Kansas City Indians

Major League Baseball franchise in Kansas City, Kansas

This article is about the Major League Baseball franchise founded in 1881. For the American Association team, see Kansas City Indians (American Association).

The **Kansas City Indians** are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Kansas. The Indians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central Division. The franchise began as the **Worcester Ruby Legs** in 1881, and would relocate to Milwaukee after the 1882 season to become the **Milwaukee Brewers**. The Brewers would then move to Kansas City after an eight season stint in Milwaukee and became the **Kansas City Indians**. The Indians' home ballpark is Froula Stadium. The Indians name pays homage to the Native American origins of the midwestern United States. They also are called "KC," short for Kansas City and are also called by their nicknames "Indians."

The Indians are one of the more successful franchises; having won seven World Series championships, 14 National League Pennants and 20 National League South Division titles since 1881. The franchise won three consecutive titles from 1881 to 1883; making them the first to ever do so. The team has had many all-time greats from Babe Ruth, Lee Richmond, and Wally Pipp. They also had all-time great managers including Jorge Rios and Jose Caraballo.

After a period of success from 1881 to 1892, the Indians had a period of five consecutive seasons where they failed to qualify for the postseason. They would have a period of sporadic playoff appearances but were never able to get past the National League Championship game. During the period, the franchise also went through five managers from 1893 to 1916. The Indians finally qualified for the postseason for the first time after another five year period without a postseason berth. The Indians made it to and won their first World Series title in 35 years in 1917, and then went on to win another World Series, the following year. After, their two titles the team continued to have success, qualifying for the postseason every year from 1917 to 1929. From 1923 to 1925, the Indians were eliminated from the postseason in the NLCS each year. They would then have another string of back-to-back World Series championships in 1927 and 1928.

The all-time franchise record is 3,244–2,786 (.538) as of the 1938 season.

## History

Main article: History of the Kansas City Indians
### Worcester Ruby Legs (1881–1882)

The Worcester Ruby Legs were founded in 1881, and immediately found success; winning the 1881 World Series. This would be followed by a second World Series title in 1882 before the team was relocated to Milwaukee in the offseason of 1882. Manager Jorge Rios won two Manager of the Year awards as well.

### Milwaukee Brewers (1883–1890)

Main article: Milwaukee Brewers (1883–1890)
The Milwaukee Brewers were an American professional baseball team founded in 1881 as the Worcester Ruby Legs, who would later relocate to Milwaukee in 1883. The Brewers were a member of the National League and competed in the AL North Division. The Brewers played in Milwaukee from 1883 until the franchise relocated again to Kansas City to become the Kansas City Indians.

The Brewers continued their success from their tenure as the Worcester Ruby Legs winning a World Series in 1883, becoming the first team in Major League Baseball history to win three consecutive World Series titles. The team continued to be competitive, winning two additional National League Pennants in 1884 and 1890 respectively; and winning the NL South Division title for five years out of their eight season in Milwaukee.

### Kansas City Indians (1891–present)

#### Immediate success in Kansas City (1891–1892)

The Kansas City Indians name was purchased from Frank Samson, the owner of the Kansas City Indians who played in the American Association from 1866 to 1879.

#### Rebuild era (1904–1916)

The period from 1904 to 1916 was a turbulent time for the Indians. During the period, the team cycled through four managers and the team only rarely qualified for the postseason. This period began in 1904 under Mark Ritte. The Indians finised in 3rd but qualified for the posteason at 60–52.

#### Second dynasty era (1917–1928)

Main article: 1917–1918 World Series corruption scandal
The Kansas City Indians finished the 1917 season with a 2nd place Wild Card berth, and 61–51 record. The Indians defeated the Nationals in the National League Divisional Series (NLDS). In the National League Championship Series (NLCS), the Indians fell behind 2–0, and then won game three. The Indians won game three and four of the series. The Rays won game five to go behind 3–2, and then the Indians won game six, creating a must win game seven. In game seven. The Indians took an early lead 4–2 lead going into the fourth inning. The Rays would come back in the fifth inning to tie the game at four, and then would take a two run lead in the sixth inning. Going into the ninth inning, the Indians were behind 4–6 before the Indians scored five runs to take the lead. The Rays failed to score in the bottom of the ninth innings and winning the series.

Suspicions were raised regarding the legitimacy of the Indians’ 1917 postseason run began to emerge shortly after the 1917 World Series. The accusations began when opposing players from the Rays alleged bribing umpires to sway the results of games during the 1917 NLCS and the World Series. They stated that the Indians' comeback 4–3 win after being down 0–3 in the NLCS was particularly suspicious. Allegations of Major League Baseball being bribed to sway the World Series in order to keep the Indians in Kansas City were denied by all parties. A whistleblower from within the Indians organization claimed to have coordinated and been present during meetings held between the Indians front office and Major League Baseball. This whistleblower claimed to have been privy to a $1.5 million deal that would give the Indians the World Series title and would keep the Kansas City Indians from being purchased by the league and relocated from Kansas City. A formal investigation was conducted by Major League Baseball which failed to produce any concrete evidence of corruption. However, many Rays fans view their title as being illegitimate to this day. After the investigation, Assistant General Manager Bobby Hart resigned amidst pressure from the national media and the public. This investigation was also viewed as fraudulent by many Rays fans who believe that the title should be vacated.

