All-Time Indians: Joe Gordon

Joe Gordon is a recent inductee of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame (2009) and the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame (2008) as well. While he was inducted as a Yankee for his 7 years of service there, he contributed enough to the Indians that he deserves recognition here as well. Gordon was the rare case of an amazing player being traded from the Yankees to another team. In 1946 the Indians made the deal in exchange for Allie Reynolds following top 25 MVP finishes in 7 of Gordon’s 8 seasons and seven consecutive All-Star game appearances.

When he came to Cleveland he picked his game up even more, earning career highs in home runs and RBI in 1948. That same season he lead the Indians to their second World Series championship as their starting second baseman against the Boston Braves. Gordon was the top offensive player on the Tribe for both 1947 and 1948 when he lead the team each year in home runs and RBI. 1949 saw the emergence of Larry Doby as a powerful force and 1950 brought around the advent of Al Rosen, but Gordon continued to produce through his entire time with the Tribe, hitting at least 19 home runs every year, including 1950 when he only played 119 games. Even though his time in Cleveland was short, he still managed to hit 100 home runs for the Indians, one of only 23 players to accomplish that feat.

Gordon was also a successful manager for the Indians, taking over for Kerby Farrell in 1958. Gordon is currently ranked 20th all time in wins by an Indians manager while his winning percentage is ranked 5th. From this, he ranks among the greatest Indians managers all-time in addition to being one of the best hitters. Joe Gordon died in 1978 at the age of 63.