# 1996 Cleveland Indians season

The 1996 Cleveland Indians season was the 96th season for the franchise and the third season at Jacobs Field. For the second consecutive season, the Indians had the best record in Major League Baseball. This was the first time in franchise history that the Indians had accomplished that feat. Between May 30 and August 19, the Indians hit at least one double in each of 75 games, the longest such streak in MLB since 1901.

## Offseason

* November 9, 1995: Rubén Amaro Jr. was released by the Cleveland Indians.
* December 6, 1995: Casey Candaele was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
* December 7, 1995: Julio Franco was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
* December 14, 1995: Jack McDowell signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
* January 4, 1996: Mario Díaz was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
* March 31, 1996: Mark Clark was traded by the Cleveland Indians to the New York Mets for Reid Cornelius and Ryan Thompson.

## Regular season

Once again, the Indians had a formidable offensive lineup. They led the Majors in hits (1,665), batting average (.293), on-base percentage (.369). They also struck out an MLB-low 844 times.

### Season standings

vteAL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Cleveland Indians | 99 | 62 | .615 | — | 51‍–‍29 | 48‍–‍33 |
| Chicago White Sox | 85 | 77 | .525 | 14½ | 44‍–‍37 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 80 | 82 | .494 | 19½ | 38‍–‍43 | 42‍–‍39 |
| Minnesota Twins | 78 | 84 | .481 | 21½ | 39‍–‍43 | 39‍–‍41 |
| Kansas City Royals | 75 | 86 | .466 | 24 | 37‍–‍43 | 38‍–‍43 |

### Record vs. opponents

1996 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 7–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 11–2 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 3–10 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 3–10–1 | 8–5 |
| Boston | 6–7 | — | 8–4 | 6–6 | 1–11 | 12–1 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 |
| California | 6–6 | 4–8 | — | 6–6 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 8–4 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 5–8 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 7–5 |
| Cleveland | 7–5 | 11–1 | 9–4 | 8–5 | — | 12–0 | 7–6 | 7–6 | 10–3 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 7–5 |
| Detroit | 2–11 | 1–12 | 6–6 | 3–10 | 0–12 | — | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 6–7 |
| Kansas City | 3–9 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | — | 4–9 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
| Milwaukee | 3–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 9–4 | — | 9–4 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 6–7 | 5–7 |
| Minnesota | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–9 | — | 5–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–5 |
| New York | 10–3 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 9–3 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
| Oakland | 4–9 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 3–9 | — | 8–5 | 7–6 | 4–8 |
| Seattle | 5–7 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 5–8 | — | 10–3 | 5–7 |
| Texas | 10–3–1 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 3–10 | — | 10–2 |
| Toronto | 5–8 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 2–10 | — |

