1964 Cleveland Indians season

1964 Cleveland Indians
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Cleveland Municipal Stadium (since 1932)
Cleveland, Ohio (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Gabe Paul
General manager(s)	Gabe Paul
Manager(s)	George Strickland (acting manager through July 2); Birdie Tebbetts
Local television	WJW-TV
Local radio	WERE (1300)
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The 1964 Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished in a tie for sixth place in the American League with the Minnesota Twins, while winning 79 and losing 83, 20 games behind the AL champion New York Yankees.

Offseason

• Prior to 1964 season: Dave Nelson was signed as an amateur free agent by the Indians.^[1]

Regular season

In 1964, Vernon Stouffer became an investor in the Cleveland Indians due to the threat of the franchise relocating.^[2]

Manager Birdie Tebbetts suffered a heart attack during the offseason. George Strickland served as the Indians' acting manager during his convalescence. Tebbetts returned to the team on July 3.

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
New York Yankees	99	63	.611	--
Chicago White Sox	98	64	.605	1
Baltimore Orioles	97	65	.599	2
Detroit Tigers	85	77	.525	14
Los Angeles Angels	82	80	.506	17
Cleveland Indians	79	83	.488	20
Minnesota Twins	79	83	.488	20
Boston Red Sox	72	90	.444	27
Washington Senators	62	100	.383	37
Kansas City Athletics	57	105	.352	42

Record vs. opponents

1964 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	LAA	MIN	NYY	WSH
Baltimore	—	11–7	10–8	8–10	11–7	13–5–1	11–7	10–8	10–8	13–5
Boston	7–11	—	4–14	9–9	5–13	12–6	9–9	5–13	9–9	12–6
Chicago	8–10	14–4	—	12–6	11–7	16–2	10–8	9–9	6–12	12–6
Cleveland	10–8	9–9	6–12	—	11–7	10–8	9–9	10–8–1	3–15–1	11–7
Detroit	7–11	13–5	7–11	7–11	—	11–7	10–8	11–7	8–10–1	11–7
Kansas City	5–13–1	6–12	2–16	8–10	7–11	—	6–12	9–9	6–12	8–10
Los Angeles	7–11	9–9	8–10	9–9	8–10	12–6	—	12–6	7–11	10–8
Minnesota	8–10	13–5	9–9	8–10–1	7–11	9–9	6–12	—	8–10	11–7
New York	8–10	9–9	12–6	15–3–1	10–8–1	12–6	11–7	10–8	—	12–6
Washington	5–13	6–12	6–12	7–11	7–11	10–8	8–10	7–11	6–12	—

Notable transactions

• September 5, 1964: Pedro Ramos was traded by the Indians to the New York Yankees for players to be named later and $75,000. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Ralph Terry to the Indians on October 21 and Bud Daley to the Indians on November 27.^[3]

Roster

1964 Cleveland Indians
Roster
Pitchers 36 Ted Abernathy 39 Gary Bell 30 Dick Donovan 33 Mudcat Grant 37 Tommy John 45 Tom Kelley 31 Jack Kralick 48 Sam McDowell 44 Don McMahon 35 Pedro Ramos 43 Gordon Seyfried 42 Sonny Siebert 43 Lee Stange 33 Luis Tiant 48 Jerry Walker		Catchers  6 Joe Azcue  7 Johnny Romano  8 Duke Sims Infielders 10 Max Alvis 16 Larry Brown 21 Bob Chance 12 Woodie Held 18 Dick Howser 14 Jerry Kindall 18 Tony Martínez 11 Billy Moran 15 Fred Whitfield		Outfielders 28 Tommie Agee  9 George Banks 25 Vic Davalillo 24 Tito Francona 22 Al Luplow 20 Wally Post 26,17 Chico Salmon 28 Al Smith 27 Leon Wagner Other batters 29,20 Paul Dicken 13 Vern Fuller		Manager  3 George Strickland (acting)  1 Birdie Tebbetts Coaches  5 Solly Hemus  3 George Strickland  4 Elmer Valo  2 Early Wynn

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Romano, JohnnyJohnny Romano	106	352	85	.241	19	47
1B	Chance, BobBob Chance	120	390	109	.279	14	75
2B	Brown, LarryLarry Brown	115	335	77	.230	12	40
3B	Alvis, MaxMax Alvis	107	381	96	.252	18	53
SS	Howser, DickDick Howser	162	637	163	.256	3	52
LF	Wagner, LeonLeon Wagner	163	641	162	.253	31	100
CF	Davalillo, VicVic Davalillo	150	577	156	.270	6	51
RF	Francona, TitoTito Francona	111	270	67	.248	8	24

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Smith, AlAl Smith	61	136	22	.162	4	9
Martínez, TonyTony Martínez	9	14	3	.214	0	2

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Donovan, DickDick Donovan	30	158.1	7	9	4.55	83

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Ramos, PedroPedro Ramos	36	133	7	10	5.14	98

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Bell, GaryGary Bell	56	8	6	4	4.33	89
Abernathy, TedTed Abernathy	53	2	6	11	4.33	57

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Portland Beavers	Pacific Coast League	Johnny Lipon
AA	Charleston Indians	Eastern League	Bob Nieman
A	Burlington Indians	Carolina League	Bill Herring
A	Dubuque Packers	Midwest League	Walt Novick

^[4]

Awards

• Vic Davalillo, Gold Glove Award^[5]

Notes

1. Dave Nelson page at Baseball Reference
2. Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball, p.4, Bill Madden, Harper Collins Publishing, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-06-169031-0
3. Pedro Ramos page at Baseball Reference
4. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 2007
5. Vic Davalillo at Baseball Reference

References

• 1964 Cleveland Indians season at Baseball Reference