1995 American League Championship Series
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 1995
American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...
(ALCS), the second round of the 1995
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
playoffs, matched the Central Division champion
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
against the West Division champion
Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
. The Mariners had the home field advantage, which was predetermined and assigned to either the West Division champion or their opponents in the Division Series. The two teams were victorious in the AL Division Series (ALDS), with the Indians defeating the East Division champion
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
three games to none, and the Mariners defeating the wild card qualifier
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
three games to two. The Indians won the series four games to two to become the American League champions, and lost to the National League champion
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...
in the
1995 World Series The 1995 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1995 season. The 91st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Atlanta Braves and the Americ ...
.


Background


Mariners

The summer of 1995 proved to be the most pivotal stretch in
Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
history. In fact, many consider this the season and the team that saved the Mariners from relocation out of Seattle. An
expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
created as a result of a breach of contract lawsuit involving the Seattle Pilots' 1969 departure after just one year in Seattle, the Mariners had been a doormat franchise, finishing with a losing record every year until
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
(by then their 15th season as a franchise). By 1995, they had just recorded two winning record seasons with no postseason appearances. There was also an issue with the stadium, the
Kingdome The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District, Seattle, Industrial District (later SoDo, Seattle, SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. O ...
, which was a multipurpose domed stadium that had become well outdated by the mid-1990s. This became even more apparent in late July 1994 when tiles fell from the ceiling 30 minutes before the stadium was set to open for a game against the Baltimore Orioles, forcing the Mariners to play the rest of what would be a short season on the road. It was clear by the start of the 1995 season, the Mariners needed a new stadium in Seattle or they would be moved to a city that could provide them one. With this as the backdrop heading into the strike-shortened 1995 season, the Mariners won their first division title, in part due to a historic collapse from the
California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
. The Angels were leading the
American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...
by 10½-game lead over the Texas Rangers and an 11½-game lead over the Seattle Mariners on August 16th and were still atop the division, leading Seattle by 6 games and Texas by 7½, when a nine-game losing streak from September 13 to 23 dropped them out of first place. The Mariners beat the Angels in a one-game playoff and then beat the
Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
in a thrilling five game series in the ALDS to get to their first ALCS in franchise history. The team was affectionately nicknamed the "Refuse to Lose" Mariners.


Indians

The story of lack of team success and stadium funding could have also been the same for the Cleveland Indians, prior to 1994. Since the
1954 World Series The 1954 World Series matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion Cleveland Indians. The Giants swept the Series in four games to win their first championship since , defeating the heavily favored Ind ...
, the Indians had not made the postseason, which included a stretch from 1977 to 1989 where they placed fourth or worst every year. Like the Seattle Mariners, the Indians also played in a
multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...
that had its warts.
Cleveland Stadium Cleveland Stadium, commonly known as Municipal Stadium, Lakefront Stadium or Cleveland Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball an ...
, who also homed the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
, had been the Indians’ home since 1932. By the early 1990s the stadium's inadequacy was becoming apparent in any event; chunks of concrete were falling off and the pilings were starting to petrify. In May 1990, Cuyahoga County voters approved funding for a new
Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex 200px, Logo for the Gateway Sports Complex The Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex is an entertainment complex located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It opened in 1994 and is owned by the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County and is managed ...
, which included the new ballpark, an adjacent arena for the
Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...
of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and two parking garages. When the Indians moved into
Jacobs Field {{Infobox stadium , name = Progressive Field , nickname = ''"The Jake"'' , logo_image = Progressive_Field_Logo.svg , logo_caption = , image = , caption = Progressive Fiel ...
(now named Progressive Field) in 1994, success immediately followed. By the time of the season ended in 1994 due to the players' strike, the Indians were 66-47 and in a postseason spot as a wildcard. The Indians carried over the success into the 1995 season where they won the
American League Central The American League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed in the realignment of 1994 by moving three teams from the American League West and two teams from the American League East. Its teams are all loc ...
by a whopping 30 games.