### Game log

1996 Game Log: 99–62 (Home: 51–29; Away: 48–33) :
April: 16–8 (Home: 8–3; Away: 8–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 2Yankees1–7ConeMartinez (0–1)—42,2890–1
2April 3Yankees1–5PettitteMcDowell (0–1)Nelson41,8430–2
3April 5Blue Jays1–7GuzmanHershiser (0–1)—41,7820–3
4April 6Blue Jays5–3Nagy (1–0)HansonMesa (1)41,8521–3
5April 7Blue Jays8–3Martinez (1–1)Quantrill—41,6892–3
6April 10@ Orioles2–3 (10)OroscoTavarez (0–1)—45,0972–4
7April 11@ Orioles4–14EricksonHershiser (0–2)Rhodes43,1892–5
8April 12@ Red Sox3–1Nagy (2–0)SeleMesa (2)26,7033–5
9April 13@ Red Sox14–2Martinez (2–1)Moyer—31,8274–5
10April 14@ Red Sox7–6 (11)Tavarez (1–1)StantonMesa (3)31,7965–5
11April 15@ Red Sox8–0McDowell (1–1)Wakefield—32,8616–5
12April 16@ Twins7–2Hershiser (1–2)Radke—13,1037–5
13April 17@ Twins8–9HansellShuey (0–1)Stevens11,2767–6
14April 19Red Sox9–4Martinez (3–1)Gordon—40,5218–6
15April 20Red Sox2–1McDowell (2–1)WakefieldMesa (4)40,4989–6
16April 21Red Sox11–7Ogea (1–0)Pennington—42,25610–6
17April 22Orioles6–3Nagy (3–0)EricksonMesa (5)42,23611–6
18April 23Orioles9–8Ogea (2–0)MussinaMesa (6)40,77012–6
19April 24@ Yankees8–10KamienieckiMartinez (3–2)—20,18712–7
20April 25@ Yankees4–3Poole (1–0)PettitteMesa (7)18,58013–7
21April 26@ Blue Jays6–3Hershiser (2–2)HansonMesa (8)30,22714–7
22April 27@ Blue Jays6–11CastilloNagy (3–1)—40,14014–8
23April 28@ Blue Jays17–3Lopez (1–0)Viola—31,14315–8
24April 30White Sox5–3Martinez (4–2)TapaniMesa (9)40,26816–8 :
May: 19–9 (Home: 8–2; Away: 11–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
25May 1White Sox9–5McDowell (3–1)McCaskillPlunk (1)40,44717–8
26May 2@ Mariners6–4Hershiser (3–2)WolcottMesa (10)21,71118–8
27May 3@ Mariners5–2Nagy (4–1)HitchcockMesa (11)38,08619–8
28May 4@ Mariners1–5MenhartLopez (1–1)—57,13319–9
29May 5@ Mariners2–0Martinez (5–2)BosioMesa (12)56,88320–9
30May 6@ Athletics3–5TaylorAssenmacher (0–1)Mohler47,31320–10
31May 7@ Athletics4–8JohnsHershiser (3–3)—10,12620–11
32May 8@ Athletics7–3Nagy (5–1)Reyes—9,28821–11
33May 10@ Angels8–13BoskieLopez (1–2)—23,52221–12
34May 11@ Angels6–5McDowell (4–1)SandersonMesa (13)32,10222–12
35May 12@ Angels4–1Poole (2–0)PercivalMesa (14)22,76823–12
36May 14Tigers5–1Nagy (6–1)Gohr—40,76524–12
37May 15Tigers5–2Martinez (6–2)LimaMesa (15)42,25925–12
38May 16Tigers8–3McDowell (5–1)Williams—42,33026–12
39May 17Rangers12–10Embree (1–0)HerediaMesa (16)41,22527–12
40May 18Rangers3–6OliverAnderson (0–1)Henneman40,97327–13
41May 19Rangers8–5Nagy (7–1)WittMesa (17)43,29928–13
42May 21Brewers6–5Tavarez (2–1)Boze—39,97429–13
43May 22Brewers8–10KarlMcDowell (5–2)Fetters41,02729–14
44May 23Brewers5–1Hershiser (4–3)Miranda—42,39530–14
45May 24@ Tigers6–3Plunk (1–0)VeresMesa (18)26,96731–14
46May 25@ Tigers7–6Nagy (8–1)LewisMesa (19)41,52732–14
47May 26@ Tigers5–0Martinez (7–2)Williams—39,05633–14
48May 27@ Rangers2–3PavlikMcDowell (5–3)—46,52133–15
49May 28@ Rangers3–11OliverHershiser (4–4)—35,72733–16
50May 29@ Rangers4–5CookTavarez (2–2)Henneman35,89333–17
51May 30@ Brewers2–0Nagy (9–1)BonesMesa (20)11,54334–17
52May 31@ Brewers10–4Martinez (8–2)McDonald—24,05035–17 :
June: 14–14 (Home: 8–8; Away: 6–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
53June 1@ Brewers1–2GarciaMcDowell (5–4)Fetters22,00435–18
54June 2@ Brewers11–6Poole (3–0)Karl—21,15036–18
