Building the all-time Cleveland baseball All-Star team, from Boudreau to Thome to Clase
Ramirez was voted in as the AL's starting third baseman but is opting to rest for a few days as the Guardians try to climb back into the playoff race. Steven Kwan is on the All-Star roster, but as a reserve.
But how would an all-time, all-Cleveland All-Star lineup look? Let's put together that roster, using individual all-star seasons to construct an all-Cleveland squad.
The All-Star Game wasn't implemented until 1933, and we'll be using that as the benchmark, so some Cleveland greats from the previous eras — like Tris Speaker and Nap Lajoie — won't be eligible for this roster. If they wanted to be on this make-believe All-Star team, they should have been born later.
So with that in mind, here's the all-time Cleveland All-Star roster in the All-Star Game era.
Catcher: Sandy Alomar Jr., 1997
Everyone remembers Sandy Alomar Jr.'s home run (and eventual game MVP) in the 1997 All-Star Game in Cleveland, which might make this an easy decision. But this could actually be controversial considering just how good Victor Martinez was in 2007.
Alomar hit .324 with a .900 OPS in 1997 after a scorching first half that included a 30-game hitting streak and then his historic home run in the All-Star Game, which stands as one of the best moments in that ballpark. Martinez, though, hit .301 with 25 home runs and 114 RBIs.
But we'll go with a little '90s magic with Alomar behind the dish.
First baseman: Jim Thome, 2002
This one is much easier.
Jim Thome in 2002 launched a franchise-best 52 home runs while posting a pretty absurd .304/.445/.667 slash line. The Hall-of-Fame slugger was at his best, and he'll be at first base for this lineup. Amazingly, though, Thome was left off the 2002 All-Star roster in favor of Jason Giambi, Paul Konerko and Mike Sweeney, possibly giving him a case as one of the biggest All-Star snubs in recent memory.
Second baseman: Roberto Alomar, 1999
Robbie Alomar put together a tremendous season in a loaded 1999 Cleveland lineup, hitting .323 with a .422 on-base percentage, 24 home runs, 120 RBIs and 37 stolen bases, all while playing Gold Glove defense at second base.
Third baseman: Jose Ramirez, 2018
It's difficult to pick one season from the Guardians star third baseman, especially when he almost pulled off a nearly unheard of 40/40/40 season just last year, but 2018 might be Ramirez's best season to date.
Last season, Ramirez finished with 39 home runs, 39 doubles and 41 stolen bases en route to his sixth career top-six MVP finish. In 2018, though, he had a similarly great year (39 home runs, 38 doubles, 34 stolen bases) while drawing nearly double the walks he did in 2024 and posting a .387 OBP.
And if you're already penning an angry email with the 1953 season in mind, don't worry, we're going to get Al Rosen into the starting lineup a bit later.
Shortstop: Lou Boudreau, 1948
The last Cleveland squad to win the World Series gets some representation at shortstop.
In 1948, Lou Boudreau slashed .355/.453/.534 while scoring 116 runs and driving in 106 en route to a 10.9 fWAR season and the AL MVP.
Oh, he also acted as manager. All things considered, it might be the most impressive season by any player in Cleveland baseball history.
Left field: Albert Belle, 1995
In one of the biggest MVP snubs of all time, Albert Belle's 1995 season lands him in left field.
Belle was a force for the '95 lineup, one of the best of all time, becoming the only hitter in history to belt 50 home runs and 50 doubles in a single year. And he did during a strike-shortened season, making it that much more impressive, even though Mo Vaughn won MVP.
Center field: Grady Sizemore, 2008
The last truly great season before injuries derailed his career, the 2008 edition of Grady Sizemore will roam center field in this starting lineup.
That year, Sizemore hit 33 home runs, 39 doubles and five triples while driving in 90 runs and stealing 38 bases. He also won a Gold Glove for his defensive play in center.
You don't often see Gold Glove center fielders participate in the Home Run Derby in the same season.
Right field: Manny Ramirez, 1999
Another member from that 1999 lineup, Manny Ramirez's franchise-best RBI season in 1999 puts him in right field.
