The ESPN drama "The Last Dance" has taken the sports world by storm, as it retells the story of the 1998 Chicago Bulls. The Cleveland Indians have had their share of memorable and drama filled seasons, and today we take a look at four that could qualify for a mini-series of their own.
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00:00 Hi everyone, I'm Matt Lodi on Cleveland Baseball Insider and SI.com.
00:04 The ESPN Chicago Bulls-led series entitled "The Last Dance" is taking the sports world
00:09 by storm.
00:10 Over 6 million people tuned in this last week to see more of the drama of the final Bulls
00:14 championship in 1998.
00:16 The Indians have had some interesting teams over the years.
00:19 Could any qualify for a series like "The Last Dance"?
00:21 Let's take a look at a couple today that you never know could be on the table for a
00:25 series someday.
00:26 There was 1954 when the team won 111 games, led by the likes of Larry Doby, Bob Lemon,
00:32 Mike Garcia, and of course, Bob Feller.
00:34 That team made it to the World Series before falling 4 games to none to, of course, the
00:39 New York Giants led by Willie Mays.
00:41 There was 2016.
00:42 This team was magical in a number of ways.
00:44 They dominated the postseason.
00:46 They swept the Red Sox 3 games to nil and then beat up the Blue Jays 4 games to 1 in
00:50 two classic games at Progressive Field.
00:53 That team made it to the World Series and were up 3 games to 1 before losing to the
00:56 Cubs 4 games to 3 in extra innings in Game 7.
01:00 Then there was the 1997 season.
01:02 Another heartbreaker for the Tribes.
01:03 They got to the World Series but unfortunately lost to the Florida Marlins in 7 games.
01:08 This was a team that a lot of people had high expectations for, but they really did not
01:12 play up to their potential until late in the season.
01:15 They were led by Jared Wright who helped them win Game 5 of the ALDS against the Yankees.
01:19 And then of course, Tony Fernandez's solo home run in Game 6 against the Orioles helped
01:23 them win that Series 4 games to 2.
01:26 Then there was 2013 and you might ask yourself what was magical about that year.
01:30 It was Terry Francona's first year as manager.
01:33 The team spent $118 million in free agency, bringing in both Nick Swisher and Michael
01:38 Bourne.
01:39 Neither of them of course really worked out.
01:41 That team though was pretty good.
01:42 They made it all the way to the AL wildcard game against the Tampa Bay Rays thanks in
01:46 part to a long 10 game win streak at the end of the year.
01:50 They lost 4-0 in that wildcard game and it set the tone for Francona's tenure as manager.
01:55 That's it from here.
01:56 Again, the Indians, who knows, maybe someday we'll see a series like that on ESPN.
02:00 It's highly doubtful, but it always makes it interesting when you talk about teams that
02:04 deserve these type of series.
02:06 For Cleveland Baseball Insider on SI.com, I'm Matt Lodi.