55June 4Mariners7–10CarmonaMesa (0–1)Charlton42,17936–19
56June 5Mariners13–5Plunk (2–0)Milacki—42,27437–19
57June 6Mariners2–5WellsMartinez (8–3)Charlton42,23637–20
58June 7Angels4–3McDowell (6–4)BoskieMesa (21)42,26038–20
59June 8Angels5–0Hershiser (5–4)Finley—42,26739–20
60June 9Angels6–8 (13)HancockTavarez (2–3)—42,23739–21
61June 10Athletics5–4Nagy (10–1)JohnsMesa (22)42,16740–21
62June 11Athletics6–5 (13)Ogea (3–0)Reyes—42,24941–21
63June 12Athletics6–9MontgomeryMcDowell (6–5)Mohler40,67341–22
64June 13@ Yankees6–2Hershiser (6–4)RogersShuey (1)30,70742–22
65June 14@ Yankees3–4GoodenOgea (3–1)Wetteland32,58042–23
66June 15@ Yankees10–3Nagy (11–1)Boehringer—42,03243–23
67June 16@ Yankees4–5PettitteMartinez (8–4)Wetteland51,18043–24
68June 18Red Sox9–7Swindell (1–0)SeleMesa (23)42,20944–24
69June 19Red Sox11–4Hershiser (7–4)Gordon—42,27645–24
70June 20Red Sox5–4Shuey (1–1)Stanton—42,30646–24
71June 21Yankees7–8 (10)NelsonMesa (0–2)Wetteland42,17646–25
72June 21Yankees3–9MendozaTavarez (2–4)—42,45446–26
73June 22Yankees9–11BrewerMartinez (8–5)Wetteland42,46146–27
74June 23Yankees5–6GoodenMcDowell (6–6)Wetteland41,76746–28
75June 25@ Red Sox4–0Hershiser (8–4)Gordon—33,57647–28
76June 26@ Red Sox4–6 (15)GarcesEmbree (1–1)—33,72747–29
77June 27@ White Sox10–15FernandezSwindell (1–1)—27,78247–30
78June 28@ White Sox2–4BaldwinTavarez (2–5)Hernandez33,13647–31
79June 29@ White Sox3–2 (10)Shuey (2–1)Karchner—43,60148–31
80June 30@ White Sox4–2Hershiser (9–4)TapaniMesa (24)30,35149–31 :
July: 16–11 (Home: 7–6; Away: 9–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
81July 1Royals2–4HaneyNagy (11–2)—40,81449–32
82July 2Royals3–2Poole (4–0)Belcher—42,28350–32
83July 3Royals6–4Tavarez (3–5)MagnanteShuey (2)42,47051–32
84July 4White Sox5–6 (10)KarchnerMesa (0–3)Hernandez42,35551–33
85July 5White Sox0–7AlvarezHershiser (9–5)—42,53651–34
86July 6White Sox2–3KarchnerShuey (2–2)Hernandez42,45451–35
87July 7White Sox6–1Ogea (4–1)FernandezAssenmacher (1)42,34352–35
88July 11@ Twins11–7McDowell (7–6)Radke—16,43853–35
89July 12@ Twins7–5Mesa (1–3)StevensShuey (3)18,24654–35
90July 13@ Twins19–11Ogea (5–1)Aguilera—31,55255–35
91July 14@ Twins4–5GuardadoPlunk (2–1)—25,31255–36
92July 15@ Royals3–6MagnanteTavarez (3–6)Montgomery22,29455–37
93July 16@ Royals10–4McDowell (8–6)Haney—16,87156–37
94July 17@ Royals2–3BelcherHershiser (9–6)Montgomery19,53256–38
95July 18Twins5–4Graves (1–0)Guardado—40,93457–38
96July 19Twins2–3RodriguezNagy (11–3)Naulty42,37357–39
97July 20Twins6–5 (11)Shuey (3–2)Stevens—43,43358–39
98July 21Twins7–5McDowell (9–6)RadkeShuey (4)42,34159–39
99July 22@ Blue Jays4–2Hershiser (10–6)HansonMesa (25)35,51760–39
100July 23@ Blue Jays1–3HentgenOgea (5–2)Timlin35,19460–40
101July 24@ Blue Jays10–0Martinez (9–5)Janzen—35,21861–40
102July 25@ Orioles10–7Nagy (12–3)Coppinger—47,02562–40
103July 26@ Orioles14–9Assenmacher (1–1)Mussina—46,75163–40
104July 27@ Orioles2–14WellsHershiser (10–7)—47,36063–41
105July 28@ Orioles6–3 (13)Mesa (2–3)Stephenson—46,27364–41
106July 30Blue Jays1–3FlenerMartinez (9–6)Timlin42,35564–42
107July 31Blue Jays4–2Assenmacher (2–1)Timlin—42,30165–42 :
August: 15–13 (Home: 7–7; Away: 8–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
108August 1Blue Jays3–5HansonLopez (1–3)Timlin42,24965–43
109August 2Orioles11–1Hershiser (11–7)Erickson—42,46566–43
