Cleveland Indians All-Decade Team Studs and Duds: Outfield and DH

In our second part of our Cleveland Indians All-Decade Team, we take a look at the Studs and Duds at each outfield position as well as the designated hitter.

Today we take a look at our second part of our All-Decade Team for the Cleveland Indians, looking at the studs and duds in the outfield as well as the designated hitter.

Unlike on the infield, this one has some tougher calls though still a few obviously choices in the “stud” category.

Left Field

The stud of the decade in left field goes to fan-favorite Michael Brantley, and I don’t think many would be surprised by this. However, this one wasn’t a complete slam dunk like it may seem since he did start out playing a lot of center field before moving to the corner.

That said, he was the only outfielder to have an MVP caliber season for the Tribe and that season alone puts him atop the left field standings. Brantley hit .294/.351/.432 for the Tribe with a 114 wRC+. Not superstar numbers but a 20.2 fWAR overall (with most of that coming in left field) puts him near the top of best players to play for the Tribe this decade, at any position.

The number of duds the Indians had in the outfield this decade could fill a phone book. The Tribe never seemed to be able to find a full outfield and the turnover was constant. Players like Aaron Cunningham, Greg Allen, and JB Shuck have had “dud” like stints with the Tribe this past decade. But the one that stood out to me was Johnny Damon. He seemed like a decent low cost add for the Indians back in 2012 but after waiting until the season started to sign he was anything but.

Damon hit a putrid .222/.281/.329 in 64 games while posting a -0.3 fWAR. He had a mere 12 extra-base hits, four home runs, and four stolen bases in over 200 plate appearances. This a year after hitting 16 home runs and stealing 19 bases for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Indians had hoped to contend in 2012 but things didn’t turn out that way and Damon’s failure was a big reason for it. The good news was the Tribe moved on from Manny Acta and hired some guy named Terry Francona and the franchise has turned things around with a winning season every year since.

Stud: Michael Brantley
Dud: Johnny Damon