# 1986 Cleveland Indians season

The 1986 Cleveland Indians season was the 86th for the franchise. On November 13, 1986, the O'Neill estate would sell the team to Richard Jacobs, who would run the team with his brother David for the next decade.

## Offseason

* December 10, 1985: George Vukovich was purchased from the Indians by the Seibu Lions (Japan Pacific).
* January 7, 1986: Roy Smith and Ramón Romero were traded by the Indians to the Minnesota Twins for Ken Schrom and Bryan Oelkers.
* January 14, 1986: Troy Neel was drafted by the Indians in the 9th round of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed May 5, 1986.
* January 23, 1986: Fran Mullins was purchased by the Indians from the San Francisco Giants.
* February 8, 1986: Dickie Noles was signed as a free agent by the Indians.
* February 10, 1986: Butch Benton was released by the Indians.
* February 25, 1986: Jim Kern was signed as a free agent by the Indians.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Boston Red Sox | 95 | 66 | .590 | — | 51‍–‍30 | 44‍–‍36 |
| New York Yankees | 90 | 72 | .556 | 5½ | 41‍–‍39 | 49‍–‍33 |
| Detroit Tigers | 87 | 75 | .537 | 8½ | 49‍–‍32 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 86 | 76 | .531 | 9½ | 42‍–‍39 | 44‍–‍37 |
| Cleveland Indians | 84 | 78 | .519 | 11½ | 45‍–‍35 | 39‍–‍43 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 77 | 84 | .478 | 18 | 41‍–‍39 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 73 | 89 | .451 | 22½ | 37‍–‍42 | 36‍–‍47 |

### Record vs. opponents

1986 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 4–9 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 4–9 | 1–12 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
| Boston | 9–4 | — | 5–7 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–2 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 7–6 |
| California | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 3–9 | 5–7 | 6–7 | — | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 2–11 | 6–6 |
| Cleveland | 9–4 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 4–9 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 10–2 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 3–10–1 |
| Detroit | 12–1 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 9–4 | — | 5–7 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 4–9 |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–5 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 5–7 |
| Milwaukee | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 6–6 | — | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 |
| Minnesota | 4–8 | 2–10 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 8–4 | — | 4–8 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 |
| New York | 8–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | — | 5–7 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 7–6 |
| Oakland | 7–5 | 5–7 | 3–10 | 6–7 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 7–5 | — | 10–3 | 3–10 | 8–4 |
| Seattle | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 3–10 | — | 4–9 | 6–6 |
| Texas | 7–5 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 11–2 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 10–3 | 9–4 | — | 5–7 |
| Toronto | 5–8 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–3–1 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — |

### Notable transactions

* March 28, 1986: Dave Von Ohlen was released by the Indians.
* April 1, 1986: Jerry Willard was released by the Indians.
* June 2, 1986: Greg Swindell was drafted by the Indians in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed July 31, 1986.
* June 17, 1986: Jim Kern was released by the Indians.
* June 20, 1986: Neal Heaton was traded by the Indians to the Minnesota Twins for John Butcher.

### Opening Day Lineup

Opening Day Starters :
| # | Name | Position |
| 2 | Brett Butler | CF |
| 30 | Joe Carter | RF |
| 14 | Julio Franco | SS |
| 29 | Andre Thornton | DH |
| 26 | Brook Jacoby | 3B |
| 10 | Pat Tabler | 1B |
| 4 | Tony Bernazard | 2B |
| 27 | Mel Hall | LF |
| 6 | Andy Allanson | C |
| 18 | Ken Schrom | P |

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | AVG | SB |
| Andy Allanson | 101 | 293 | 30 | 66 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 29 | .225 | 10 |
| Chris Bando | 92 | 254 | 28 | 68 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 26 | ,268 | 0 |
| Jay Bell | 5 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .357 | 0 |
| Tony Bernazard | 146 | 562 | 88 | 169 | 28 | 4 | 17 | 73 | .301 | 17 |
| Brett Butler | 161 | 587 | 92 | 163 | 17 | 14 | 4 | 51 | .278 | 32 |
| Joe Carter | 162 | 663 | 108 | 200 | 36 | 9 | 29 | 121 | .302 | 29 |
| Carmelo Castillo | 85 | 205 | 34 | 57 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 32 | .278 | 2 |
| Dave Clark | 18 | 58 | 10 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | .276 | 1 |
| Julio Franco | 149 | 599 | 80 | 183 | 30 | 5 | 10 | 74 | .306 | 10 |
| Mel Hall | 140 | 442 | 68 | 131 | 29 | 2 | 18 | 77 | .296 | 6 |
| Brook Jacoby | 158 | 583 | 83 | 168 | 30 | 4 | 17 | 80 | .288 | 2 |
| Fran Mullins | 28 | 40 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .175 | 0 |
| Otis Nixon | 105 | 95 | 33 | 25 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | .263 | 23 |
| Dan Rohn | 6 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .200 | 0 |
| Cory Snyder | 103 | 416 | 58 | 113 | 21 | 1 | 24 | 69 | .272 | 2 |
| Pat Tabler | 130 | 473 | 61 | 154 | 29 | 2 | 6 | 48 | .326 | 3 |
| Andre Thornton | 120 | 401 | 49 | 92 | 14 | 0 | 17 | 66 | .229 | 4 |
| Eddie Williams | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .143 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5702 | 831 | 1620 | 270 | 45 | 157 | 775 | .284 | 141 |

### Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Scott Bailes | 10 | 10 | 4.95 | 62 | 10 | 7 | 112.2 | 123 | 70 | 62 | 43 | 60 |
| John Butcher | 1 | 5 | 6.93 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 50.2 | 86 | 43 | 39 | 13 | 16 |
| Ernie Camacho | 2 | 4 | 4.08 | 51 | 0 | 20 | 57.1 | 60 | 26 | 26 | 31 | 36 |
| Tom Candiotti | 16 | 12 | 3.57 | 36 | 34 | 0 | 252.1 | 234 | 112 | 100 | 106 | 167 |
| Jamie Easterly | 0 | 2 | 7.64 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 17.2 | 27 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 9 |
| Neal Heaton | 3 | 6 | 4.24 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 74.1 | 73 | 42 | 35 | 34 | 24 |
| Doug Jones | 1 | 0 | 2.50 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 18.0 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| Jim Kern | 1 | 1 | 7.90 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 27.1 | 34 | 28 | 24 | 23 | 11 |
| Phil Niekro | 11 | 11 | 4.32 | 34 | 32 | 0 | 210.1 | 241 | 126 | 101 | 95 | 81 |
| Dickie Noles | 3 | 2 | 5.10 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 54.2 | 56 | 33 | 31 | 30 | 32 |
| Bryan Oelkers | 3 | 3 | 4.70 | 35 | 4 | 1 | 69.0 | 70 | 38 | 36 | 40 | 33 |
| Reggie Ritter | 0 | 0 | 6.30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 6 |
| Jose Roman | 1 | 2 | 6.55 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 22.0 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 17 | 9 |
| Ken Schrom | 14 | 7 | 4.54 | 34 | 33 | 0 | 206.0 | 217 | 118 | 104 | 49 | 87 |
| Don Schulze | 4 | 4 | 5.00 | 19 | 13 | 0 | 84.2 | 88 | 48 | 47 | 34 | 33 |
| Greg Swindell | 5 | 2 | 4.23 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 61.2 | 57 | 35 | 29 | 15 | 46 |
| Frank Wills | 4 | 4 | 4.91 | 26 | 0 | 4 | 40.1 | 43 | 23 | 22 | 16 | 32 |
| Rich Yett | 5 | 3 | 5.15 | 39 | 3 | 1 | 76.2 | 84 | 48 | 45 | 37 | 50 |
| Team Totals | 84 | 78 | 4.58 | 162 | 162 | 34 | 1447.2 | 1548 | 841 | 736 | 605 | 744 |

## Game log

Legend :
| Indians Win | Indians Loss | Game Postponed |
1986 Game Log :
April: 11-8 (Home: 0-0, Road: 0-0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 7@ Orioles6-4Schrom (1-0)Flanagan (0-1)Camacho (1)52,2921-0
2April 9@ Orioles4-3Aase (1-0)Bailes (0-1)13,0391-1
3April 10@ Orioles5-1Dixon (1-0)Kern (0-1)Bordi (1)12,9331-2
4April 11Tigers7-2Terrell (1-0)Niekro (0-1)32,4411-3
5April 12Tigers6-2Schrom (2-0)Morris (1-1)Camacho (2)17,4262-3
6April 13Tigers8-2Bailes (1-1)Tanana (0-1)10,4633-3
7April 15Yankees6-2Niekro (1-0)Candiotti (0-1)Fisher (1)3,2233-4
—April 16YankeesPostponed
8April 17Yankees6-4Niekro (1-1)Tewksbury (1-1)Bailes (1)5,6024-4
9April 18@ Tigers6-1Tanana (1-1)Schrom (2-1)20,7034-5
10April 19@ Tigers8-6Bailes (2-1)Petry (1-2)Camacho (3)19,2165-5
—April 20@ TigersPostponed
11April 21Orioles7-0Candiotti (1-1)Flanagan (1-2)3,0126-5
12April 22Orioles5-2Dixon (2-0)Niekro (1-2)Aase (4)3,0046-6
13April 23Orioles5-1Schrom (3-1)McGregor (1-2)Bailes (2)3,7887-6
14April 24@ Yankees2-1Guidry (3-0)Heaton (0-1)17,2997-7 :
May: 12-16 (Home: 0-0, Road: 0-0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord :
June: 15-11 (Home: 0-0, Road: 0-0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord :
July: 15-12 (Home: 0-0, Road: 0-0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord :
August: 12-19 (Home: 0-0, Road: 0-0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord :
September: 15-12 (Home: 0-0, Road: 0-0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord :
October: 4-0 (Home: 0-0, Road: 0-0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord :

## Awards and honors

All-Star Game

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Maine Guides | International League | Jim Napier |
| AA | Waterbury Indians | Eastern League | Orlando Gómez |
| A | Waterloo Indians | Midwest League | Steve Swisher |
| A-Short Season | Batavia Trojans | New York–Penn League | Glenn Adams |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Waterloo