110August 3Orioles4–9OroscoOgea (5–3)—42,44866–44
111August 4Orioles14–2Anderson (1–1)Coppinger—42,34967–44
112August 5Orioles10–13WellsAssenmacher (2–2)—40,86367–45
113August 6@ Mariners4–3Lopez (2–3)WellsMesa (26)31,47268–45
114August 7@ Mariners5–4Tavarez (4–6)CharltonMesa (27)30,43169–45
115August 8@ Mariners2–1Ogea (6–3)MulhollandMesa (28)36,82270–45
116August 9@ Athletics10–4McDowell (10–6)Telgheder—20,12271–45
117August 10@ Athletics1–5AdamsNagy (12–4)—30,23871–46
118August 11@ Athletics3–9WasdinLopez (2–4)—21,91471–47
119August 12@ Angels5–4Hershiser (12–7)FinleyMesa (29)19,49972–47
120August 13@ Angels2–4BoskieOgea (6–4)Percival19,56972–48
121August 14@ Angels7–8GohrMcDowell (10–7)Percival23,88772–49
122August 16Tigers3–1 (12)Assenmacher (3–2)Lewis—42,48573–49
123August 17Tigers6–3Hershiser (13–7)ThompsonMesa (30)42,51174–49
124August 18Tigers11–3Ogea (7–4)Williams—42,33775–49
125August 19Rangers3–10PavlikMcDowell (10–8)—42,39375–50
126August 20Rangers10–4Lopez (3–4)Witt—42,37076–50
127August 21Rangers8–10 (10)VosbergTavarez (4–7)—42,34576–51
128August 23Brewers5–6 (11)JonesMesa (2–4)Fetters42,40576–52
129August 24Brewers3–4 (10)WickmanPlunk (2–2)Fetters42,43776–53
130August 25Brewers8–5Shuey (4–2)MirandaMesa (31)42,33577–53
131August 26@ Tigers2–1Nagy (13–4)Lira—22,34978–53
132August 27@ Tigers12–2Lopez (4–4)Thompson—19,60279–53
133August 28@ Tigers9–3Hershiser (14–7)Sager—21,09180–53
134August 30@ Rangers3–5PavlikOgea (7–5)Russell40,38380–54
135August 31@ Rangers3–6OliverMcDowell (10–9)Vosberg46,31980–55 :
September: 19–7 (Home: 13–3; Away: 6–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
136September 1@ Rangers8–2Nagy (14–4)Burkett—46,08481–55
137September 2@ Brewers6–7JonesMesa (2–5)—18,01581–56
138September 3@ Brewers2–8KarlHershiser (14–8)—10,59981–57
139September 4@ Brewers7–0Ogea (8–5)D'Amico—12,66682–57
140September 8Mariners2–1Nagy (15–4)Mulholland—42,30783–57
141September 8Mariners5–6CharltonMesa (2–6)—42,21783–58
142September 9Angels4–3Shuey (5–2)HoltzMesa (32)42,20884–58
143September 10Angels7–5Assenmacher (4–2)Percival—42,18185–58
144September 11Angels2–0McDowell (11–9)FinleyMesa (33)42,26486–58
145September 12Angels11–2Anderson (2–1)Boskie—42,24487–58
146September 14Athletics9–2Nagy (16–4)Wengert——88–58
147September 14Athletics9–8Plunk (3–2)SmallMesa (34)42,23389–58
148September 15Athletics9–10 (10)ReyesMesa (2–7)—42,22689–59
149September 16@ White Sox4–3McDowell (12–9)Alvarez—25,39290–59
150September 17@ White Sox9–4Anderson (3–1)FernandezPlunk (2)18,76391–59
151September 18@ White Sox4–3Lopez (5–4)BaldwinMesa (35)20,28992–59
152September 19Royals9–1Ogea (9–5)Appier—42,29793–59
153September 20Royals4–6BevilNagy (16–5)Bluma42,35893–60
154September 21Royals13–4Hershiser (15–8)Rosado—42,33994–60
155September 22Royals6–5McDowell (13–9)JacomeMesa (36)42,29195–60
156September 23Twins7–6Graves (2–0)ParraMesa (37)42,29996–60
157September 24Twins7–5Ogea (10–5)RodriguezMesa (38)42,27297–60
158September 25Twins6–3Nagy (17–5)Robertson—42,46998–60
159September 27@ Royals6–11RosadoHershiser (15–9)—15,93998–61
160September 28@ Royals5–4Mercker (1–0)ScanlanMesa (39)19,82099–61
161September 29@ Royals1–4BelcherOgea (10–6)Pichardo14,55699–62 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Indians team member :

