Another Indians favorite. Andy Allanson! pic.twitter.com/8b4HkDqfCO
— Nick Dudukovich (@DukeofNick) November 4, 2017
Andy Allanson, C
Andy Allanson‘s mustache said “I play for the worst team in baseball, so at least I’m going to try and look good doing it.”
Allanson had his two most productive seasons of his eight-league big-league career with the Tribe.
While the Indians were mostly known for bad baseball in the 1980s, Allanson actually caught the 1986 staff, which went 84-78.
Allanson played 101 games that season and caught a staff that included two knuckleballers and produced three double-digit winners Tom Candiotti (16-12), Phil Neikro (11-11) and Ken Schrom (14-7).
That the Tribe finished six games over .500 that season was a big reason Sports Illustrated picked Cleveland as an upcoming and coming team to win the 1987 AL pennant. Of course, that club went on to lose 100 games.
Allanson’s best season came in 1988, when the backstop played in 133 games and batted .263. He had career highs in home runs (five) and RBIs (50) that season.
After his career with the Indians, Allanson had stints with the Tigers, Brewers, Giants and Angels. He retired after the 1995 campaign.
Allanson batted .240 and collected 357 hits during his MLB career.