Each MLB team's best season ever

Each MLB team’s best season ever

HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 29: Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros celebrates with George Springer #4 after hitting a three-run home run during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game five of the 2017 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

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MIAMI, : Cleveland Indians (L-R) Sandy Alomar, Matt Williams, pitcher Chad Ogea, Omar Vizquel and Jim Thome talk on the pitchers mound in the fifth inning 25 October of game six of the World Series against the Florida Marlins at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, FL. AFP PHOTO/Timothy A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images) /

Cleveland Indians: 1997

There might not have been a better time or place to be a baseball fan than Cleveland in the mid-to-late 1990s. The Indians sold out Jacobs Field 455 straight times from 1995 to 2001 and won the AL Central six of seven seasons. Led by a young Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Roberto Alomar, David Justice, Matt Williams and Carlos Baerga, these Cleveland teams were a rollicking, slugging bunch.

The Indians went to the World Series twice during their heyday in 1995 and 1997, losing both. The 1997 team came within an inning of winning the title after Jose Mesa blew a lead in the ninth and Edgar Renteria walked it off in the eleventh.

In 1997, the Indians never got fully untracked as they did in other years during their run. They won only 86 games and did not run away with the division. Pitching was the problem, and the Indians were only ninth in the American League in ERA. Luckily, the rest of the division did not provide much resistance.

Future Hall of Famer (perhaps as soon as this year) Jim Thome led the team with 40 home runs and 102 RBI. David Justice and Matt Williams both hit more than 30 home runs and knocked in over 100 runs. Manny Ramirez put up a typical .300/.400/.500 line in his age-25 season, while Omar Vizquel and Marquis Grissom provided dynamic speed on the bases and stellar defense up the middle.

For a franchise that has not won a World Series since 1948, this loss to the Florida Marlins was painful. The 1995 team that lost to the Braves may have been better overall, but was steamrolled in the end. After a few lean years in the first decade of the 2000s, the Indians have assembled another dominant group, with eyes on ending a long title drought.

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