Cleveland Indians: Five Myths Debunked in 2016
Myth #5: The Indians Do Not Have the Experience to Make a Playoff Run
Everybody knows that there is no substitute for experience, especially in the playoffs. Cleveland, which is making its first playoff appearance since 2013 – where they were eliminated in the wild-card game – was certainly lacking experience.
In the first round, the Indians handily swept the Boston Red Sox 3-0 to advance to the ALCS. While the Red Sox were young themselves, many of their players had previous experiences, such as David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, David Price, and Hanley Ramirez.
Onto the ALCS, the Tribe faced the Toronto Blue Jays, who were in the same spot just last season when they fell to the Royals. Cleveland took the first three games, and would eventually win the series 4-1.
Despite a roster that largely lacked postseason experience, the Indians navigated the territory expertly, winning seven out of the eight games they played, and punching their ticket to the World Series for the first time in nearly two decades.
So on come the Chicago Cubs, who made it to the NLCS a season ago, but are also in uncharted territory in the World Series. The team’s last trip to the Fall Classic came in 1945, before many of its players’ parents had even been born.
Next: Indians, Cubs Look to End Championship Droughts
Cleveland is a big underdog in the World Series, with many baseball pundits and columnists giving them a little chance of winning a game, let alone the championship.
As we’ve shown, the Indians have defied expectations all season long, doing what many of those same naysayers said would be impossible. If the Tribe can continue busting the myths surrounding them for just four more wins, they’ll have the ultimate validation.