Legend:
1995 was the season after the 1994 strike that canceled the World Series. Despite the Fall Classic being canceled a year earlier, the 1995 Series was one to remember. It did not only feature one of the greatest pitching rotations in baseball history, but also one of the legendary offense teams. The combination of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz had no easy task as they faced the deep hitting lineup of the 100-win Cleveland Indians. The 1995 Tribe was arguably one of the most powerful offensive teams America’s past time ever saw. The stars to highlight in the lineup were Jim Thome (slugged .558), Albert Belle (.690), Manny Ramirez (.558), Eddie Murray (at 39 years old slugged .516), and Kenny Lofton (stole 54 bases, while hitting .310). Overall the team hit 207 homers (led the entire major leagues) with a batting average of .291 (a whole 10 points above the second best team). There were two possible reasons behind their success for the hitting and team ERA being under 4. The first was that the young hitting lineup had a great veteran leader on the bench as a backup, in Hall of Fame slugger, Dave Winfield, who had some worthy things to say to the youngsters. Secondly, the pitching staff had a gold glover in center field as well as shortstop, in Omar Vizquel and Kenny Lofton. But, in the end, of course pitching won, as the Tribe was defeated in 6 games.
