Cleveland Indians: Top 3 off-the-field moments of 2020

Shane Bieber wins Cy Young Award

Perhaps the best moment of the 2020 season for the Cleveland Indians was a culmination of moments that led to the off-the-field moment. Shane Bieber was able to win the American League Cy Young Award after a historical season.

Bieber was the catalyst on an incredible 2020 starting pitching staff and put up unheard of numbers. The most impressive of the bunch was his strikeouts per nine innings, averaging 14.2 to set a new MLB record for the stat.

On top of breaking an MLB record, Bieber led all of baseball in wins with eight, ERA at 1.63, strikeouts with 122, ERA+ at 281, and FIP at 2.07. As for the American League he led in even more categories, being win-loss percentage at .889 and hits per nine innings averaging 5.4.

At just 25-years old, Bieber is expected to be the heart of the Cleveland Indians moving forward, especially if Francisco Lindor is in fact traded. The pitching staff is expected to be one of the youngest in baseball and Bieber will play a large role in the unit coming along as the season progresses.

In a year where the Indians’ success fluctuated, Bieber was a consistent and reliable piece of the team that will be pivotal moving into the 2021 season and beyond for the club.