans were outraged, for he had set the franchise mark for home runs, which would not be broken until Jim Thome, in the "live ball" era we currently enjoy. In spite of the fan outrage, though, trading Averill was a good idea, as his career began to fizzle out soon after. When he retired two years later, only eight men had ever put up a better career OPS. Averill's #3 is one of six that the Indians have retired. He's also one of 13 players currently enshrined in the Hall of Fame as an Indian.

Runners-up: Craig Ehlo (Cavaliers, '87-'93): spent 7 years as a solid starter, but will mainly and unfortunately be remembered for The Shot. Dale Mitchell (Indians, '46-'56): spent 11 seasons as an Indians outfielder with a good batting average; made 2 all-star teams. Woodie Held (Indians, '58-'64): had a little power for a shortstop/utility man, otherwise a weak hitter.

#4 - Ron Harper

Cavaliers, '87-'90

The competition at #4 is pretty tight. None of the options are particularly amazing, but a bunch of them are on equal footing. Ron Harper played only about 3 seasons with the Cavaliers after they drafted him #8 overall in 1986, but he was a major component of their success during those years. Harper, Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, and Hot Rod Williams all joined the Cavs as rookies in the same season, but it was Harper who had the best rookie year, averaging 22.9 points per game, and earning his reputation as a scorer. He also finished third in the league in steals. Harper may be remembered mainly as a contributor on several championship Bulls and Lakers squads, but he was never as good in L.A. or Chicago as he was when his career first began in Cleveland.

Runners-up: Jim Hegan (Indians, '41-'42, '46-'57): one of the best catchers in franchise history, but he only wore #4 for about half his Indians career. Shawn Kemp (Cavaliers, '98-'00): much-maligned, but he actually did perform in step with the rest of his career. Phil Dawson (Browns, '99-'04): one of the "New Browns" MVP's.

#5 - Lou Boudreau

Indians, '38-'50

Another no-brainer, not only because Boudreau is one of the greatest Indians of all time, but because he has almost no competition. He was simultaneously the best shortstop in the American League, and one of the most successful managers in team history. His career and his popularity peaked in 1948 when, of course, the Indians won the World Series. What's ironic is that Bill Veeck, who bought the team in 1946, had tried to replace Boudreau as manager before the legendary '48 season, but the public outcry was so great that he was forced to change his mind. Like Averill, Boudreau is one of the 13 players to enter the Hall of Fame as an Indian, and his #5 is of course retired. Alex and I have often wished that some team, ideally the Indians, would bring back the concept of player-manager, especially since so many of the more famous player-managers throughout history were Indians. Not that such a move would be a good idea in today's game, just that it would be damn cool. We've also, on occasion, resorted to calling the Indians "the Boudreaus" (or 'Dreaus, for short), the reason for which escapes me at the moment (though I suspect we were coming up with silly suggestions for new team names during a discussion about how the current one is racist).

Runners-up: John Bagley (Cavaliers, '83-'87): Played his first five years as the Cavaliers' point guard; was reasonably productive in the assists department.

#6 - Joe Vosmik

Indians, '30-'36

Several Indians who were better than Vosmik wore #6, but none wore it for more than a couple years of their career. At least Vosmik wore it the whole time he was in Cleveland. Over the course of seven seasons, he played outfield and hit fairly well, but it was his monster 1935 season that defined his rather formidable peak. That year, he came out of nowhere to bat .348/.408/.537, finish second in the batting race (by a single percentage point), and lead the league in doubles, triples, and hits. After the Indians traded him in 1937, Vosmik enjoyed a couple more good years as a member of the St. Louis Browns and Boston Red Sox, but his best times were clearly in Cleveland.

Runners-up: Rocky Colavito (Indians, '55-'59, '65-'67): would eclipse Vosmik if hadn't worn #6 for only two seasons. Ken Keltner (Indians, '37-'44, '46-'49): same deal; he only wore #6 for three seasons.

