FanPost

Indians by the Numbers — #57 & #58


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Heinz 57*

Although not quite ketchup or mincemeat, Jason Pernell Boyd was more of gherkin, leaving the Tribe in a little bit of a pickle during his one year here. Originally drafted in the eighth round of the 1994 draft by the Phillies after attending Edwardsville High School in Edwardsville, IL, was an average prospect in the Philadelphia system until being selected by the Diamondbacks as the 23rd pick in the 1997 expansion draft.

After being fairly mediocre for the Tucson Sidewinders (PCL-AAA) for 1.5 seasons, Boyd was sent to the Pirates as a PTBNL for Tony Womack in 1999. He did get a cup of coffee that year, but was placed on waivers after spring training in 2000. He was claimed by the Brewers and again two days, returned to the Phillies via waivers. He got into 30 games that year, but was pretty awful, 1.835 WHIP, 8.4 K/9, 6.55 ERA (72 ERA+) in 34.1 IP. He spent all of 2001 in Scranton (AAA) and had his best season as a pro, but didn’t get a call back up to the majors and was granted free agency after the season.

In 2002, he made the 25 man roster for the Padres, was sent down to Portland (AAA) and released in August. He signed with the Red Sox and finished the year in Pawtucket before becoming a free agent again. The Tribe signed him for the 2003 season and he spent almost the entire season in Cleveland. His stats were ok, 4.30 ERA (103 ERA+), 1.223 WHIP, 5.3 K/9 in 52.1 IP and 44 games. The Pirates claimed him on waivers after the season. He got into 12 more games for the Pirates in 2004 and played 17 games for the Bakersfield Blaze (Rangers A+) in 2005 before hanging it up.

*Although 57 was used in the marketing slogan "57 Varieties" in 1896 to proclaim the many types of products that Heinz produced, Heinz actually had more than 60 products available at that time. The choice to use 57 was because number 5 was Henry J. Heinz’s lucky number and number 7 was his wife’s.

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via cf.mp-cdn.net

Unlucky 58*

Beware the apocalypse, because the #58 has been very unlucky for the Tribe. Only two players have surpassed the 100 ERA+ mark, but neither had more than 10 innings. So that leaves us with Jamie Chancellor Brewington as the best #58. Originally a 10th round pick in 1992 by the Giants out of Virginia Commonweath University in Richmond, Jamie opened his professional career with the Everett (WA) Giants (Northwest-A-). His debut was a bit rough (1.631 WHIP and 4.33 ERA) but he moved up one level to the Clinton (IA) Giants (Midwest-A) for the 1993 season. There he complied 13-5 record in 25 starts and lowered his WHIP to 1.399 with a 7.5 K/9.

He opened 1994 with Clinton again and although his ERA spiked to 4.92, his K/9 went up to 10.5 and he was promoted to the San Jose (CA) Giants (Califonia-A+) after 10 starts. He put up decent numbers there, 7-3 3.20 ERA, 1.132 WHIP and 7.7 K/9 in 13 starts. He got another promotion in 1995 to the Shreveport (LA) Captains (Texas-AA) and was solid enough to get called up to the major league Giants for 13 starts, but was a tad wild, 4.54 ERA (89 ERA+), 1.500 WHIP and 5.4 K/9 in 75.1 IP. He spent all of 1996 in AAA with the Phoenix Firebirds but was ineffective and traded to the Royals for Ramon Martinez (PTBNL) after the season. He did no better with the Wichita Wranglers (AA) or Omaha Royals (AAA) before being used as a trade chip to get LGFT Jason Grimsley from the Brewers. He was out of options in spring 1998 and was released.

After missing all of 1998, the Tribe took a shot on him in the spring of 1999. He was converted to a reliever full time by the Kinston Indians (A+) and his peripherals improved, 3.87 ERA, 1.365 WHIP and 9.0 K/9 in 81.1 IP. He repeated that success with Buffalo (AAA) in 2000, 3.04 ERA, 13.10 WHIP, 9.5 K/9 in 23.2 IP before getting a midseason call-up to the Tribe. His minor league stats did not translate very well, 5.36 ERA (92 ERA+), 1.654 WHIP and 6.8 K/9 in 45.1 IP, earning him his release. He made appearances for the Twins and Red Sox in AAA in 2001 and 2002 and had one last go-round with the Long Island Ducks (Independent) in 2004 before hanging them up.

