Whether it was trying to add the veteran piece to the puzzle to put the Tribe over the top in the 90’s or trying to put people in the seats with a big name in the 80’s, the Indians have had their share of “past their prime” players. Sometimes these signings proved to pay big dividends, most notably in the 1990’s. Dennis Martinez, Orel Hershiser, and Eddie Murray all played huge roles in the Tribe’s return to contention. But how about some of those acquisitions that did not quite pan out? Here in Cleveland, the list is a plenty.

Whether it was trying to add the veteran piece to the puzzle to put the Tribe over the top in the 90’s or trying to put people in the seats with a big name in the 80’s, the Indians have had their share of “past their prime” players. Sometimes these signings proved to pay big dividends, most notably in the 1990’s. Dennis Martinez, Orel Hershiser, and Eddie Murray all played huge roles in the Tribe’s return to contention.

But how about some of those acquisitions that did not quite pan out? Here in Cleveland, the list is a plenty. But here is the cream of the crop that made my team:

Catcher- Lance Parrish (1993)

An eight-time gold glover (all coming well before showing up in Cleveland), Lance Parrish’s time in Cleveland left me with two lasting impressions. The first of which was the ridiculous orange glove he wore, I guess unwilling to upgrade to red in Cleveland. It looked nice in a Tiger uniform though. The second is the game ending passed ball, on a pitchout no less, in a game at the Metrodome. Just when you thought the Indians had found every way to lose a game …

Honorable Mention: Rick Dempsey

First Base- Keith Hernandez (1990)

Still fresh in my mind are the old Sportschannel Cleveland announcers talking about the bravery and toughness of Keith Hernandez to hit without batting gloves on Opening Day. Perhaps cold hands were a contributing factor to Keith’s .200 average in only a tad over 100 at bats with the Indians. Yep, Keith gravy trained one last contract from the Tribe.

Honorable Mention: Willie Upshaw

Second Base- Joey Cora (1998)

While Cora was certainly never a superstar, he was very productive for four seasons in Seattle. In an odd trade, the Indians swapped infielders and sent David Bell to the Mariners. The Indians figured that Cora would add speed and a productive bat at the top of the lineup, but neither occurred. He played so poorly that it ended up being his final major league season.

Honorable Mention: Bip Roberts

Shortstop- Shawon Dunston (1998)

I am plugging Shawon in at shortstop because, as he proved in Cleveland, this is where he belonged. It is safe to say that the “new position” experiment did not work. John Hart figured that Dunston’s bat would overcome the liability he would create in the field by playing a new position. Apparently the switch to the American League did a number on his offense as well. Dunston did not play well at second as predicted, but he hit only .237 in his only appearance in the AL during his 17-year career. He went on to a few more successful seasons after he returned to the NL the following summer.

Third Base- Kevin Seitzer (1996)

Seitzer was acquired on the last day of the waiver wire trading deadline for Jeromy Burnitz, one day before not being eligible for post season play. A pure hitter,Seitzer starter with a 4-for-4 effort and kept hitting for the rest of the year. The Indians re-signed him the following year, but the third baseman stopped hitting. After four seasons of well above .300 averages, Seitzer batted under .270 with limited power.

Left Field- Kevin Mitchell (1997)

John Hart could never get enough hitting. All spring training, we were told how having Kevin Mitchell in the 8^th spot would be akin to a second cleanup hitter. Things started happily, with Mitchell belting an opposite field homerun on Opening Day. He would go on to hit just one more home run, and would not make it through the year. He was released after hitting a paltry .153.

Honorable Mention: Gorman Thomas

Center Field- Brady Anderson (2002)

This guy’s career sunk faster than Mike Trivisono holding an anvil. Perhaps the poster child for steroid abuse (allegedly), Anderson went from hitting 50 home runs and over 100 RBI’s (in the leadoff spot to boot!) in 1996 to a liability in Baltimore a few years later. A blistering .202 clip in 2001 did not make Mark Shapiro shy away from adding Anderson to the infamous “rebuild on the fly” Indians of 2002. Anderson proved to no longer be a major league hitter, and was released after hitting .163. He did not play again.

Right Field- Dave Winfield (1995)

Dave Winfield was brought on to solely face left-handing pitching. He did not hit much of anything, batting only .191 in a slightly over 100 at bats. He did have a very pivotal at bat though for the Tribe. Trailing 6-0 to the rival White Sox, Winfield belted a huge three-run homer to get the Tribe back in an early season game. The Tribe went on to win, and the victory served as a turning point in the season in which the Indians ran away from the Sox.

Designated Hitter- Ken Phelps (1990)

The good news is that Ken Phelps served as a productive designated hitter for several years in his major league career. The bad news is that those years were nowhere near the time period the Indians brought him on board in 1990. His tenure lasted a grand total of 61 at-bats, and Ken Phelps never went on to don another major league uniform.

Honorable Mention: Cecil Fielder

Starting Pitcher #1- Jack Morris (1994)

Morris was brought on along with Dennis Martinez to be the final pieces to the Indian staff in its first year at Jacobs Field. Morris seemed to have some gas left in the tank. The problem? It was difficult making starts from his farm halfway across the country. The former Tiger star had already mentally called it quits, and was little help to the emerging Indians.

Starting Pitcher #2- Steve Carlton (1987)

Yes, THAT Steve Carlton. Talk about a guy who stuck around too long! The Indians signed the lefty at the ripe young age of 43. He justified his age on the mound, carrying a 5.37 ERA before being sent off to Minnesota where his career finally ended.

Starting Pitcher #3- Jack McDowell (1996)

The Indians, long overdue, had added their ace pitcher to the staff. Dick Jacobs, Santa Claus hat and all, sat at the press conference announcing Black Jack McDowell as the big free agent signing of the winter. Injuries and inconsistency plagued McDowell from the get go, and his career took an immediate plunge. McDowell will always have a lasting memory on me, though, for a relief appearance he made in 1997. For one afternoon, he regained his form of old and dominated. “I had tears in my eyes,” Mike Hargrove was quoted as saying afterwards.

Starting Pitcher #4 and #5- Jason Bere. Jason Bere. (2000, 2003)

Bere had a terrific start to his career in Chicago, but arm problems derailed an otherwise promising career. Ever since acquiring him in the Richie Sexson trade of 2000, Bere never stopped giving up runs. And GM Mark Shapiro never stopped signing him! (he actually had three organizational appearances). Will anyone out there forgive him for blowing the 8-0 lead at Fenway Park that turned out to cost the Indians a playoff appearance in 2000?

Closer- Jeff Russell (1994)

The Indians were looking near and far for a closer during the summer of ’94 as they tried to catch the division leading White Sox. They settled for an already struggling Jeff Russell from Boston, a stopper that had enjoyed years of success in the Ranger organization. A late inning comeback for the Tribe against Russell just weeks earlier, capped off with an Albert Belle single scoring a sliding Carlos Baerga, should have been an indicator. Russell’s ERA was around 5 in his limited time in Cleveland.

Honorable Mention: John Rocker