1996 Cleveland Indians season

The 1996 Cleveland Indians season was the 96th season for the franchise and the third season at Jacobs Field. For the second consecutive season, the Indians had the best record in Major League Baseball. This was the first time in franchise history that the Indians had accomplished that feat. Between May 30 and August 19, the Indians hit at least one double in each of 75 games, the longest such streak in MLB since 1901.

1996 Cleveland Indians
American League Central Champions
League	American League
Division	Central
Ballpark	Jacobs Field
City	Cleveland, Ohio
Record	99–62 (.615)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	Richard Jacobs
General managers	John Hart
Managers	Mike Hargrove
Television	WUAB Jack Corrigan, Mike Hegan SportsChannel John Sanders, Rick Manning
Radio	WKNR (1220 AM) Herb Score, Tom Hamilton, Matt Underwood
Seasons

Offseason

• November 9, 1995: Rubén Amaro Jr. was released by the Cleveland Indians.
• December 6, 1995: Casey Candaele was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
• December 7, 1995: Julio Franco was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
• December 14, 1995: Jack McDowell signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
• January 4, 1996: Mario Díaz was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
• March 31, 1996: Mark Clark was traded by the Cleveland Indians to the New York Mets for Reid Cornelius and Ryan Thompson.

Regular season

Once again, the Indians had a formidable offensive lineup. They led the Majors in hits (1,665), batting average (.293), on-base percentage (.369). They also struck out an MLB-low 844 times.

Season standings

AL Central

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cleveland Indians	99	62	.615	—	51‍–‍29	48‍–‍33
Chicago White Sox	85	77	.525	14½	44‍–‍37	41‍–‍40
Milwaukee Brewers	80	82	.494	19½	38‍–‍43	42‍–‍39
Minnesota Twins	78	84	.481	21½	39‍–‍43	39‍–‍41
Kansas City Royals	75	86	.466	24	37‍–‍43	38‍–‍43

Record vs. opponents

1996 American League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	7–6	6–6	4–8	5–7	11–2	9–3	9–3	7–5	3–10	9–4	7–5	3–10–1	8–5
Boston	6–7	—	8–4	6–6	1–11	12–1	3–9	7–5	6–6	7–6	8–5	7–6	6–6	8–5
California	6–6	4–8	—	6–6	4–9	6–6	4–8	7–5	4–8	7–6	6–7	5–8	4–9	7–5
Chicago	8–4	6–6	6–6	—	5–8	10–3	7–6	6–7	6–7	6–7	5–7	5–7	8–4	7–5
Cleveland	7–5	11–1	9–4	8–5	—	12–0	7–6	7–6	10–3	3–9	6–6	8–4	4–8	7–5
Detroit	2–11	1–12	6–6	3–10	0–12	—	6–6	4–8	6–6	5–8	4–8	6–6	4–9	6–7
Kansas City	3–9	9–3	8–4	6–7	6–7	6–6	—	4–9	6–7	4–8	5–7	7–5	6–6	5–8
Milwaukee	3–9	5–7	5–7	7–6	6–7	8–4	9–4	—	9–4	6–6	7–5	4–9	6–7	5–7
Minnesota	5–7	6–6	8–4	7–6	3–10	6–6	7–6	4–9	—	5–7	6–7	6–6	7–5	8–5
New York	10–3	6–7	6–7	7–6	9–3	8–5	8–4	6–6	7–5	—	9–3	3–9	5–7	8–5
Oakland	4–9	5–8	7–6	7–5	6–6	8–4	7–5	5–7	7–6	3–9	—	8–5	7–6	4–8
Seattle	5–7	6–7	8–5	7–5	4–8	6–6	5–7	9–4	6–6	9–3	5–8	—	10–3	5–7
Texas	10–3–1	6–6	9–4	4–8	8–4	9–4	6–6	7–6	5–7	7–5	6–7	3–10	—	10–2
Toronto	5–8	5–8	5–7	5–7	5–7	7–6	8–5	7–5	5–8	5–8	8–4	7–5	2–10	—