Summary


Seattle Mariners vs. Cleveland Indians


Game summaries


Game 1

Tuesday, October 10, 1995, at
Kingdome The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District, Seattle, Industrial District (later SoDo, Seattle, SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. O ...
in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
The Indians called on the veteran
Dennis Martínez José Dennis Martínez Ortiz (born May 14, 1955), nicknamed "El Presidente" (The President), is a Nicaraguan professional baseball pitcher. Martínez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, Cleveland India ...
for Game 1. The Mariners rode the arm of rookie
Bob Wolcott Robert William Wolcott (born September 8, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners (1995–97), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998), and Bosto ...
. Obviously nervous at the outset, Wolcott walked the first three hitters on 13 pitches, but he would get out of the bases-loaded, nobody-out situation with ease; he first struck out
Albert Belle Albert Jojuan Belle (born August 25, 1966), known until 1990 as Joey Belle, is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder who played from 1989 to 2000, most notably for the Cleveland Indians. Known for his fierce, competitive temperament ...
, got
Eddie Murray Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie," is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. Spending most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, he ranks fourth ...
on a foul pop-fly, then induced a groundout from
Jim Thome James Howard Thome (; born August 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball corner infielder and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 22 seasons (1991–2012). He played for six different teams during the ...
on a great diving stop by
Joey Cora José Manuel Cora Amaro (born May 14, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball player with an 11-year career in MLB spanning the years 1987 and 1989–1998 and current third base coach for the New York Mets. He played for the San Diego Padres of t ...
. In the second,
Mike Blowers Michael Roy Blowers (; born April 24, 1965) is a German-born American former Major League Baseball player, a third baseman and first baseman for the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Oakland Athletics. Since 2007 he h ...
hit a two-run homer to put the Mariners in front, 2–0. However, the Indians would put together a run in the next inning and in the seventh, Belle's homer tied the game at two. With Martinez still pitching in a tie game, the Mariners would take the lead thanks to
Luis Sojo Luis Beltrán Sojo Sojo ( ; ; born January 3, 1965) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder. Listed during his playing days at and , he batted and threw right-handed. During his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Sojo filled a ...
's go-ahead double in the bottom half of the seventh.
Norm Charlton Norman Wood Charlton III (born January 6, 1963), nicknamed "The Sheriff", is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Balt ...
would come on in the eighth for a inning save. He would retire the side in order in the ninth, and the Mariners took Game 1.


Game 2

Wednesday, October 11, 1995, at
Kingdome The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District, Seattle, Industrial District (later SoDo, Seattle, SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. O ...
in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
The Indians' second veteran
Orel Hershiser Orel Leonard Hershiser IV (born September 16, 1958) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 2000. He later became a pitching coach for the Texas Rangers from 2002 to 2005 and a bro ...
was called upon to stem the tide against
Tim Belcher Timothy Wayne Belcher (born October 19, 1961) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1987 to 2000 for seven different teams. He was named ''The Sporting News'' Rookie Pitcher of the Year ...
. Both pitchers dueled for four innings until the Indians broke through in the top of the fifth with a two-run single by
Carlos Baerga Carlos Obed Ortiz Baerga (; ; born November 4, 1968) is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball player. Baerga was known for his superb hitting abilities during his first stint with the Cleveland Indians in the early-to-mid-1990s, accumulatin ...
. In the next inning, the Indians grabbed two more on a
Manny Ramírez Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican Americans (Dominican Republic), Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played with ...
homer and an RBI triple by
Sandy Alomar Jr. Santos "Sandy" Alomar Velázquez Jr. (, ; born June 18, 1966) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher between 1988 and 2007, most notably as a member of the Cleve ...
Ken Griffey Jr.'s sixth postseason homer put the Mariners on the board to make it 4–1 in the bottom of the sixth. The Indians would put the game away when
Manny Ramírez Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican Americans (Dominican Republic), Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played with ...
hit his second homer of the game in the eighth to make it 5–1. Hershiser would give way to
José Mesa José Ramón Nova Mesa (; born May 22, 1966) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1987 through 2007. He played for the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners ...
in the ninth. Mesa would issue a one-out homer to
Jay Buhner Jay Campbell Buhner (born August 13, 1964), nicknamed "Bone", is an American former professional baseball right fielder. At and , he was among the most recognizable players of his day, noted for his shaved head, thick goatee, and patch of pine ...
but would recover to close out the win. With the victory, Hershiser raised his postseason record to 6–0 with a 1.47 ERA in innings.


