1988 Indians, top row (left to right): Jimmy Warfield, unknown, Chris Bando, Julio Franco, Jay Bell, Ron Washington, Chris Codirolli, Paul Spicuzza, Cy Buynak; second row: unknown, Ron Kittle, Dave Clark, Rich Yett, Willie Upshaw, Andy Allanson, Doug Jones, Carmen Castillo, Bill Laskey; third row: Scott Bailes, Tom Candiotti, Brook Jacoby, Greg Swindell, Joe Carter, Mel Hall, Cory Snyder, Pat Tabler, John Farrel; bottom row: Mike Segi, Tom Spencer, Charlie Manuel, Mark Wiley, Doc Edwards, Johnny Goryl, Luis Isaac, Mike Hindulak, unknown, Jeff Sipos. Terry Francona and Bud Black are not pictured. (Cleveland Indians)
ST. LOUIS, Mo. –- The 1988 Indians were a lot like any Indians team from that era. They didn’t win much and they often looked bad doing it.
In a 11-year stretch from 1978 through 1988, the Indians had three winning seasons and never finished higher than fifth in the American League East. The pain still lingers for many of those who watched.
So what makes the 1988 Indians worth more than a mention, especially when the Cardinals and Red Sox will play Game 3 of the World Series on Saturday night at Busch Stadium? Certainly there are more pleasant things to discuss.
Right again, but that was before the ’88 Indians turned into the cradle of managers, producing six current or former big league skippers, including John Farrell, who has the Red Sox in the Fall Classic in his first year on the job in Boston. Terry Francona, Ron Washington, Bud Black, Dave Clark and Charlie Manuel are the others. Manuel, the Tribe’s hitting coach at the time, was the only non-player in the group.
These aren’t merely interim, cup-of-coffee managers either. They’ve combined to win three World Series titles, seven pennants and lead their teams to 16 postseason appearances.
Francona is still stunned it happened.
“We were closer to the movie Major League than being managers,” said Francona. “We weren’t real good.”
Francona, the Indians current manager, led Boston to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007. In eight years with the Red Sox, his teams never won fewer than 86 games in a season and went to the postseason five times.
This past season, Francona’s first in Cleveland, he led the Indians to their first postseason appearance since 2007 as one of the AL’s wild card teams. Cleveland is Francona's third managerial stop after Philadelphia and Boston.
Washington, a shortstop who hit .256 in 69 games for the 1988 Tribe, has spent the last seven years as manager of the Texas Rangers. He took the Rangers to the World Series in 2010 and 2011. In the last five years, the Rangers have nave never won fewer than 87 games a season.
Black, a pitcher like Farrell, has spent the last seven years managing the San Diego Padres. Black has posted two winning seasons.
Manuel succeeded Mike Hargrove as Indians manager in 2000 and led the Indians to the playoffs in 2001. Fired at the All-Star break in 2002, Manuel resurfaced in Philadelphia to become the winningest manager in Phillies’ history before being fired late last season.
In almost nine years in Philadelphia, Manuel’s Phillies reached the World Series twice, winning the title in 2008 and losing it in 2009, and winning five straight NL East titles. His career won-loss record stands at 1,000-826.
Clark, a former No.1 pick of the Indians, managed the last 13 games in 2009 for Houston after Cecil Cooper was fired.
The 1988 Indians finished 78-84 under the guidance of Doc Edwards, a former backup big-league catcher, who just finished his 57th year in pro ball. From Howard Rodney “Doc’ Edwards sprung Farrell, Francona, Washington, Black, Manuel and Clark.
“I’d like to say yes,” said Edwards, 76, when asked if he knew he was sitting on a managerial gold mine 25 years ago. “But I’ve got to say no. The one thing I will say is all those guys were serious about the game. “
Farrell was the Indians No.2 draft pick in 1984. He was 0-5 at Class A Waterloo in 1985 when he got a call from Bob Quinn, the former farm direction.
“I thought they were going to send me down to Batavia,” said Farrell. “But they said they were sending me to the Maine Guides (Class AAA). I asked Bob, “Are you sure?’”
Edwards was the Tribe’s Triple-A manager at the time and the two hit it off.
“In some ways he was almost like a father figure,” said Farrell. “When things were going bad, he’d put his arm around me and say, “Everything is OK.’ You felt that he trusted you and had confidence in you. That went a long way in letting you relax, go out on the mound and just let your abilities take over.”
Edwards replaced Pat Corrales as Indians manager during the 1987 season. Farrell made his big league debut that year and in 1988 went 14-10, his best year in the big leagues.
“Doc had an immediate impact on me,” said Farrell, who managed the Toronto Blue Jays in 2011 and 2012 before being traded to the Red Sox last winter. “He was a guy who I felt trusted me. That went a long way.”
Edwards said he could tell right away that Farrell was serious about making a living in baseball.
“He threw 95 and wasn’t afraid of anybody,” said Edwards. ” If his elbow had held up, he would have been a very good major league pitcher.”
Farrell said he tries to use the personal touch that he learned from Edwards whenever possible.
“You always try to put the put yourself in the player’s shoes,” he said. “Then you draw upon, ‘OK, how did somebody deal with me and did that work with me?’ Those are things you draw upon for sure.”
Farrell, Francona and Black gravitated toward each other on the 1988 club. They’d always talk about staying in the game after they were done playing.
“I remember standing in the outfield with Blackie and talking,” said Farrell. “There was always a thought about remaining in the game. But to say what role that would be I didn’t know.”
Francona said he knew Farrell and Black could do just about anything they wanted with their lives after baseball.
“But the only thing I knew was baseball,” he said. “I’m pretty sure if you asked Wash (Washington), he’d say the same thing. John and Blackie are special people. If they wanted to be a general manager, manage or be a pitching coach, they could do that.
”Wash and me, at that point in our career, were just hanging on.”
Edwards spent a lot of time talking to his players on the bench before and during games.
“Ronnie Washington always had an idea about how to win a game,” said Edwards. “He was the kind of guy who knew how to get a pick off at second base late in the game or take an extra base. He was always talking about that during the game.”
Edwards played with Francona’s father, Tito, in the minors and big leagues with the Indians.
“Terry was a lot like his dad,” said Edwards. “You could talk with him and joke around on the bench, but when the games started, he was into it.”
Edwards spent a lot of time with Manuel that season and was not surprised at the success he had with the Indians and Phillies.
“Charlie and me were a lot a like when it came to handling players,” said Edwards. “We tried to treat the players right. But when it came time to get something straight we weren’t afraid to say, “This is way to do things right.’
“If I had a problem with a player, I always tried to handle it man-to-man, behind closed doors. I never wanted to make somebody look bad or embarrass them. As a player, I always hated that.”
Edwards, who played with the Indians, Kansas City and the Yankees, says “I bet I’ve managed 12 to 14 players who have gone on to become big league managers, but I’d have to sit down and think about it to remember their names.’ Besides the class of 1988, the one he could recall was Grady Little, who managed the Red Sox and Dodgers.
Edwards just finished his eighth season managing the San Angelo Colts, an independent team that plays in San Angelo, Texas.
Francona couldn’t recall any magic elixir that Edwards dispensed to the 1988 Indians to help groom so many future managers.
“I’m just glad he let me play,” said Francona.
Which is not a bad place to start.
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