Game log

1996 Game Log: 99–62 (Home: 51–29; Away: 48–33)
April: 16–8 (Home: 8–3; Away: 8–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 2 Yankees 1–7 Cone Martinez (0–1) — 42,289 0–1 2 April 3 Yankees 1–5 Pettitte McDowell (0–1) Nelson 41,843 0–2 3 April 5 Blue Jays 1–7 Guzman Hershiser (0–1) — 41,782 0–3 4 April 6 Blue Jays 5–3 Nagy (1–0) Hanson Mesa (1) 41,852 1–3 5 April 7 Blue Jays 8–3 Martinez (1–1) Quantrill — 41,689 2–3 6 April 10 @ Orioles 2–3 (10) Orosco Tavarez (0–1) — 45,097 2–4 7 April 11 @ Orioles 4–14 Erickson Hershiser (0–2) Rhodes 43,189 2–5 8 April 12 @ Red Sox 3–1 Nagy (2–0) Sele Mesa (2) 26,703 3–5 9 April 13 @ Red Sox 14–2 Martinez (2–1) Moyer — 31,827 4–5 10 April 14 @ Red Sox 7–6 (11) Tavarez (1–1) Stanton Mesa (3) 31,796 5–5 11 April 15 @ Red Sox 8–0 McDowell (1–1) Wakefield — 32,861 6–5 12 April 16 @ Twins 7–2 Hershiser (1–2) Radke — 13,103 7–5 13 April 17 @ Twins 8–9 Hansell Shuey (0–1) Stevens 11,276 7–6 14 April 19 Red Sox 9–4 Martinez (3–1) Gordon — 40,521 8–6 15 April 20 Red Sox 2–1 McDowell (2–1) Wakefield Mesa (4) 40,498 9–6 16 April 21 Red Sox 11–7 Ogea (1–0) Pennington — 42,256 10–6 17 April 22 Orioles 6–3 Nagy (3–0) Erickson Mesa (5) 42,236 11–6 18 April 23 Orioles 9–8 Ogea (2–0) Mussina Mesa (6) 40,770 12–6 19 April 24 @ Yankees 8–10 Kamieniecki Martinez (3–2) — 20,187 12–7 20 April 25 @ Yankees 4–3 Poole (1–0) Pettitte Mesa (7) 18,580 13–7 21 April 26 @ Blue Jays 6–3 Hershiser (2–2) Hanson Mesa (8) 30,227 14–7 22 April 27 @ Blue Jays 6–11 Castillo Nagy (3–1) — 40,140 14–8 23 April 28 @ Blue Jays 17–3 Lopez (1–0) Viola — 31,143 15–8 24 April 30 White Sox 5–3 Martinez (4–2) Tapani Mesa (9) 40,268 16–8
May: 19–9 (Home: 8–2; Away: 11–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 25 May 1 White Sox 9–5 McDowell (3–1) McCaskill Plunk (1) 40,447 17–8 26 May 2 @ Mariners 6–4 Hershiser (3–2) Wolcott Mesa (10) 21,711 18–8 27 May 3 @ Mariners 5–2 Nagy (4–1) Hitchcock Mesa (11) 38,086 19–8 28 May 4 @ Mariners 1–5 Menhart Lopez (1–1) — 57,133 19–9 29 May 5 @ Mariners 2–0 Martinez (5–2) Bosio Mesa (12) 56,883 20–9 30 May 6 @ Athletics 3–5 Taylor Assenmacher (0–1) Mohler 47,313 20–10 31 May 7 @ Athletics 4–8 Johns Hershiser (3–3) — 10,126 20–11 32 May 8 @ Athletics 7–3 Nagy (5–1) Reyes — 9,288 21–11 33 May 10 @ Angels 8–13 Boskie Lopez (1–2) — 23,522 21–12 34 May 11 @ Angels 6–5 McDowell (4–1) Sanderson Mesa (13) 32,102 22–12 35 May 12 @ Angels 4–1 Poole (2–0) Percival Mesa (14) 22,768 23–12 36 May 14 Tigers 5–1 Nagy (6–1) Gohr — 40,765 24–12 37 May 15 Tigers 5–2 Martinez (6–2) Lima Mesa (15) 42,259 25–12 38 May 16 Tigers 8–3 McDowell (5–1) Williams — 42,330 26–12 39 May 17 Rangers 12–10 Embree (1–0) Heredia Mesa (16) 41,225 27–12 40 May 18 Rangers 3–6 Oliver Anderson (0–1) Henneman 40,973 27–13 41 May 19 Rangers 8–5 