The Plain Dealer’s Terry Pluto had a conversation with Cleveland Indians CEO Paul Dolan recently, the summary of which was outlined in today’s newspaper. In it, I found this the most interesting was the talk of “pain” from the 68-94 season last year, something fans know all too well.
“Dolan said that in the 14 years that his family has owned the franchise, the 68-94 record in 2012 was “the worst” season that he’s endured.
“We didn’t want to go through something like that again,” he said. “In some ways, it was a shock we needed.”
The Tribe had an 80-82 record in 2011. It was 50-49 on July 26, 2012, only 3.5 games behind Detroit in the Central Division — and then finished 18-45.
“The cataclysmic collapse made it clear that we were not going in the right direction,” said Dolan.
The Indians drew only 1,603,596 fans — the second-lowest total since the team moved to Progressive Field. Dolan didn’t give the number, but I heard the season ticket base was barely above 5,000 not long after the season. Now, it’s approaching 7,000.”
The Indians spent over $100 million in offseason acquisitions Nick Swisher, Mark Reynolds, Brett Myers, and Michael Bourn. They also acquired Trevor Bauer, Drew Stubbs, and Mike Aviles via trades.
Related: The 2013 Tribe and jWAR
