20 facts about the Cleveland Indians 20-game win streak

Twenty facts and nuggets covering the Cleveland Indians 20-game win streak, which tied the 2002 Oakland A’s for the AL’s consecutive wins streak.

1. The 20th straight win ties the Oakland A’s mark, which was set in 2002 for the longest winning streak in the AL.

2. In comparing those streaks, Tribe hurlers compiled a : 1.60 ERA en route to 20 straight.

3. The Moneyball movie conveniently forget about Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito, and for as great as that trio of starters were,  the A’s staff (starters and relievers) posted a 2.65 ERA during their streak, a full run (and some change) more than the Tribe.

4. The Tribe’s rotation during the 20-game streak is 18-0 with a 1.71 ERA.

5. Francisco Lindor is batting .364 with nine homers and 19 RBIs during the streak.

6. Think that’s impressive. Jose Ramirez wants you to hold his beer. In the 16 games he’s played during the streak, JRAM is slashing  .391/.420/.922 with eight homers. He’s a bonafide MVP candidate who leads in junior circuit in extra-base hits.

7. The Indians are now 33 games over .500, which is the most they’ve been over since 1999.

8. The Indians rank 19th in baseball with a $138 million payroll, according to Sportrac. The league average is $151.4 million. Despite not even being at the league mean, this is the most the Indians have spent in franchise history, according to Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto.

9. The A’s opened the 2002 season three spots from having the lowest payroll in baseball. Billy Beane put his Opening day roster together for just $39 million. Only four teams spent over $100 million that season (Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers, Diamondbacks).

10. The Tribe’s scored first in 19 of the 20 wins.

11. One more win gets the Indians the record for most win in the American League.

12. The 1916 Giants won 26 games without losing, but that streak comes with a tie.

13. The Indians are undefeated in September. Yes, the Browns are jealous. The 1991 Twins are the only other team to start out a month without blemish. Those Twinkies went 15-0 in June of 1991 en route to winning the World Series.

14. Courtesy of Mike Polk Jr.

And as Adam The Bull noted, the Indians actually need to win nine more to go undefeated ruing the latest moon cycle.

15. History will earn Corey Kluber his second Cy Young Award. He had that whole streak of eight-game strikeouts during the year, and during this win streak, he’s been brilliant, posing a 1.40 ERA in 32 innings pitched.

16. The Tribe’s flat out clobbering suckers with a run differential of +102. The A’s run differential was +76.

17. The Indians Twitter account has run out of characters.

18. The Tribe boasts a .302 average during the streak.

19. The staring rotation has a 1.71 ERA.

Next: Tony Grossi questions Jason La Canfora's report

20. All-Stars Andrew Miller and Michael Brantley are hurt. Former All-Star Jason Kipnis has also been out. They’re three core players, yet the Indians have found a way.