Nagy (7–1) Witt Mesa (17) 43,299 28–13 42 May 21 Brewers 6–5 Tavarez (2–1) Boze — 39,974 29–13 43 May 22 Brewers 8–10 Karl McDowell (5–2) Fetters 41,027 29–14 44 May 23 Brewers 5–1 Hershiser (4–3) Miranda — 42,395 30–14 45 May 24 @ Tigers 6–3 Plunk (1–0) Veres Mesa (18) 26,967 31–14 46 May 25 @ Tigers 7–6 Nagy (8–1) Lewis Mesa (19) 41,527 32–14 47 May 26 @ Tigers 5–0 Martinez (7–2) Williams — 39,056 33–14 48 May 27 @ Rangers 2–3 Pavlik McDowell (5–3) — 46,521 33–15 49 May 28 @ Rangers 3–11 Oliver Hershiser (4–4) — 35,727 33–16 50 May 29 @ Rangers 4–5 Cook Tavarez (2–2) Henneman 35,893 33–17 51 May 30 @ Brewers 2–0 Nagy (9–1) Bones Mesa (20) 11,543 34–17 52 May 31 @ Brewers 10–4 Martinez (8–2) McDonald — 24,050 35–17
June: 14–14 (Home: 8–8; Away: 6–6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 53 June 1 @ Brewers 1–2 Garcia McDowell (5–4) Fetters 22,004 35–18 54 June 2 @ Brewers 11–6 Poole (3–0) Karl — 21,150 36–18 55 June 4 Mariners 7–10 Carmona Mesa (0–1) Charlton 42,179 36–19 56 June 5 Mariners 13–5 Plunk (2–0) Milacki — 42,274 37–19 57 June 6 Mariners 2–5 Wells Martinez (8–3) Charlton 42,236 37–20 58 June 7 Angels 4–3 McDowell (6–4) Boskie Mesa (21) 42,260 38–20 59 June 8 Angels 5–0 Hershiser (5–4) Finley — 42,267 39–20 60 June 9 Angels 6–8 (13) Hancock Tavarez (2–3) — 42,237 39–21 61 June 10 Athletics 5–4 Nagy (10–1) Johns Mesa (22) 42,167 40–21 62 June 11 Athletics 6–5 (13) Ogea (3–0) Reyes — 42,249 41–21 63 June 12 Athletics 6–9 Montgomery McDowell (6–5) Mohler 40,673 41–22 64 June 13 @ Yankees 6–2 Hershiser (6–4) Rogers Shuey (1) 30,707 42–22 65 June 14 @ Yankees 3–4 Gooden Ogea (3–1) Wetteland 32,580 42–23 66 June 15 @ Yankees 10–3 Nagy (11–1) Boehringer — 42,032 43–23 67 June 16 @ Yankees 4–5 Pettitte Martinez (8–4) Wetteland 51,180 43–24 68 June 18 Red Sox 9–7 Swindell (1–0) Sele Mesa (23) 42,209 44–24 69 June 19 Red Sox 11–4 Hershiser (7–4) Gordon — 42,276 45–24 70 June 20 Red Sox 5–4 Shuey (1–1) Stanton — 42,306 46–24 71 June 21 Yankees 7–8 (10) Nelson Mesa (0–2) Wetteland 42,176 46–25 72 June 21 Yankees 3–9 Mendoza Tavarez (2–4) — 42,454 46–26 73 June 22 Yankees 9–11 Brewer Martinez (8–5) Wetteland 42,461 46–27 74 June 23 Yankees 5–6 Gooden McDowell (6–6) Wetteland 41,767 46–28 75 June 25 @ Red Sox 4–0 Hershiser (8–4) Gordon — 33,576 47–28 76 June 26 @ Red Sox 4–6 (15) Garces Embree (1–1) — 33,727 47–29 77 June 27 @ White Sox 10–15 Fernandez Swindell (1–1) — 27,782 47–30 78 June 28 @ White Sox 2–4 Baldwin Tavarez (2–5) Hernandez 33,136 47–31 79 June 29 @ White Sox 3–2 (10) Shuey (2–1) Karchner — 43,601 48–31 80 June 30 @ White Sox 4–2 Hershiser (9–4) Tapani Mesa (24) 30,351 49–31
