5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE INDIANS
1 Trevor Bauer should not start game No. 23 if his team is on a 22-game winning streak. The Indians’ ALDS Game 1 starter snapped the Tribe’s record-setting streak last month, and it wasn’t even his first time committing the crime. He achieved the same dubious feat while at UCLA: In 2010, the Bruins started off 22-0 before Bauer lost to Stanford.
2 After the Cubs beat them in the World Series last year, the Indians moved into first place for an unenviable statistic — the longest World Series championship drought. It has been 69 years since the Tribe won it all. They also missed the playoffs altogether 40 straight seasons from 1955-1994. The Indians have played in four World Series since they last won it all.
3 How’s this for cooler heads prevailing? Somewhat remarkably, no Indians players or coaches were ejected during the 2017 regular season. On the flip side, the Yankees had 11 ejections this year, including five by manager Joe Girardi.
4 There’s plenty of downtime in baseball as a starting pitcher. Bauer and Carlos Carrasco have filled it this season by creating baseball dolls of their teammates. Using baseballs and only items found at the ballpark, the pitchers have designed mini-caricatures to resemble every player on the roster.
5 The Indians have been big winners in trades to construct their current roster. While regulars such as Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Jason Kipnis, Bradley Zimmer and closer Cody Allen were homegrown, impact players such as Bauer, Carrasco, Michael Brantley, Yan Gomes, Corey Kluber, Andrew Miller and Carlos Santana all have been acquired in trades during the past 10 years.