How the Indians turned Jack Brohamer into Omar Vizquel

February 20, 2012February 20, 2012 Ryan Trade Tree Bert Blyleven, Bob Owchinko, Bobby Bonds, Curt Wardle, Felix Fermin, Jack Brohamer, Jay Bell, John Denny, Larvell Blanks, Len Barker, Omar Vizquel, Rich Yett

How do you turn light-hitting second baseman second baseman Jack Brohamer into future Hall of Famer Omar Vizquel? Well, it took 25 years and eight trades, but the Tribe pulled it off…

Bartolo Colon shuts down Tribe

June 11, 2011 Ryan Historical Notes Bartolo Colon, Bert Blyleven, Brian Anderson, Mike Jeffcoat, Ricardo Rodriguez

Bartolo Colon held the Tribe scoreless through 6 2/3 innings on Saturday afternoon, the first former Indian to shutout the Tribe in at least six innings since…. Bartolo Colon.

Colon’s last shutout performance came in 2005 as a member of the Angels. Over the past 20 seasons, Brian Anderson, Ricardo Rodriguez and Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven are the only other former Tribe pitchers to accomplish the feat. Of the group, only Rodriguez tossed a complete game.

Prior to Rodriguez, you have to go all the way back to Mike Jeffcoat in 1989 to find the last former Indian to toss a shutout against the Tribe. Like Rodriguez, Jeffcoat’s performance came as a member of the Rangers.

Tomlin joins Masterson at 3-0

April 17, 2011April 17, 2011 Ryan Historical Notes Bartolo Colon, Bert Blyleven, CC Sabathia, Gaylord Perry, Josh Tomlin, Justin Masterson, Luis Tiant, Milt Wilcox, Rick Sutcliffe, Sam McDowell

Josh Tomlin picked up the win on Saturday, joining Justin Masterson at 3-0.

Masterson and Tomlin are the first pair of Indians starters with three wins the teams first 14 games since Rick Sutcliffe and Bert Blyleven in 1984. Pryor to ’84, you have to go back to Milt Wilcox and Gaylord Perry in 1972.

Making their hot start more impressive is the fact that they’re doing it at such a young age. Tomlin and Masterson, both 26, join CC Sabathia (2007) and Bartolo Colon (1999) as the only Tribe pitchers to win three games in the team’s first 14 games while under the age of 27. And since 1920, the only other pair to accomplish the feat was Sam McDowell and Luis Tiant in 1966.

Carmona is Tribe’s lone All-Star

July 5, 2010July 5, 2010 Ryan Uncategorized Bert Blyleven, CC Sabathia, Chuck Finley, Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook

For the second straight season the Indians will be sending just one representative to the All-Star Game. This year it’s Fausto Carmona, making his first appearance.

According to the Indians website (and considering they also list Jody Gerut as a Rookie of the Year winner, should be taken with a grain of salt), it’s the 21st time in franchise history they’ve had just one representative at the game.

A few other notes on Carmona’s selection…

It’s also the 6th time since 2002 that they’ve had only one selection, following a 10-year stretch during which they had multiple selections every year.
He joins CC Sabathia (2003) and Bert Blyleven (1985) as the only Indians starting pitchers to be their lone All-Star selections since 1980.
He joins Sabathia, Jake Westbrook (2004) and Chuck Finley (2000) as the only starts to make the All-Star team since 2000.

Again, these notes are very unofficial. The Indians don’t keep the best historical records. At some point I’ll use other sources to verify an official list of Tribe All-Star selections.