July: 16–11 (Home: 7–6; Away: 9–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 81 July 1 Royals 2–4 Haney Nagy (11–2) — 40,814 49–32 82 July 2 Royals 3–2 Poole (4–0) Belcher — 42,283 50–32 83 July 3 Royals 6–4 Tavarez (3–5) Magnante Shuey (2) 42,470 51–32 84 July 4 White Sox 5–6 (10) Karchner Mesa (0–3) Hernandez 42,355 51–33 85 July 5 White Sox 0–7 Alvarez Hershiser (9–5) — 42,536 51–34 86 July 6 White Sox 2–3 Karchner Shuey (2–2) Hernandez 42,454 51–35 87 July 7 White Sox 6–1 Ogea (4–1) Fernandez Assenmacher (1) 42,343 52–35 88 July 11 @ Twins 11–7 McDowell (7–6) Radke — 16,438 53–35 89 July 12 @ Twins 7–5 Mesa (1–3) Stevens Shuey (3) 18,246 54–35 90 July 13 @ Twins 19–11 Ogea (5–1) Aguilera — 31,552 55–35 91 July 14 @ Twins 4–5 Guardado Plunk (2–1) — 25,312 55–36 92 July 15 @ Royals 3–6 Magnante Tavarez (3–6) Montgomery 22,294 55–37 93 July 16 @ Royals 10–4 McDowell (8–6) Haney — 16,871 56–37 94 July 17 @ Royals 2–3 Belcher Hershiser (9–6) Montgomery 19,532 56–38 95 July 18 Twins 5–4 Graves (1–0) Guardado — 40,934 57–38 96 July 19 Twins 2–3 Rodriguez Nagy (11–3) Naulty 42,373 57–39 97 July 20 Twins 6–5 (11) Shuey (3–2) Stevens — 43,433 58–39 98 July 21 Twins 7–5 McDowell (9–6) Radke Shuey (4) 42,341 59–39 99 July 22 @ Blue Jays 4–2 Hershiser (10–6) Hanson Mesa (25) 35,517 60–39 100 July 23 @ Blue Jays 1–3 Hentgen Ogea (5–2) Timlin 35,194 60–40 101 July 24 @ Blue Jays 10–0 Martinez (9–5) Janzen — 35,218 61–40 102 July 25 @ Orioles 10–7 Nagy (12–3) Coppinger — 47,025 62–40 103 July 26 @ Orioles 14–9 Assenmacher (1–1) Mussina — 46,751 63–40 104 July 27 @ Orioles 2–14 Wells Hershiser (10–7) — 47,360 63–41 105 July 28 @ Orioles 6–3 (13) Mesa (2–3) Stephenson — 46,273 64–41 106 July 30 Blue Jays 1–3 Flener Martinez (9–6) Timlin 42,355 64–42 107 July 31 Blue Jays 4–2 Assenmacher (2–1) Timlin — 42,301 65–42
August: 15–13 (Home: 7–7; Away: 8–6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 108 August 1 Blue Jays 3–5 Hanson Lopez (1–3) Timlin 42,249 65–43 109 August 2 Orioles 11–1 Hershiser (11–7) Erickson — 42,465 66–43 110 August 3 Orioles 4–9 Orosco Ogea (5–3) — 42,448 66–44 111 August 4 Orioles 14–2 Anderson (1–1) Coppinger — 42,349 67–44 112 August 5 Orioles 10–13 Wells Assenmacher (2–2) — 40,863 67–45 113 August 6 @ Mariners 4–3 Lopez (2–3) Wells Mesa (26) 31,472 68–45 114 August 7 @ Mariners 5–4 Tavarez (4–6) Charlton Mesa (27) 30,431 69–45 115 August 8 @ Mariners 2–1 Ogea (6–3) Mulholland Mesa (28) 36,822 70–45 116 August 9 @ Athletics 10–4 McDowell (10–6) Telgheder — 20,122 71–45 117 August 10 @ Athletics 1–5 Adams Nagy (12–4) — 30,238 71–46 118 August 11 @ Athletics 3–9 Wasdin Lopez (2–4) — 21,914 71–47 119 August 12 @ Angels 5–4 Hershiser (12–7) Finley Mesa (29) 19,499 72–47 120 August 13 @ Angels 2–4 Boskie Ogea (6–4) Percival 19,569 72–48 121 August 14 @ Angels 7–8 Gohr McDowell (10–7) Percival 23,887 72–49 122 August 16 Tigers 3–1 (12) Assenmacher (3–2) Lewis — 42,485 73–49 123 August 17 