Indians Lookback: Alex Cole's Short Stint in Cleveland Filled with Unfulfilled Promise

The Indians in 1990 felt they had found themselves the next Ricky Henderson in young center fielder Alex Cole. Upon trading for Cole he came to Cleveland and stole 40 bases in 63 games in his first season. The Indians even moved back the fences for the 1991 season with Cole in mind. Sadly the experiment did not end well for Cole or the Tribe.

The year was 1990, and the Cleveland Indians were hopeful that with the start of a decade would mean a change in the fortunes of the franchise.

In 1989 with Doc Edwards as manager the team finished 16 games under .500 at 73-89, drawing 1.2 million fans to old Cleveland Stadium.

Edwards was canned with 19 games left in the season, and John Hart, who would later become the team President took over as skipper for the last 19 games.

There were not many superstars on the team in 1989, but one player who did shine was that of Joe Carter, who blasted 35 homers with 105 RBI despite an average of .243.

John McNamara took over as manager in 1990, and the team was sitting right about .500 on July 11, posting a record of 40-42 as they entered the All-Star break.

The team wanted to get faster, and then GM Hank Peters had his eyes on a player in San Diego named Alex Cole.

Cole was a 11 round draft pick of the Pirates in 1984, and Pittsburgh traded him to St.Louis in 1985, who then moved him to San Diego in February 1990.

San Diego and the Tribe went into conversations for Cole, and on July 11 a trade between the teams was made, with the Indians moving catcher Tom Lampkin to San Diego straight up for Cole.

Cole’s debut was two weeks after the Indians traded for him, as he was in the leadoff spot on July 27 in a double header against the Yankees.

The speedy Cole made an impact right away, going 3-for-8 in the pair of games, stealing a base off Yankee pitcher Jeff Robinson.

The Indians felt they had found their leadoff man, and over the next 63 games Cole was one of the bright spots on the team, stealing 43 bases, good for fourth in the American League.

The season in 1990 ended with the Tribe going 77-85, which put them in fourth place in the American League East.

With Cole on the roster, the team felt they could take advantage of his speed as compared to building a team of power-hitters.

In 1990 the club ranked 8 of 14 in the American League in homers, hitting 110 homeruns. The team leader in that department was Candy Maldonado with 22.

As the season ended, the front office sat down to discuss something that they felt would help take advantage of Cole’s speed and also show off his glove in center field.

The team had multiple meetings about what could be done, and finally on January 11 of 1991 announced that they were going to do something that would wind up being a mistake.

They were going to move the fences back at Cleveland Stadium.

The team said the new dimensions will make Cleveland Stadium the largest park in the American League, foul line to foul line.

Center field was pushed back from 400 feet to 415 feet. Left field was extended from 377 feet to 390, 387 to 400 feet in left-center, 395 to 400 in right-center and 385 to 390 in right.

All based on the potential that Cole showed the team in 63 games in 1990.

The team also would be without two of their power hitters in 1991, as Maldonado was a free agent and wasn’t coming back, and Cory Snyder, who was tied for second on the team with 14 homers, was dealt to the Chicago White Sox.

The season though didn’t work out even close to as planned. The club didn’t spend one day in first in the AL East, and by the end of May were 10 games under .500 at 17-27, eight games out of first in the division.

Hitting a home run in Cleveland Stadium became next to impossible, and after a 7-21 record in June, the team entered July at 21-48, 17 games out of first place in the AL East.

Cole to his credit did what he could, as through May he hit .315, and by June 10 was hitting a solid .330, near the top of the American League.

The speed though wasn’t on display as much as the Indians felt it would be with Cole. After swiping 40 bases in 63 games in 1990, by the end of July, 64 games into the season, he had just 12 steals.

The Indians were in a quandary with Cole as well as with what to do at Cleveland Stadium regarding the fences.

The season was a complete disaster, as the team fired McNamara in favor of Mike Hargrove after 77 games, and while Cole ended the year hitting .295, he stole just 27 bases, getting caught 17 times.

The team also felt that Cole would use his speed for extra bases, but Cole had just 17 doubles and three triples.

Back in late July, Hargrove told the New York Times that he felt an injury during spring training was a big setback for Cole.

“I think it goes back to spring training when Alex fell coming out of the batter’s box and dislocated his shoulder,” Hargrove said.

“He’s been tentative as a baserunner since, he’s been hesitant about sliding headfirst, especially going back into first base. It’s made him more cautious. He’s not aggressive, and he doesn’t get a good jump like he did.”

The 1991 season ended with the Tribe at 57-105, with Hargrove going 32-53 following the dismissal of McNamara.

The home run totals, as expected, were pathetic for the team, as other than rookie Joey (soon to be Albert) Belle’s 28 homers, the team’s next leading home run hitter was Carlos Bagera with 11 homers.

As a team the club hit 79 homers, dead last in the American League, 22 at home, and 31 less than the 110 the team hit in 1990.

In 1992 the team wised up about the fences, as they moved them back in 13 feet from 417 to 404, and deep right center was moved from 400 to 370.

The 1992 season was a disaster for Cole, as he started the year 0-for-20, and by the end of May was hitting just .203.

He did have one game in which he went 4-for-5 with five steals against the Angels on May 3, but he just was never the same.

The team had seen enough, and the club moved him on the 4 of July to the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor leaguer Tony Mitchell.

At the time of the trade, Cole was hitting .206 with nine stolen bases with no homers and five runs batted in playing in 41 games.

After finishing the season with the Pirates he moved on to Colorado and was a member of their inaugural team in 1993.

He had two productive seasons with the Minnesota Twins in 1994 and 1995, hitting .296 and .342, and his final season in the Majors saw him in Boston, where he hit .222.

His seven-year Major League career was one which showed promise, but as fast as the Indians looked to make changes for him to be successful, he was just that quickly off the team.

As with many things during the 1980’s and early 90’s for the Indians, it was a case of hoping for the best with a player, but sadly experiencing the worst.