#7 - Al Rosen

Indians, '47-'56

For #7, I could have gone one of three different ways. I decided on Al Rosen, though, because he is the greatest third baseman in Indians history, and because his career spanned both the 1948 World Series championship and the 1954 record-breaking year. Rosen is primarily remembered for his MVP year in 1953 (when he missed the Triple Crown by percentage points in his batting average). In fact, before I started doing my research for this, I was under the impression that Rosen was a one-year wonder of sorts. I remember hearing that somewhere. Indeed, 1953 was his best year (he hit an incredible .336/.422/.614), but he was a great player for many years, and his '50, '52, and '54 seasons were also all-star worthy (he generally hovered around .300/.400/.500) for those years. I think Rosen would be much better appreciated were he playing today, at least in sabermetric circles, as his ability to draw walks was truly one of his best skills. Of course, his home run hitting was quite impressive as well.

Runners-up: Bingo Smith (Cavaliers, '71-'80): was the first Cavaliers star; orchestrated the "Miracle of Richfield". Kenny Lofton (Indians, '92-'96, '98-'01): was the league's best center fielder for a while but peaked early; a sentimental favorite of mine, given my age. Hal Trosky (Indians, '33-'41): consistent power-hitting first baseman.

#8 - Albert Belle

Indians, '89-'96

In a way, I regret that Albert will be remembered more for his brooding and his corked bat incident than his total dominance on the field. That he didn't win the 1995 MVP award is still the biggest crime in the history of mankind. That year, Albert's .317/.401/.690 was far superior to Mo Vaughn's .300/.388/.575; on top of that, Albert had 50 home runs to Mo's 39, 52 doubles to Mo's 28, 173 hits to Mo's 165. He even tied Vaughn in RBI's, and bested him in runs scored, for the idiot voters who care about that sort of thing. On top of that, the Indians had a better record than the Red Sox, and went further in the postseason, for the idiot voters who care about that sort of thing! In fact, the two men even met in the division series - Vaughn hit .000/.067/.000 in 14 at-bats, while Albert hit .273/.467/.636 in 11 at-bats. Yet Vaughn beat out Belle, 308 to 300, for the MVP. What's ironic is that 1995 wasn't even Albert's best year at the plate; 1994 was (he hit .357/.438/.714, but Frank Thomas had an even better year - incredible!). Because he wasn't a fan favorite to the degree of so many of his teammates, especially when he left Cleveland, Albert Belle doesn't get much credit for the Indians' success of the mid-90's, but the fact is, he is still the greatest hitter of the Jacobs Field era, and that's saying something.

Runners-up: Ray Fosse (Indians, '67-'72, '76-'77): long-lasting, great defensive catcher, but inconsistent at the plate. Ken Keltner (Indians, '37-'44, '46-'49): here he is again; he only wore #8 for three years; shouldn't have kept switching numbers.

#9 - Carlos Baerga

Indians, '90-'96, '99

Here's another number where the options aren't spectacular. Baerga gets it for being consistent with the bat during the rebuilding (and early playoff) years. As a youngster at the time, who didn't entirely understand that statistics could tell you which players were better than others, I thought Baerga was the star of the team because the PA announcer got the most excited in saying his name (which resulted in the fans giving him the loudest cheer). It turns out that the announcer just loved rolling the 'r' in 'Baerga'. Anyway, I'll always have fond memories of Carlos' time in Cleveland as a result. He was a good-hitting second baseman, after all. It's a shame that his personal problems forced an early downfall to his career; though his recent attempts at a comeback are heartwarming, he's been an awful player ever since we traded him. When we bought him back for a few games in '99, I remember I was at his first game back at the Jake; I don't think the home fans have ever cheered so loud for a newly-signed backup utility man.

Runners-up: Matt Bahr (Browns, '81-'89): solid, reliable kicker who lasted through the Schottenheimer years. Luke Easter (Indians, '49-'54): great power-hitting first baseman whose too-short career in the majors was stalled by the color barrier.