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Cleveland Indians: Five Myths Debunked in 2016

By Matthew Johns

Oct 19, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Cleveland Indians first baseman Carlos Santana (41) celebrates after making the final catch to beat the Toronto Blue Jays in game five of the 2016 ALCS playoff baseball series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 19, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Cleveland Indians first baseman Carlos Santana (41) celebrates after making the final catch to beat the Toronto Blue Jays in game five of the 2016 ALCS playoff baseball series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Myth #3: They Cannot Overcome the Injuries

Sep 17, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco (59) has his hand looked at by trainer James Quinlan after being hit by a batted ball during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. Carrasco left the game. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco (59) has his hand looked at by trainer James Quinlan after being hit by a batted ball during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. Carrasco left the game. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

It’s impossible to measure the amount of heart that this Cleveland team has.

Starting the season with injuries to two key players – Chisenhall and Michael Brantley – the Indians were immediately questioned on if they could even survive until those two made it back.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Brantley, regarded as the team’s best player, would only play in 11 games in 2016.

The injuries continued to pile up. Over the course of the season, the Tribe would also see DL stints from Roberto Perez, Joe Colon, Joba Chamberlin, Zach McAllister, Yan Gomes, Jeff Manship, Danny Salazar, and Carlos Carrasco.

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Along with this, Napoli, Corey Kluber, Josh Tomlin, and most recently Trevor Bauer have also missed time on a day-to-day basis.

With that many injuries to key players, it is fair to predict that Cleveland would not be able to overcome the odds.

However, with the emergence of Ramirez, Naquin, Mike Clevinger, and Ryan Merritt, the Indians have been able to plug holes in a seemingly sinking ship and run through the American League playoffs to the pennant.

Nobody could have guessed that the four aforementioned names would become major contributors at some point during the season. It goes to show that a team can never have too much depth.

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