Everything you wanted to know about the Cleveland Indians. No, I am not a fan but I am a baseball fan and for me, this was a very good book filled with history and information that some of it I did not know about. A very good book.

In 2016, my dream World Series happened. I had always wanted to see the Cleveland Indians play the Chicago Cubs. I was convinced that one of these star-crossed teams would have to win. Sadly, it wasn’t the Indians I had rooted for since childhood, even though they pulled out to a 3-1 lead and were on the edge of winning in the seventh game. This has been the life of an Indians fan. Now there is a book that collects all the strange stories of this franchise, a walk down memory lane for many of us, and a way for others to understand the unique pain of being a Tribe fan.

In twenty-seven short, witty, and engaging chapters, Martin Gitlin tells the story of the high and low points of the franchise. We actually begin with the baseball team before the Indians, the Cleveland Spiders. For those of us who suffered the years of 100 loss teams and the race to the bottom, this team was even worse, chalking up a 20-134 season, the worst ever in major league baseball.

There are high points. The amazing pitching of Bob Feller. The Lou Boudreau-led teams including the 1948 World Series champions, the last time the franchise won a World Series. The Indians were the American League pathbreakers in knocking down racial barriers with Larry Doby on the playing field, and Frank Robinson as the first black manager in baseball. In 2017, they had the longest winning streak at 22 games since the New York Giants won 26 in 1916, propelling the Indians to a 100+ win season.

There are the heartbreaks. The meteoric career of Addie Joss that ended when he died of tubercular meningitis in 1911. The rise and fall of Herb Score, hit in the eye with a line drive never to be the same (although he became a consummate announcer of Indians games). The trade of popular Rocky Colavito and the “curse of Colavito” that followed. Thirty years of mediocre teams from the Sixties to through the Eighties. “Sudden Sam” McDowell who never realized his potential due to alcoholism, Tony Horton who broke down under the pressure to excel and had to leave baseball, and one-season wonder Joe Charbonneau. Saddest perhaps were the off-season deaths of Indians Steve Olin and Tim Crews from a freak boating accident in 1993.

And then there is the weird. The Cleveland Crybabies of 1940. Ten-cent beer night in 1974, and the riot that followed. Albert Belle’s corked bat and the shenanigans that surrounded it. The invasion of the midges against the Yankees. The demise of Chief Wahoo, the politically incorrect logo beloved by generations of Indians fans.

All this and more is captured by Gitlin in words and photographs. It brought back memories of seeing many of the players, living through the seasons of hope and disappointment, and yet never in a heavy-hearted fashion. It was a great read on the treadmill, would make a great gift to the Indians fan in your life, or to anyone who loves America’s pastime. And if your team is suffering through a mediocre season, this book will help you say with generations of Indians fans, “there’s always next year.”

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review e-galley of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

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A comprehensive and fun look at the history of the Cleveland Indians from their pre-MLB origins to the present-day ball club.

Gitlin deftly weaves the principal successes and failures of the Indians together with memorable anecdotal nuggets from the ball club’s history in a manner that speaks to both casual fans and baseball history nuts.

As a lifelong Indians fan, this was an emotional read for me, particularly the parts about the late 1990s Indians, whose highs and lows were the defining moments of my childhood and in some ways, shaped who I am as a person.

As a sports media professional, the book spoke to me in a different way, highlighting the Indians’ history as it relates locally to Cleveland sports as well as the club’s role in the bigger picture of baseball history.

Overall, an outstanding compendium of baseball history not just for Indians devotees, but for baseball enthusiasts everywhere.

I am not normally a fan of sports but being as I was born and raised in Ohio, I just had to give this book a chance. And I am very grateful I did. This book has a lot of positive thoughts and insights to the Indians and their seasons but also has some negatives as well. A perfect balance of both, in my honest opinion. I would highly recommend this not just to Indians fans but any baseball fanatic.

As one of the charter teams of the American League, the Cleveland Indians have a long list of exciting seasons, interesting stories and wacky moments. This book by veteran writer Martin Gitlin relieves some of them in a fun, page turning book.

Most baseball fans know that currently the Indians have the longest title drought in major league baseball, having gone 70 years since their last championship in 1948. That of course leads to many heartbreaks and frustrations for the team and its fans. I mention this because while the book certainly tries to remain upbeat, it was puzzling to me to see so many negative or embarrassing stories about the team. Even when a season or player was successful, some part of the chapter was less than positive.

One example of this was the chapter describing the 1920 season, one in which Cleveland won a thrilling pennant race over the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees and then they easily defeated the Brooklyn Robins (later the Dodgers) five games to two in the World Series. However, what produced the most talk in that chapter was the death of Ray Chapman after being beaned by a Carl Mays pitch. This story, like many others in the book, was described well in this book and if a reader wants to learn more, there are other books that go into greater detail about this and some of the other stories.

It should also be noted that the many seasons in which the team did well in the regular season and postseason only to fall short in the end are covered and a reader will feel either frustrated or sad, depending on the ending. Many memorable eliminations from postseason are shared in the book – the demoralizing World Series defeats in 1995, 1997 and 2016 are all there, but told in a mostly positive tone as the wins are fondly remembered as well as the soul-crushing losses.

This isn’t to say that all is doom and gloom in the book. Indeed, even some of the less-than-positive stories are told in either humor or good cheer. One example of this is the story of “Super Joe” Charboneau, a one-season wonder who was the Rookie of the Year for the Indians in 1980 and never was a productive player in the major leagues again. By the end of the chapter, the reader should be happy to learn that he has done well for himself after his baseball career flamed out. These types of stories and that type of writing make the book a very fast read.

Indians fans will certainly want to add this book to their shelves as will any other fan who wants to relive highs and lows of the team. It does include the absolute low, which came before the team was named the Indians. The first team described in the book is the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, who still hold the record for the worst winning percentage in baseball history. That does set a tone that at least doesn’t stay quite so sad.

I wish to thank Lyons Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.