Tigers 6–3 Hershiser (13–7) Thompson Mesa (30) 42,511 74–49 124 August 18 Tigers 11–3 Ogea (7–4) Williams — 42,337 75–49 125 August 19 Rangers 3–10 Pavlik McDowell (10–8) — 42,393 75–50 126 August 20 Rangers 10–4 Lopez (3–4) Witt — 42,370 76–50 127 August 21 Rangers 8–10 (10) Vosberg Tavarez (4–7) — 42,345 76–51 128 August 23 Brewers 5–6 (11) Jones Mesa (2–4) Fetters 42,405 76–52 129 August 24 Brewers 3–4 (10) Wickman Plunk (2–2) Fetters 42,437 76–53 130 August 25 Brewers 8–5 Shuey (4–2) Miranda Mesa (31) 42,335 77–53 131 August 26 @ Tigers 2–1 Nagy (13–4) Lira — 22,349 78–53 132 August 27 @ Tigers 12–2 Lopez (4–4) Thompson — 19,602 79–53 133 August 28 @ Tigers 9–3 Hershiser (14–7) Sager — 21,091 80–53 134 August 30 @ Rangers 3–5 Pavlik Ogea (7–5) Russell 40,383 80–54 135 August 31 @ Rangers 3–6 Oliver McDowell (10–9) Vosberg 46,319 80–55
September: 19–7 (Home: 13–3; Away: 6–4) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 136 September 1 @ Rangers 8–2 Nagy (14–4) Burkett — 46,084 81–55 137 September 2 @ Brewers 6–7 Jones Mesa (2–5) — 18,015 81–56 138 September 3 @ Brewers 2–8 Karl Hershiser (14–8) — 10,599 81–57 139 September 4 @ Brewers 7–0 Ogea (8–5) D'Amico — 12,666 82–57 140 September 8 Mariners 2–1 Nagy (15–4) Mulholland — 42,307 83–57 141 September 8 Mariners 5–6 Charlton Mesa (2–6) — 42,217 83–58 142 September 9 Angels 4–3 Shuey (5–2) Holtz Mesa (32) 42,208 84–58 143 September 10 Angels 7–5 Assenmacher (4–2) Percival — 42,181 85–58 144 September 11 Angels 2–0 McDowell (11–9) Finley Mesa (33) 42,264 86–58 145 September 12 Angels 11–2 Anderson (2–1) Boskie — 42,244 87–58 146 September 14 Athletics 9–2 Nagy (16–4) Wengert — — 88–58 147 September 14 Athletics 9–8 Plunk (3–2) Small Mesa (34) 42,233 89–58 148 September 15 Athletics 9–10 (10) Reyes Mesa (2–7) — 42,226 89–59 149 September 16 @ White Sox 4–3 McDowell (12–9) Alvarez — 25,392 90–59 150 September 17 @ White Sox 9–4 Anderson (3–1) Fernandez Plunk (2) 18,763 91–59 151 September 18 @ White Sox 4–3 Lopez (5–4) Baldwin Mesa (35) 20,289 92–59 152 September 19 Royals 9–1 Ogea (9–5) Appier — 42,297 93–59 153 September 20 Royals 4–6 Bevil Nagy (16–5) Bluma 42,358 93–60 154 September 21 Royals 13–4 Hershiser (15–8) Rosado — 42,339 94–60 155 September 22 Royals 6–5 McDowell (13–9) Jacome Mesa (36) 42,291 95–60 156 September 23 Twins 7–6 Graves (2–0) Parra Mesa (37) 42,299 96–60 157 September 24 Twins 7–5 Ogea (10–5) Rodriguez Mesa (38) 42,272 97–60 158 September 25 Twins 6–3 Nagy (17–5) Robertson — 42,469 98–60 159 September 27 @ Royals 6–11 Rosado Hershiser (15–9) — 15,939 98–61 160 September 28 @ Royals 5–4 Mercker (1–0) Scanlan Mesa (39) 19,820 99–61 161 September 29 @ Royals 1–4 Belcher Ogea (10–6) Pichardo 14,556 99–62
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Indians team member