Game 3

Friday, October 13, 1995, at
Jacobs Field {{Infobox stadium , name = Progressive Field , nickname = ''"The Jake"'' , logo_image = Progressive_Field_Logo.svg , logo_caption = , image = , caption = Progressive Fiel ...
in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
In Game 3, the starting pitchers were
Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...
and
Charles Nagy Charles Harrison Nagy (born May 5, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball All-Star right-handed pitcher who played for 14 seasons in the major leagues from to . He played for the Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres. He served as th ...
. Nagy and Johnson pitched a scoreless first but the Mariners broke through on a homer by
Jay Buhner Jay Campbell Buhner (born August 13, 1964), nicknamed "Bone", is an American former professional baseball right fielder. At and , he was among the most recognizable players of his day, noted for his shaved head, thick goatee, and patch of pine ...
. Then an error in the third by
Álvaro Espinoza Álvaro Alberto Espinoza Ramírez s-pe-noh'-zah/small> (born February 19, 1962) is a Venezuelan former shortstop in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed. Early life Born in Valencia, Carabobo, he graduated from Pedro Gual Hi ...
gave the Mariners one more run to make it 2–0 Seattle. The Indians put a run on the board after a leadoff triple by
Kenny Lofton Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Lofton was a six-time All-Star (1994–1999), four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1993–1996), and at retirement, was ranked 15th amon ...
and a sac fly by
Omar Vizquel Omar Enrique Vizquel González (; born April 24, 1967), nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. During his 24-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indi ...
in the fourth. In the bottom of the eighth, Buhner missed a deep fly ball to right; Lofton then singled through the left side to tie the game at two. The game moved to extra innings and in the 11th, Buhner, whose miscue tied the game, got sweet redemption with a three-run home run to give the Mariners a 5–2 lead. Charlton, pitching in relief since the ninth inning, got the win and shut down the Indians in the bottom of the 11th.


Game 4

Saturday, October 14, 1995, at
Jacobs Field {{Infobox stadium , name = Progressive Field , nickname = ''"The Jake"'' , logo_image = Progressive_Field_Logo.svg , logo_caption = , image = , caption = Progressive Fiel ...
in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
With their backs to the wall in Game 4, Cleveland called on Ken Hill to help tie the series. Opposing him would be
Andy Benes Andrew Charles Benes (born August 20, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1989 to 2002, most prominently as a member of the San Diego Padres where he was na ...
. Benes wouldn't fare well against Hill and the Cleveland hitters. The Indians put three on the board in the first, a rally capped by Murray's two-run homer. A sac fly by
Kenny Lofton Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Lofton was a six-time All-Star (1994–1999), four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1993–1996), and at retirement, was ranked 15th amon ...
made it 4–0 in the second. Then the rain began to fall on Seattle's parade in the third as Benes surrendered a two-run homer to
Jim Thome James Howard Thome (; born August 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball corner infielder and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 22 seasons (1991–2012). He played for six different teams during the ...
in the rain. Benes was done and the rain ended after the third was over. Hill would pitch beyond expectations and lead his team to an easy 7–0 shutout.


Game 5

Sunday, October 15, 1995, at
Jacobs Field {{Infobox stadium , name = Progressive Field , nickname = ''"The Jake"'' , logo_image = Progressive_Field_Logo.svg , logo_caption = , image = , caption = Progressive Fiel ...
in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
Game 5 was a matchup between Chris Bosio and
Orel Hershiser Orel Leonard Hershiser IV (born September 16, 1958) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 2000. He later became a pitching coach for the Texas Rangers from 2002 to 2005 and a bro ...
. Hershiser was looking to continue his excellence and he got help quickly when the Indians knocked home a run in the first thanks to an error by
Tino Martinez Constantino "Tino" Martinez (born December 7, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 1990 t ...
. But Hershiser's slim lead would be cut in the third when Ken Griffey Jr.'s RBI double tied the game. In the fifth, an error by Belle gave the Mariners the lead. The Mariners were closing in on a 3–2 series lead going home, but the Indians wouldn't allow it as Thome stepped to the plate in the sixth with a man on and hit a two-run homer to give the lead back to the Indians. The Mariners had their share of chances; in the seventh, they had men on the corners with one out and Griffey at the plate.
Paul Assenmacher Paul Andre Assenmacher (born December 10, 1960) is a former left-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for fourteen seasons. Assenmacher pitched for the Atlanta Braves (1986–1989), Chicago Cubs (1989–1993), New York Yankees ...
was summoned from the bullpen. He proceeded to strike out Griffey on a high fastball, then Jay Buhner stepped to the plate. In this situation, manager Mike Hargrove would usually bring in a right-hander, but he stayed with Assenmacher. He struck out Buhner on a low breaking ball and then slowly, stoically walked off the mound, with 40,000 fans screaming wildly. The Mariners could not capitalize on any more opportunities and
José Mesa José Ramón Nova Mesa (; born May 22, 1966) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1987 through 2007. He played for the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners ...
closed the door in the ninth.