### Detailed records

American League :
| Opponent | W | L | WP | RS | RA |
| AL East |||||||
| Baltimore Orioles | 7 | 5 | 0.583 | 92 | 86 |
| Boston Red Sox | 11 | 1 | 0.917 | 87 | 42 |
| Detroit Tigers | 12 | 0 | 1.000 | 79 | 28 |
| New York Yankees | 3 | 9 | 0.250 | 61 | 73 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 7 | 5 | 0.583 | 66 | 45 |
| Total | 40 | 20 | 0.667 | 385 | 274 |
| AL Central |||||||
| Chicago White Sox | 8 | 5 | 0.615 | 63 | 58 |
| Cleveland Indians | | | | | |
| Kansas City Royals | 7 | 6 | 0.538 | 70 | 58 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 7 | 6 | 0.538 | 74 | 58 |
| Minnesota Twins | 10 | 3 | 0.769 | 96 | 70 |
| Total | 32 | 20 | 0.615 | 303 | 244 |
| AL West |||||||
| California Angels | 9 | 4 | 0.692 | 71 | 56 |
| Oakland Athletics | 6 | 6 | 0.500 | 72 | 72 |
| Seattle Mariners | 8 | 4 | 0.667 | 54 | 46 |
| Texas Rangers | 4 | 8 | 0.333 | 67 | 77 |
| Total | 27 | 22 | 0.551 | 264 | 251 |
| Season Total | 99 | 62 | 0.615 | 952 | 769 |
| Month | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | RS | RA |
| April | 24 | 16 | 8 | 0.667 | 152 | 118 |
| May | 28 | 19 | 9 | 0.679 | 154 | 126 |
| June | 28 | 14 | 14 | 0.500 | 165 | 149 |
| July | 27 | 16 | 11 | 0.593 | 152 | 128 |
| August | 28 | 15 | 13 | 0.536 | 167 | 135 |
| September | 26 | 19 | 7 | 0.731 | 162 | 113 |
| Total | 161 | 99 | 62 | 0.615 | 952 | 769 |
| | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | RS | RA |
| Home | 80 | 51 | 29 | 0.638 | 488 | 389 |
| Away | 81 | 48 | 33 | 0.593 | 464 | 380 |
| Total | 161 | 99 | 62 | 0.615 | 952 | 769 |

### Notable transactions

* May 14, 1996: Greg Cadaret was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
* June 15, 1996: Greg Swindell signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.

### Roster
## 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 | Sandy Alomar Jr. | 127 | 418 | 110 | .263 | 11 | 50 |
| 1B | Julio Franco | 112 | 432 | 139 | .322 | 14 | 76 |
| 2B | Carlos Baerga | 100 | 424 | 113 | .267 | 10 | 55 |
| SS | Omar Vizquel | 151 | 542 | 161 | .297 | 9 | 64 |
| 3B | Jim Thome | 151 | 505 | 157 | .311 | 38 | 116 |
| LF | Albert Belle | 158 | 602 | 187 | .311 | 48 | 148 |
| CF | Kenny Lofton | 154 | 662 | 210 | .317 | 14 | 67 |
| RF | Manny Ramirez | 152 | 550 | 170 | .309 | 33 | 112 |
| DH | Eddie Murray | 88 | 336 | 88 | .262 | 12 | 45 |