Detailed records

American League
Opponent	W	L	WP	RS	RA
AL East
Baltimore Orioles	7	5	0.583	92	86
Boston Red Sox	11	1	0.917	87	42
Detroit Tigers	12	0	1.000	79	28
New York Yankees	3	9	0.250	61	73
Toronto Blue Jays	7	5	0.583	66	45
Total	40	20	0.667	385	274
AL Central
Chicago White Sox	8	5	0.615	63	58
Cleveland Indians
Kansas City Royals	7	6	0.538	70	58
Milwaukee Brewers	7	6	0.538	74	58
Minnesota Twins	10	3	0.769	96	70
Total	32	20	0.615	303	244
AL West
California Angels	9	4	0.692	71	56
Oakland Athletics	6	6	0.500	72	72
Seattle Mariners	8	4	0.667	54	46
Texas Rangers	4	8	0.333	67	77
Total	27	22	0.551	264	251
Season Total	99	62	0.615	952	769

Month	Games	Won	Lost	Win %	RS	RA
April	24	16	8	0.667	152	118
May	28	19	9	0.679	154	126
June	28	14	14	0.500	165	149
July	27	16	11	0.593	152	128
August	28	15	13	0.536	167	135
September	26	19	7	0.731	162	113
Total	161	99	62	0.615	952	769

	Games	Won	Lost	Win %	RS	RA
Home	80	51	29	0.638	488	389
Away	81	48	33	0.593	464	380
Total	161	99	62	0.615	952	769

Notable transactions

• May 14, 1996: Greg Cadaret was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
• June 15, 1996: Greg Swindell signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.

Roster

1996 Cleveland Indians
Roster
Pitchers 34 Brian Anderson 45 Paul Assenmacher 56 Alan Embree 35 Danny Graves 55 Orel Hershiser 59 Albie Lopez 32 Dennis Martínez 29 Jack McDowell 39 Kent Mercker 49 José Mesa 41 Charles Nagy 37 Chad Ogea 38 Eric Plunk 62 Jim Poole 47 Joe Roa 53 Paul Shuey 12 Greg Swindell 50 Julián Tavárez		Catchers 15 Sandy Alomar Jr.  2 Einar Díaz 17 Tony Peña Infielders  9 Carlos Baerga 26 Casey Candaele  4 Mark Carreon 10 Álvaro Espinoza 23 Julio Franco  9 Damian Jackson 12 Jeff Kent 30 Scott Leius 33 Eddie Murray 27 Gerónimo Peña 36 Herbert Perry 20 Kevin Seitzer 25 Jim Thome 10 José Vizcaíno 13 Omar Vizquel		Outfielders  8 Albert Belle 20 Jeromy Burnitz 22 Brian Giles 35 Wayne Kirby  7 Kenny Lofton 24 Manny Ramírez 46 Ryan Thompson 48 Nigel Wilson		Manager 21 Mike Hargrove Coaches 11 Toby Harrah (Bench)  6 Luis Isaac (Bullpen) 42 Charlie Manuel (Hitting)  1 Dave Nelson (First Base) 29 Jeff Newman (Third Base) 28 Mark Wiley (Pitching) 43 Dan Williams (Bullpen Catcher)