Game 6

Tuesday, October 17, 1995, at
Kingdome The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District, Seattle, Industrial District (later SoDo, Seattle, SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. O ...
in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
In the potential clincher,
Dennis Martínez José Dennis Martínez Ortiz (born May 14, 1955), nicknamed "El Presidente" (The President), is a Nicaraguan professional baseball pitcher. Martínez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, Cleveland India ...
faced
Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...
. Both pitchers kept the game scoreless until the top of the fifth. A key error by
Joey Cora José Manuel Cora Amaro (born May 14, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball player with an 11-year career in MLB spanning the years 1987 and 1989–1998 and current third base coach for the New York Mets. He played for the San Diego Padres of t ...
allowed
Kenny Lofton Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Lofton was a six-time All-Star (1994–1999), four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1993–1996), and at retirement, was ranked 15th amon ...
to single home a run to put the Indians up. With the score still 1–0 in the eighth, the Indians put three runs together against Johnson. A passed ball with two men in scoring position allowed both of them to score. Kenny Lofton made a mad dash from second base, sliding in just ahead of the tag from Johnson, and the entire Cleveland dugout ran onto the field to celebrate. Then
Carlos Baerga Carlos Obed Ortiz Baerga (; ; born November 4, 1968) is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball player. Baerga was known for his superb hitting abilities during his first stint with the Cleveland Indians in the early-to-mid-1990s, accumulatin ...
followed with a homer to give the Indians a commanding 4–0 lead with six outs to go. Once again,
José Mesa José Ramón Nova Mesa (; born May 22, 1966) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1987 through 2007. He played for the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners ...
came on to close the door in the ninth and did so with ease. The Indians had won their first pennant since 1954. The Mariners were one of the very few teams to have lost in two shutouts in one series. Orel Hershiser was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the ALCS. He became the first player to win the LCS MVP Award in both leagues, having previously done so in
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
for the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
.


Composite box

1995 ALCS (4–2):
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
over
Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...


Aftermath


Mariners

By the time of their
American League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ea ...
meeting with the Yankees, Washington Governor
Mike Lowry Michael Edward Lowry (March 8, 1939 – May 1, 2017) was an American politician who served as the 20th governor of Washington from 1993 to 1997. His political career ended abruptly following a sexual misconduct allegation made against him by h ...
called an emergency session of the legislature in early October with one goal: to hammer out a new funding package for a stadium. A few weeks after the end of the Mariners postseason run, King County Council voted, 10-3, to enact the stadium funding package that the Washington state legislature approved. Although groundbreaking on what would become
Safeco Field T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the western t ...
was still 18 months off, baseball was finally safe in Seattle. The Mariners would avenge their 1995 American League Championship Series loss to the Indians when they beat them in the 2001 American League Division Series in five games. The Mariners broke the all-time wins record for a team in
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
: however, they failed to make the World Series that season. The franchise had not been back to the playoffs since 2001 until they qualified for the 2022 playoffs. In July 2019, the MLB Network released ''MLB Network Presents: The 1995 Mariners, Saving Baseball in Seattle''


Indians

In their first World Series appearance since 1954, the Indians lost to the Braves in six games. The Indians returned to the World Series in
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
, but they would lose again to the Florida Marlins in seven games. The Indians remained a World Series contender until the early 2000s, which by that time many of their stars, such as
Manny Ramirez Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, L ...
, Sandy Alomar, and
Jim Thome James Howard Thome (; born August 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball corner infielder and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 22 seasons (1991–2012). He played for six different teams during the ...
, had moved on to other teams. In December 2020, ''MLB Network Presents: The Dynasty That Almost Was'' debuted on MLB Network, documenting the Indians run in the mid-to-late 1990s.


References


External links


1995 ALCS at Baseball Reference
{{Navboxes, list1= {{ALCS {{Cleveland Indians {{Seattle Mariners {{Major League Baseball on ABC {{Major League Baseball on NBC {{Major League Baseball on CBS Radio {{The Baseball Network American League Championship Series
American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...
Cleveland Indians postseason Seattle Mariners postseason
American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...
American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...
1990s in Cleveland
American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...
American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...
Sports competitions in Seattle