In 1921, the Indians won their sixth World Series title. They finished tied for the best record in the regular season. In the offseason the Indians moved into the new Kansas City Stadium. In the postseason, the Indians were again able to win a World Series with Babe Ruth and Wally Pipp. They would then follow that up with a second consecutive title the following season.

Jose Caraballo departed Kansas City in the 1926 offseason, allowing for the promotion of Brent Ewing to the position of manager. In his first season, he led the Indians to a 71–52 record, defeating their rivals, the Brewers in a tiebreaker game to take 1st place in the NL South. The Indians would then go on to defeat the the Tigers 3–2 in the NLDS, setting up a rematch against the Brewers in the NLCS. In the NLCS, the Brewers were easily defeated 4–1, after losing the first game of the series, the Indians went undefeated in the postseason on their way to the winning their first NL South Division title and National League Pennant since 1922. In the World Series, the Indians faced the upstart Chicago White Sox. The White Sox were defeated 4–0, winning KC their eighth World Series championship.

#### Decline of the dynasty (1929–1940)

After the 1928 season the Indians were expected to finish with another first place finish in the NL South. However, the Indians saw a steep decline into a 56–66 record and failed to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 1920. The Indians would then begin to struggle in the 1930 season with a 20–31 record, which saw Brent Ewing demoted to Bench Coach and the return of Jose Caraballo as manager. Caraballo's second tenure with KC was not as successful as his first. Carballo was able to improve the team to back-to-back division titles in this first two full seasons as manager. However, the team would again regress for the following two seasons into one of the worst teams in MLB. He was nearly fired after the awful 1934 season that saw the team finish 6th in the NL South at 58–70, however he was able to remain in his post due to his reputation as one of the greatest managers of all time.

Jose Caraballo was unceremoniously fired after the 1936 season in which the Indians finished 3rd in the NL South with a 58–64 record. Carballo retired shortly after being fired. He was replaced by Josh Toliver in the offseason. All of this is taking place under the backdrop of a possible's relocation to Los Angeles.

#### 1946–present

The Indians moved to the NL Central division in the 1948 offseason.

## Logos and uniform

Main article: Logos and uniforms of the Kansas City Indians
The Kanasas City Indians have had numerous logos throughout their history. Each logo used uses some form of Native American imagery or pays homage to Kansas City in general.

Team logoCap / uniform logoClassic logoWordmark
## Season-by-season results

*This section displays the last five seasons. For a full history, see the List of Kansas City Indians seasons*

## World Series championships

The Kansas City Indians have won the second most World Series titles of any Major League Baseball franchise with a total of nine titles, behind the Baltimore Orioles. Their most recent title came in 1928, when KC defeated the Senators 4–1.

## Players

Main article: List of Kansas City Indians players

### Current roster

 **Pitchers**
**Starting rotation**
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**Bullpen**
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**Infielders**
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**Outfielders**
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**Coaches**
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* 7-, 10-, or 15-day injured list
* → [[List of {{{League}}} team rosters|All {{{League}}} rosters]]

## Franchise records and award winners

### Season records

* Highest batting average: .353 Tom Mabry (1915)
* Highest on-base percentage: .384 Tom Mabry (1915)
* Highest slugging percentage: .499 (1901)
* Highest on-base plus slugging percentage: .856 Tom Mabry (1915)
* Most wins above replacement: 6.1 Jack Crooks (1895)
* Most games pitched: 112 Jason Lowe (1903)
* Most at-bats: 452 Pjerin Tolaj (1895)
* Most runs: 87 Jack Crooks (1895)
* Most hits: 147 Tom Mabry (1915)
* Most total bases: 197 Tom Mabry (1915)
* Most singles: 118 Daniel Serna (1986)
* Most doubles: 29 Oscar Higuera (1910)
* Most triples: 23 Jack Crooks (1895)
* Most home runs scored: 15 Harry Stovery (1884)
* Most runs batted in: 61 Pjerin Tolaj (1895)
* Most stolen bases: 113 Jack Crooks (1895)
* Most times caught stealing: 35 Jack Crooks (1898)
* Most walks: 57 Jack Crooks (1895)

## Rivalries

### Milwaukee Brewers

Main articles: Midwest Series, Brewers name controversy, and Midwest Series Classic
The **Midwest Series** is one of the most heated rivalries in Major League Baseball. The rivalry began in 1986 with the admission of the Minnesota Centennials to Major League Baseball as an expansion franchise. The rivalry would then become more intense with the Brewers name controversy, which saw the then Milwaukee Brew Crew attempt to purchase the naming rights of the old Milwuakee Brewers from the **Kansas City Indians**.

The two teams also play in the Midwest Series Classic, a preseason friendly exhibition tournament held in March.

### Florida Rays

The rivalry between the Miami / Florida Rays was a rivalry that was primarily a postseason rivalry.

## See also

* Kansas City Cowboys
* Kansas City Monarchs