*The Mayans and their oracles associated the number 58 with bad luck or bad omens; also the integers five and eight equal 13.

A Brief History - 57

Once upon a time, there also used to be an amateur draft conducted in January. In the final installment of this draft in 1986, the Tribe used the first overall pick in that draft to take Jeff Shaw, a juco from Cuyahoga Community College. Shaw was a starter in his 7 minor league seasons, moving from Batavia (A-), Waterloo (A), Williamsport (AA), Canton-Akron (AA), and Colorado Springs (AAA). From 1990-1992, Shaw got into 43 games with the Tribe, including 11 starts, but was not all that special, 1.578 WHIP and 4.1 K/9 in 128.2 IP. He filed for free agency after the 1992 season and would go on to have a productive career as a reliever, making two All-Star games. He was the closer for the Reds in 1997-1998 and for the Dodgers from 1998-2001.

The best ERA+ for a player wearing #57 was Brian Williams, who posted a 4.00 ERA (125 ERA+) covering 18 innings over 7 appearances in late 2000 after being cut by the Cubs. He would not make another MLB roster.

The career leader in innings for #57 belongs to Ryan Drese, who struggled mightily from 2001-2002 putting up a 5.90 ERA (75 ERA+) in 174 IP. Drese is more famous for being part of the deal that brought Pronk to the Tribe.

A Brief History - 58

Normally I would have gone with Steve Farr over Brewington as his overall numbers in 1984 were a little better. He had a 4.58 ERA (90 ERA+) 13.10 WHIP and 6.4 K/9 in 116 IP while making 16 starts and 15 relief appearances. Unfortunately, Farr also wore #34 in 1984, and there was no logical break in his appearances to determine which stats were in the #58 uniform. Farr did return to the Tribe in 1994, but wore #26 and #40 upon his return.

Jeanmar Gomez also had 116 IP in #58 prior to 2012 but only a 86 ERA+ in 21 starts. With his 2012 stats, he has surpassed David Huff’s 128.1 IP leading mark for #58. Only two hitters have donned #58, Jim Wilson for 15 PA in 1985 and Brian Giles for 9 PA in his inaugural 1995 season.

The One Year Wonders

Joe Hauser, Billy Harrell, Rod Nichols, John Smiley, Brian Williams, Jason Boyd, Lou Pote, Kyle Denney, Jeremy Guthrie, Hector Ambriz, Zach McAllister and Jeremy Accardo all wore uniform #57 for only one season. Steve Farr, Jim Wilson, Garland Kiser, Paul Abbott, Brian Giles, Jamie Brewington, Heath Murray, Joey Dawley, Jason Anderson, Andrew Brown, Juan Lara, Brendan Donnelly, Craig Breslow and David Huff all wore uniform #58 for only one season.

The All-Time List - 57

Joe Hauser PH, 1B (1929) 250/321/500 105 OPS+, 56 PA; claimed off waivers from Athletics

Billy Harrell 1B (1955) 421/500/421 147 OPS+, 22 PA; switched to #37 and #6 in 1957

Rod Nichols SP (1988) 1-7, 11 G, 10 GS, 5.06 ERA, 69.1 IP, 81 ERA+; switched to #54 in 1989

Jeff Shaw RP, SP (1990-1992) 3-10, 43 G, 11 GS, 4.90 ERA, 128.2 IP, 84 ERA+

John Smiley SP (1997) 2-4, 6 G, 6 GS, 5.54 ERA, 37.1 IP, 85 ERA+; traded with Jeff Branson to Reds for Danny Graves, Damian Jackson and Jim Crowell

Brian Williams RP (2000) 0-0, 7 G, 0 GS, 4.00 ERA, 18 IP, 125 ERA+

Ryan Drese SP (2001-2002) 11-11, 35 G, 30 GS, 5.90 ERA, 174 IP, 75 ERA+; traded with Einar Diaz to Rangers for Travis Hafner and Aaron Myette

Jason Boyd RP (2003) 3-1, 44 G, 0 GS, 4.30 ERA, 52.1 IP, 103 ERA+; claimed on waivers by Pirates

