Cleveland Indians: Who is the “Face of the Indians”?

The age old question for every team is: Who is the face of the franchise? The Cleveland Indians have several worthy candidates over their history, but who is the All-Time Face of the Indians?

Getting a face of the franchise is very important to teams. Having a big, marketable star player brings in ticket sales, sponsors, jersey sales, and hopefully, titles. Every team in baseball either has one currently or is looking for their next one.

For example, when you think of the Face of the New York Yankees, do you think of Aaron Judge, Derek Jeter, Lou Gehrig, or Babe Ruth? It depends on if you’re looking at the current roster, or the All-Time roster.

But when you think of the Face of the Cleveland Indians, what is the first person you think of? Here are a few of the most likely options.

Francisco Lindor

He’s basically the best player on the Indians right now. Lindor can do it all. He can hit for average, hit for power, he can run, and play Gold Glove defense. He’s a true five tool athlete for the Tribe. Lindor’s infectious smile also plays a part in his ability to be the face of the franchise.

Lindor has accomplished a lot in his young career. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2015 behind Carlos Correa of the Astros. He has two All-Star appearances, two Top-10 MVP finishes, a Gold Glove, and a Silver Slugger award.

At only 24 years old, Lindor has a very bright future ahead as the face of the franchise. But he’s not the only player on this roster that could claim that.

Corey Kluber

Lindor may be the best position player on the Cleveland Indians, but the best pitcher has to be Corey Kluber. He has been the unquestioned leader of this starting rotation for the past several years.

Kluber already has two Cy Young awards to his name. He also has a Top-10 MVP finish and two All star game appearances. Kluber has thrown at least 200 innings each of the past four seasons.

He’s been around longer than Lindor has so he may be the more established, veteran face of the team than the much younger shortstop. With Kluber entering his age-32 season, he is under contract for at least two, and potentially the next four years, all at a very reasonable price, considering his productivity.

Jim Thome

The Cleveland Indians newest inductee to the Hall of Fame can make a case for being the Face of the Indians. Thome spent the first part of his illustrious career with the Tribe and it’s where he made his mark upon baseball. It’s where he hit 337 of his 612 career home runs.

Cleveland is where Thome made three of his five All-Star appearances, three of his four Top-10 MVP finishes, and his only Silver Slugger award. The start of his Hall of Fame career came in Cleveland.

When people think of Jim Thome, they think of him as a Cleveland Indian. But when people think of the Cleveland Indians, do they think of Thome? Or does someone else come to mind?

Omar Vizquel

Vizquel was eligible for the Hall of Fame this year as well, but he didn’t receive enough votes to get elected. Rest assured, he should make it there soon enough. But was he a better face of the Indians than Jim Thome?

Vizquel was a member of the Tribe at the same time as Thome, and both spent their prime years in Cleveland. Vizquel didn’t hit 50 homers a season, but he hit for a high average and won nine straight Gold Gloves, eight of them with the Indians.

Who was the face of the team in the 1990s? Was it Thome or was it Vizquel?

Bob Feller

Feller played for the Indians for 20 years from 1936-1956. The Hall of Famer still holds several club records and his number #19 is retired. Few fans may remember Feller’s time with the Cleveland Indians, but he was one of the best to ever play.

Feller was a part of the Indians last World Series winning team. He made the All-Star team eight times and finished in the Top-10 in MVP voting six times. It’s hard to argue his importance to those Indians teams back in the day.

So who is the Face of the Cleveland Indians? Is it Francisco Lindor or Corey Kluber? Or is it one of the all-time greats in Thome, Vizquel, and Feller?

Next: Does Mike Clevinger have the best hair in baseball?

The case can be made for all of these candidates. It may be easy to choose either Lindor or Kluber because they’re currently on the team, but fans can’t overlook the greatness of past players.