Ramirez drove in 165 runs that season, which still stands as the club's record. He also hit .333 with a .442 on-base percentage along with 44 home runs. It was one of the best seasons by one of the best right-handed hitters of all-time.
Designated hitter: Al Rosen, 1953
We'll let Ramirez handle the hot corner on defense, but there's no way 1953 Al Rosen isn't in this lineup.
Rosen won the AL MVP award that season while slashing .336/.422/.613 and leading the AL with 43 home runs and 145 RBIs. It's arguably the best offensive season by a Cleveland infielder in franchise history when accounting for eras.
All Cleveland All-Star lineup
So let's place these nine hitters into a lineup. How about:
1948 Lou Boudreau
2018 Jose Ramirez
1995 Albert Belle
1999 Manny Ramirez
2002 Jim Thome
1953 Al Rosen
2008 Grady Sizemore
1997 Sandy Alomar Jr.
1999 Roberto Alomar
And now for the pitching staff:
Starting pitcher: Bob Feller, 1946
The 1946 version of Bob Feller takes the mound to start this fantasy All-Star Game.
That year, Feller won 26 games, posted a 2.18 ERA and struck out a league-leading 348 batters. He also led the AL in complete games (36), shutouts (10) and innings (371⅓).
Starting pitcher: Sam McDowell, 1965
It can be debated which McDowell season goes here, but he's definitely in the second spot behind Feller. We'll go with 1965, when he posted an AL-best 2.18 ERA with 325 strikeouts in 273 innings.
Starting pitcher: Shane Bieber, 2020
It was a shortened season, but it was also a dominant one.
Shane Bieber in 2020 was electric, winning the Cy Young unanimously after going 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA with 122 strikeouts in 77⅓ innings during the 60-game season.
It also came the year after he won All-Star Game MVP at Progressive Field in 2019. Yes, it wasn't even 80 innings, but it's also all he had to work with that year.
Starting pitcher: Luis Tiant, 1968
Luis Tiant's best season came in 1968, when he compiled a 21-9 record with a 1.60 ERA in 258⅓ innings.
Bob Gibson had arguably the best season of any pitcher in baseball history that season in the NL, but Tiant was exceptional in his own right in the AL. Tiant also continued a pretty remarkable run of individual Cleveland pitching seasons in the late '60s and early '70s.
Gaylord Perry put together a fantastic season in 1972, but it's just behind Tiant and McDowell from that era.
Starting pitcher: Corey Kluber, 2017
There are two Corey Kluber seasons that warrant this spot, but we'll go with his second Cy Young season when he went 18-4 with a 2.25 ERA with 265 strikeouts in 2017.
And that season came on the heels of the 2016 playoff run, during which Kluber pitched 35⅓ innings and had Cleveland one win away from beating the Chicago Cubs in the World Series.
Relief pitcher: Emmanuel Clase, 2024
It was one of the best seasons by a reliever in recent memory, and it put him into the Cy Young conversation as Emmanuel Clase dominated hitters throughout the 2024 regular season.
He ended the season allowing only five earned runs (0.61 ERA) and saving 47 games — even if October didn't play out as well for him.
Relief pitcher: Jose Mesa, 1995
Yes, Josa Mesa is mostly remembered in Cleveland for the final pitch he threw in 1997, but his 1995 was borderline historic, especially when considering the offensive era in which he pitched.
Mesa had one of the best seasons of any reliever in history with at least 60 innings pitched, finishing with a 1.13 ERA, 46 saves and a second-place finish in Cy Young voting.
Pitcher: Cliff Lee, 2008
With five starters and two relievers already on the roster, this final spot on the Cleveland All-Star pitching staff has several strong contenders, including Doug Jones in 1988, CC Sabathia in 2007, Cody Allen in 2016 (especially if his postseason counts) and Andrew Miller in 2017 (his only real full season in Cleveland).
But 2008 Cliff Lee gets the nod here. That year, Lee went 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA in 223⅓ innings to become the second consecutive Cleveland pitcher to win the AL Cy Young.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland baseball All-Star team: Building the franchise's best lineup
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