Lou Pote RP (2004) 0-0, 2 G, 0 GS, 9.00 ERA, 3 IP, 54 ERA+; purchased from Cardinals

Kyle Denney SP (2004) 1-2, 4 G, 4 GS, 9.56 ERA, 16 IP, 47 ERA+

Jeremy Guthrie RP (2006) 0-0, 9 G, 1 GS, 6.98 ERA, 19.1 IP, 65 ERA+; was #36 in 2005; claimed on waivers by Orioles

Zach Jackson SP (2008-2009) 2-3, 12 G, 10 GS, 6.11 ERA, 63.1 IP, 70 ERA+; traded with Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson and Michael Brantley (PTBNL) by Brewers for CC Sabathia; sent to Blue Jays in conditional deal

Hector Ambriz RP (2010) 0-2, 34 G, 0 GS, 5.59 ERA, 48.1 IP, 71 ERA+; rule 5 draftee from Diamondbacks

Zach McAllister SP (2011) 0-1, 4 G, 4 GS, 6.11 ERA, 17.2 IP, 65 ERA+; traded as PTBNL by Yankees for Austin Kearns; switched to #34 in 2012

Jeremy Accardo RP (2012) 0-0, 26 G, 0 GS, 4.58 ERA, 35.1 IP, 86 ERA+

Scott Maine RP (2012) 2012 stats not included

The All-Time List - 58

Steve Farr SP, RP (1984) 3-11, 31 G, 16 GS, 4.58 ERA, 116 IP, 90 ERA+; also #34 in 1984; traded by Pirates for John Malkin

Jim Wilson 1B, DH (1985) 357/400/357 111 OPS+, 15 PA

Garland Kiser RP (1991) 0-0, 7 G, 0 GS, 9.64 ERA, 4.2 IP, 47 ERA+

Paul Abbott SP (1993) 0-1, 5 G, 5 GS, 6.38 ERA, 18.1 IP, 69 ERA+

Brian Giles RF, PR, PH, DH (1995) 556/556/889 268 OPS+, 9 PA; switched to #22 in 1996

Jamie Brewington RP (2000) 3-0, 26 G, 0 GS, 5.36 ERA, 45.1 IP, 92 ERA+

Heath Murray RP (2002) 0-2, 9 G, 0 GS, 7.50 ERA, 12 IP, 60 ERA+

Jason Anderson RP (2004) 0-0, 1 G, 0 GS, 45.00 ERA, 1 IP, 13 ERA+; claimed off waivers from Mets; claimed on waivers by Yankees

Joey Dawley SP (2004) 0-0, 2 G, 2 GS, 5.40 ERA, 8.1 IP, 84 ERA+; claimed off waivers from Royals

Andrew Brown RP (2006) 0-0 9 G, 0 GS, 3.60 ERA, 10 IP, 128 ERA+; traded as PTBNL with Franklin Gutierrez by Dodgers for Milton Bradley; traded with Kevin Kouzmanoff to Padres for Josh Barfield

Juan Lara RP (2007) 0-00, 1 G, 0 GS, 13.50 ERA, 1.1 IP, 42 ERA+; was #46 in 2006

Craig Breslow RP (2008) 0-0, 7 G, 0 GS, 3.24 ERA, 8.1 IP, 136 ERA+; claimed off waivers from Red Sox; claimed on waivers by Twins

Brendan Donnelly RP (2008) 1-0, 15 G, 0 GS, 8.56 ERA, 13.2 IP, 51 ERA+

David Huff SP (2009) 11-8, 23 G, 23 GS, 5.61 ERA, 128.1 IP, 76 ERA+; switched to #28 in 2010

Jeanmar Gomez SP (2010-2012) 9-8, 22 G, 21 GS, 4.58 ERA, 116 IP, 86 ERA+ (2012 stats not included)

Statistics and such

Other fun facts, the uniform #57 has been worn 20 times by 16 different players covering 18 seasons of a possible 84 seasons since 1929. Uniform #57 was shared in a season twice, 2004 and 2012.

Other fun facts, the uniform #58 has been worn 17 times by 15 different players covering 15 seasons of a possible 84 seasons since 1929. Uniform #58 was shared in a season twice, 2004 and 2008.

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