2001

In mid-December, I bought some packs of baseball cards at an online shop. When I opened those packs, I found a very interesting card. On the front, we can see Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar and two-time MVP Juan Gonzalez. Additionally, there’s a piece of game-used baseball. I didn’t have this type of baseball card and I’m glad to have it in my collection. However, I didn’t remember too much about Juan Gonzalez’s performance in the Indians uniform. I went to check on the great baseball reference website. It seems that the 2001 season was an interesting season to remember. First of all, Juan Gonzalez did play very well in the Indians jersey. He hit .325/.370/.590 with 35 home runs and 140 RBI. 140 RBI ranked 5th most in the majors. Barry Bonds crushed 73 home runs in 2001, however, he didn’t collect as many RBI as Juan Gonzalez did. Moreover, Juan Gonzalez was selected to the All-Star game and finished 5th in the AL MVP voting. In addition, Roberto Alomar also had a great season as well. In 2001, he slashed .336/.415/.541 with 20 home runs and 100 RBI. Alomar became an All-Star again and finished 4th in the AL MVP voting. Moreover, Jim Thome also collected 100+ RBI in the 2001 season. With 3 players to have 100+ RBI in 2001, the Indians won the AL Central title in 2001. But, they lost to the Mariners in the ALDS. The Indians were a great team in the late-‘90s. Nonetheless, they didn’t win any World Series titles. The 2001 season might be called “the last dance” of those late-‘90s Indians. After being eliminated in the 2001 ALDS, the Indians didn’t clinch a playoff berth until 2007. Furthermore, a great player began his career in the Indians uniform. CC Sabathia made his MLB debut on April 8, 2001. He was just 20 years old. In his first season in the majors, he made 33 starts and threw 180.1 innings. Sabathia earned 17 wins with a 4.39 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He finished 2nd in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. Finally, CC Sabathia had a good start in his rookie season, but the ace of the Cleveland Indians in 2001 was probably Bartolo Colon, who made 34 starts and tossed more than 200 innings. Bartolo Colon owned a 4.09 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP in 2001. In the 2001 season, 6 pitchers made at least 10 starts for the Indians and all of them posted an over 4 ERA. Well, it just didn’t look like a good signal to see so many starters with an over 4 ERA in a team. Back in late-‘90s, I frequently watched the Indians in the playoffs and when I saw this baseball card, I did recall some memories of that great team. In particular, I just can’t forget those tremendous defensive plays made by Roberto Alomar and Alomar was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2011. It’s my first baseball card with a piece of game-used baseball, I will carefully keep it and hopefully, I can add some other cards in my collection.