#### 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 |
| José Vizcaíno | 48 | 179 | 51 | .285 | 0 | 13 |
| Tony Peña | 67 | 174 | 34 | .195 | 1 | 27 |
| Mark Carreon | 38 | 142 | 46 | .324 | 2 | 14 |
| Jeromy Burnitz | 71 | 128 | 36 | .281 | 7 | 26 |
| Brian Giles | 51 | 121 | 43 | .355 | 5 | 27 |
| Álvaro Espinoza | 59 | 112 | 25 | .223 | 4 | 11 |
| Jeff Kent | 39 | 102 | 27 | .265 | 3 | 16 |
| Kevin Seitzer | 22 | 83 | 32 | .386 | 1 | 16 |
| Casey Candaele | 24 | 44 | 11 | .250 | 1 | 4 |
| Scott Leius | 27 | 43 | 6 | .140 | 1 | 3 |
| Ryan Thompson | 8 | 22 | 7 | .318 | 1 | 5 |
| Wayne Kirby | 27 | 16 | 4 | .250 | 0 | 1 |
| Nigel Wilson | 10 | 12 | 3 | .250 | 2 | 5 |
| Herbert Perry | 7 | 12 | 1 | .083 | 0 | 0 |
| Damian Jackson | 5 | 10 | 3 | .300 | 0 | 1 |
| Gerónimo Peña | 5 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 1 | 2 |
| Einar Díaz | 4 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |

### 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 |
| Charles Nagy | 32 | 222.0 | 17 | 5 | 3.41 | 167 |
| Orel Hershiser | 33 | 206.0 | 15 | 9 | 4.24 | 125 |
| Jack McDowell | 30 | 192.0 | 13 | 9 | 5.11 | 141 |
| Chad Ogea | 29 | 146.2 | 10 | 6 | 4.79 | 101 |
| Dennis Martínez | 20 | 112.0 | 9 | 6 | 4.50 | 48 |
| Brian Anderson | 10 | 51.1 | 3 | 1 | 4.91 | 21 |

#### 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 |
| Albie Lopez | 13 | 62.0 | 5 | 4 | 6.39 | 45 |
| Greg Swindell | 13 | 28.2 | 1 | 1 | 6.59 | 21 |

#### 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 |
| José Mesa | 69 | 2 | 7 | 39 | 3.73 | 64 |
| Paul Assenmacher | 63 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3.09 | 44 |
| Eric Plunk | 56 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2.43 | 85 |
| Julián Tavárez | 51 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 5.36 | 46 |
| Paul Shuey | 42 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2.85 | 44 |
| Jim Poole | 32 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3.04 | 19 |
| Alan Embree | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.39 | 33 |
| Danny Graves | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.55 | 22 |
| Kent Mercker | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.09 | 7 |
| Joe Roa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.80 | 0 |

## Award winners

* Omar Vizquel, Hutch Award
All-Star Game

## Postseason
### Game log

1996 Postseason Game Log :
American League Division Series
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecord
1October 1@ Orioles4–10Wells (1–0)Nagy (0–1)—Oriole Park at Camden Yards47,6440–1
2October 2@ Orioles4–7Benitez (1–0)Plunk (0–1)Myers (1)Oriole Park at Camden Yards48,9700–2
3October 4Orioles9–4Assenmacher (1–0)Orosco (0–1)—Jacobs Field44,2501–2
4October 5Orioles3–4 (12)Benitez (2–0)Mesa (0–1)Myers (2)Jacobs Field44,2801–3 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Indians team member :

## Minor league affiliates

| Classification level | Team | League | Season article |
| AAA | Buffalo Bisons | International League | 1996 Buffalo Bisons season |
| AA | Canton–Akron Indians | Eastern League | 1996 Canton–Akron Indians season |
| Advanced A | Kinston Indians | Carolina League | |
| A | Columbus RedStixx | South Atlantic League | |
| Short Season A | Watertown Indians | New York–Penn League | |
| Rookie | Burlington Indians | Appalachian League | |