The Indians’ “All-Time” Spring Training Hall of Fame: Inaugural Class

With most of the Tribe’s roster pretty well set for 2015, some fans will look at this month’s slate of Spring Training games as a mere prelude to the “ones that count,” or as an outdated, needlessly long series of stretching exercises for guys who already train year-round anyway. For these fans, March marches on interminably. But for some of us, these pup days of spring are something far more. For some of us, March is “our moment.” March… is October.

Across the 10 seasons since MLB finally hired an intern to track Spring Training statistics in a quasi-official capacity, a select group of preseason heroes have grabbed this month by the horns, etching their names permanently into Cleveland Indians lore (presumably using the horns as their etching utensils). These were the men who cast the longest shadows in Winterhaven and Goodyear—the journeymen, has-beens, and never-to-be’s who wore their 70-and-up jersey numbers with pride. They swung the lumber or toed the rubber with a swagger only possible when every chip is off the table. For a fleeting moment around St. Paddy’s Day, they each sold us on a dream—the kind of dream that seems cool while you’re in it, but then you wake up and realize it didn’t make any sense. These men make up your inaugural class of…

The Cleveland Indians (Spring Training) Hall of Fame

Jason Dubois (OF) – 2006

This one is admittedly a bit of a no-brainer, but yes indeed, Jason Bradford Dubois is a first ballot HOFer. The 6-5 slugger out of Virgina Commonwealth cemented his status as a Spring Training legend long ago—not just in Cleveland, but in memorable pit stops with the Orioles, Nationals, and Cubs, as well. He was a career .356 hitter in preseason ball for his career, spanning a pretty solid sample size of 118 at-bats. But nothing matched that magical spring of ’06 in Winterhaven, when JD went 20-for-48 (a .417 clip) with a couple dingers and an OPS of 1.171. He took that momentum into the regular season, too, albeit for Buffalo, albeit without getting a September call-up, albeit without ever playing in the Bigs again for some cruel joke of a reason.

Adam Miller (P) – 2007

Here we find the very definition of a guy reaching and–dare we say–eclipsing his potential. While the Indians took a real “woe is me” attitude about #1 prospect Adam Miller never throwing a single pitch for them in a regular season game, the kid was straight up MONEY in March. Sure, maybe he could have been useful to the club later in that fall of 2007 when their pitching let them down in the ALCS. But as the Spring Training statistics clearly show in the permanent record, 23 year-old Miller got the job done down in Winterhaven: 14 IP, 0 ER allowed, 8 K, 0.79 WHIP. Welcome to the Hall, Adam. Or as Rick Manning might have called you one day, “Millery.”

Mike Rouse (2B) – 2007

If you stand in the Indians’ abandoned spring facility in Winterhaven, Florida, locals say you can still hear the echoes of Hurricane Rouse—the one-man wrecking crew who changed the way we thought about banjo hitting utility guys. In just 20 games in March of ’07, Mike Rouse hit .352, clubbed 2 dingers, knocked in 11, and stole a base. Some cynical types might point out that Rouse hit .119 in 41 games with the Indians when the season transitioned into “regular” mode, or that his OPS dipped a bit from 1.018 to .334. But they should shut their stupid mouths cuz there’s a Rouse in the house, and the house is a Hall of Fame!

Fausto Carmona (SP) – 2010

Before his mysterious disappearance in 2012 (he has never been found), Fausto Carmona was arguably the greatest Spring Training performer in Tribe history. The man we all knew as “Mr. March” was 19-5 with a 2.73 ERA across six springs in Winterhaven and Goodyear. His standout year among standout years was 2010, when the lanky, almost obnoxiously honest Dominican went 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA and 0.65 WHIP—holding opponents to a .169 AVG in 26 innings. We sure hope somebody finds the young man so that he may one day take the mound in March once more.

Travis Buck (OF) – 2011

OK, so, I don’t really remember much about the spring of ’11. I was super busy at the time and baseball was just not high on the priority list. I had things to do.

But apparently Travis Buck ripped off 4 HR, 12 RBI, .393 AVG, and a 1.165 OPS, which is bonkers, because he is generally not considered very good, correct?

Ryan Raburn (OF) – 2013/14

This year, people are saying Ryan Raburn is the odd man out in the Tribe outfield. They say the Brandon Moss trade–combined with Raburn’s penchant for spiking baseballs in lieu of throwing them—could cut down his playing time even more than last season. To this, the Indians Spring Training Hall of Fame says, Bollocks!

Ryan Raburn, you are an undeniable all-time great. In 381 career spring at-bats, you’re a .299 hitter with 23 HR, 75 RBI, and a .939 OPS. For real Tribe fans, YOU were the true free agent splash of 2013. Swisher who? Bourn who? It was all about you, Burny, and you delivered: .341 AVG, 5 HR, 12 RBI, and the highest spring OPS in recorded Tribe history—1.258. Last March, more of the same: .333, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 1.071. You’re the baseball playing equivalent of the year’s first robin on the wing, the very exhibition of an exhibition gamer—an exhibitionist, one might say. Congratulations, and welcome to the Hall.