Indians by the Numbers — #12

via www.pristineauction.com

He was the other Alomar brother.

Although he's a Hall of Famer with a Blue Jay cap, Roberto Alomar is the greatest Cleveland Indian to wear uniform #12.  Sandy was the bigger prospect, and is more synonymous with the Tribe, but Roberto was the more talented and successful Alomar.

His two best offensive seasons were with the Indians in 1999 and 2001. Alomar scored a league-leading 138 runs in '99 and hit 24 home runs, added 120 runs batted in and stole 37 bases. His 139 OPS+ doesn't seem all that amazing considering the hyper-offensive period in which he thrived,  but he also played an outstanding second base and drew more walks than strikeouts in two of the three seasons in a Cleveland uniform. His 1999 season may be the best season by a second baseman in the history of the game, and he finished 3rd in the MVP voting for that season.

A lifetime .300 hitter, Alomar arguably had the best three-year stretch of his career in Cleveland. 

Whatchyou talking about, Willis?

George Willis "Ace" Hudlin wore #12 longer than any other Cleveland Indian in history.  For little more than a decade, Hudlin donned #12.

All but one of his 158 career wins came with Cleveland. Never flashy or dominant, Hudlin's 102 ERA+ isn't remarkable for a pitcher of his era. Hudlin never won 20 games in a season, or had an full season ERA under 3.30.  To some degree, he was the original Charles Nagy. He walked more batters than he struck out in every season of his career until his final one. His best season was in 1935, at the age of 29, Hudlin won 15 and lost 11, with an ERA+ of 123. A paltry 2.3 SO/9 and a lifetime K/BB of 0.80, Hudlin complied 28.3 WAR over 15 seasons with the Tribe.  

The Dirty Dozen

The top twelve dirtiest seasons by players wearing #12 in Cleveland Indians history*:

1. Roberto Alomar, 1999: 37 SB, 6 CS, 270 PO, 466 assists, 15 errors, 109 double-plays, .980 FPCT

2. Roberto Alomar, 2000: 39 SB, 4 CS, 293 PO, 437 assists, 5 errors, 88 double plays, .993 FPCT.

3. Graig Nettles, 1971: 7 SB, 4 CS, 159 PO, 412 assists, 16 errors, 54 double plays, .967 FPCT.

4. Graig Nettles, 1972: 2 SB, 3 CS, 114 PO, 338 assists, 21 errors, 27 double plays, .956 FPCT.

5. Ricky Gutierrez, 2002: 0 SB, 1 CS, 167 PO, 277 assists, 11 errors, 66 double plays, .976 FPCT.

6. Woodie Held, 1963: 0 SB, 2 CS, 188 PO, 251 assists, 8 errors, 50 double plays, .982 FPCT.

7. Willis Hudlin, 1929: 1 SB, 0 CS, 3 2B, 22 CG, 24 PO, 88 assists, 5 errors, 8 double plays, .957 FPCT.

8.  Lou Merloni, 2004: 1 SB, 2 CS,  299 PO, 53 assists, 3 errors, 22 double plays, .989 FPCT.

9.  Álex Joey Cora, 2005: 6 SB, 0 CS, 53 PO, 130 assists, 3 errors, 11 double plays, .984 FPCT.

10.  Ben Francisco, 2008: 4 SB, 3 CS, 196 PO, 12 assists, 4 errors, 3 double plays, .981 FPCT.

11. Jayson Nix, 2010: 1 SB, 2 CS, 89 PO, 145 assists, 11 errors, 25 double plays, .885 FPCT.

12. Mark Whiten, 1998: 2 SB, 1 CS, 124 PO, 7 assists, 4 errors, 1 double play .970 FPCT.

* - possibly arbitrary list.

(More than) Twelve Angry Men :

The following Indians donned #12 for just one season (or less): Joe Shaute, Red Steiner, Rusty Peters, Sherm Lollar, Al Lopez, Joe Tipton, Willie Jones, Gene Green (The Dancing Machine), Ralph Gagliano, Jim Gentile, Orlando Gonzalez, Carmelo Castillo, Benny Ayala, Paul Zuvella, Craig Worthington, Greg Swindell, Jeff Kent, Chad Curtis, Jeff Juden, Mark Whiten, Alex Cora, Mark Grudzielanek, Jayson Nix and Ezequiel Carrera.

The All-Time List

Joe Shaute, SP (1929)

Willis Hudlin SP (1930-1940)

Nate Andrews SP (1940-1941)

Vern Kennedy SP, RP (1942-1944)

Red Steiner C (1945)

Rusty Peters 2B, SS, 3B (1946)

Sherm Lollar C (1946)

Al Lopez C (1947)

Joe Tipton C (1948)

Ray Murray C (1950-1951)

Lou Brissie RP (1951-1953)

Don Mossi RP, SP (1954-1958)

Willie Jones 3B (1959)

Walt Bond 1B, OF (1960-1961)

Gene Green RF, C (1962)

Woodie Held SS, 2B (1963-1964)

Ralph Gagliano PH (1965) 

Bill Davis 1B (1965-1966)

Jim Gentile 1B (1966)

Graig Nettles 3B (1970-1972)

Ed Crosby SS, 2B, 3B (1974-1976)

Orlando Gonzalez 1B, OF (1976)

Dave Rosello 2B, SS, 3B (1979-1981)

Carmelo Castillo RF (1983)

Kevin Rhomberg LF (1983-1984)

Benny Ayala PH, LF (1985)

Dave Clark DH, RF, PH (1986-1988)

Paul Zuvella SS (1988)

Craig Worthington 3B (1992)

Jesse Levis C (1993-1995)

Greg Swindell RP (1996)

Jeff Kent 1B, 2B (1996)

Chad Curtis CF (1997)

Jeff Juden SP (1997)

Jeff Manto 1B, 3B (1997-1998)

Mark Whiten LF, CF, RF (1998)

Roberto Alomar 2B (1999-2001)

Ricky Gutierrez 2B (2002-2003)

Lou Merloni 1B, 3B, 2B (2004, 2006)

Alex Cora SS, 2B (2005)

Ben Francisco LF, RF, CF, DH (2007-2009)

Mark Grudzielanek 2B (2010)

Jayson Nix 3B, 2B (2010)

Ezequiel Carrera CF (2011)

Statistics and such

Other fun facts, the uniform #12 has been worn 86 times by 45 different players covering 72 seasons of a possible 83 seasons since 1929. Uniform #12 was shared in a season twelve times, 1940, 1946, 1951, 1965, 1966, 1976, 1983, 1988, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2010. It was shared by three players in 1997.