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Sandy Alomar Jr.	127	418	110	.263	11	50
1B	Julio Franco	112	432	139	.322	14	76
2B	Carlos Baerga	100	424	113	.267	10	55
SS	Omar Vizquel	151	542	161	.297	9	64
3B	Jim Thome	151	505	157	.311	38	116
LF	Albert Belle	158	602	187	.311	48	148
CF	Kenny Lofton	154	662	210	.317	14	67
RF	Manny Ramirez	152	550	170	.309	33	112
DH	Eddie Murray	88	336	88	.262	12	45

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
José Vizcaíno	48	179	51	.285	0	13
Tony Peña	67	174	34	.195	1	27
Mark Carreon	38	142	46	.324	2	14
Jeromy Burnitz	71	128	36	.281	7	26
Brian Giles	51	121	43	.355	5	27
Álvaro Espinoza	59	112	25	.223	4	11
Jeff Kent	39	102	27	.265	3	16
Kevin Seitzer	22	83	32	.386	1	16
Casey Candaele	24	44	11	.250	1	4
Scott Leius	27	43	6	.140	1	3
Ryan Thompson	8	22	7	.318	1	5
Wayne Kirby	27	16	4	.250	0	1
Nigel Wilson	10	12	3	.250	2	5
Herbert Perry	7	12	1	.083	0	0
Damian Jackson	5	10	3	.300	0	1
Gerónimo Peña	5	9	1	.111	1	2
Einar Díaz	4	1	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Charles Nagy	32	222.0	17	5	3.41	167
Orel Hershiser	33	206.0	15	9	4.24	125
Jack McDowell	30	192.0	13	9	5.11	141
Chad Ogea	29	146.2	10	6	4.79	101
Dennis Martínez	20	112.0	9	6	4.50	48
Brian Anderson	10	51.1	3	1	4.91	21

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Albie Lopez	13	62.0	5	4	6.39	45
Greg Swindell	13	28.2	1	1	6.59	21

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
José Mesa	69	2	7	39	3.73	64
Paul Assenmacher	63	4	2	1	3.09	44
Eric Plunk	56	3	2	2	2.43	85
Julián Tavárez	51	4	7	0	5.36	46
Paul Shuey	42	5	2	4	2.85	44
Jim Poole	32	4	0	0	3.04	19
Alan Embree	24	1	1	0	6.39	33
Danny Graves	15	2	0	0	4.55	22
Kent Mercker	10	1	0	0	3.09	7
Joe Roa	1	0	0	0	10.80	0

Award winners

• Omar Vizquel, Hutch Award

All-Star Game

Postseason

Game log

1996 Postseason Game Log
American League Division Series # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Attendance Record 1 October 1 @ Orioles 4–10 Wells (1–0) Nagy (0–1) — Oriole Park at Camden Yards 47,644 0–1 2 October 2 @ Orioles 4–7 Benitez (1–0) Plunk (0–1) Myers (1) Oriole Park at Camden Yards 48,970 0–2 3 October 4 Orioles 9–4 Assenmacher (1–0) Orosco (0–1) — Jacobs Field 44,250 1–2 4 October 5 Orioles 3–4 (12) Benitez (2–0) Mesa (0–1) Myers (2) Jacobs Field 44,280 1–3
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Indians team member

Minor league affiliates

Classification level	Team	League	Season article
AAA	Buffalo Bisons	International League	1996 Buffalo Bisons season
AA	Canton–Akron Indians	Eastern League	1996 Canton–Akron Indians season
Advanced A	Kinston Indians	Carolina League
A	Columbus RedStixx	South Atlantic League
Short Season A	Watertown Indians	New York–Penn League
Rookie	Burlington Indians	Appalachian League

References

• 1996 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Reference
• 1996 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Almanac
• 1996 WS at Baseball Reference