While it may be a surprise to some, there are actually quite a few players on the active Indians roster that have been good enough for long enough to be considered in a historical context. After the 2013, a few changes needed to be made with the Top 10 All-Time Positional Rankings.
Short Stops
This is not a change as much as a reminder. Asdrubal Cabrera came into the season ranked sixth (between Julio Franco and Jhonny Peralta) and will remain there. Next season he could possibly gain one or two spots, but it would take at least five more years of All-Star level work to come anywhere close to the triumverate of Omar Vizquel, Lou Boudreau and Joe Sewell.
Left Fielders
Michael Brantley took the easy way out, switching from the incredibly deep centerfield position, to the relatively weak left field. This update has more to do with the positional change than a stat or playing time increase, but either way, he is now ranked 11th. He surpassed Matt Lawton, Minnie Minoso, John Lowenstein and Gene Woodling to move him from being unranked at any position. He has less at bats than any players currently in the top ten and is so far back, he will not likely crack the top ten in 2014.
Second Basemen
Jason Kipnis earned his way onto the top ten (15) list this season as the top Indians offensive player for the second year in a row. There aren't many two year players who would be considered for the honor (Roberto Alomar is the top three year player on the list and he had three of the greatest seasons in Indians history), but Kipnis deserves it. He is very similar statistically to the two players just ahead of him, Riggs Stephenson and Ronnie Belliard and has surpassed Duane Kuiper, Jerry Browne and Roy Hughes to sit 13th all-time.
Catchers
Carlos Santana had another solid season and is quickly cementing himself as the greatest walking catcher in Indians history. He is within 200 walks of the all-time leader as a catcher, despite playing in about 900 less games. This season he surpassed Ron Hassey, Glenn Myatt, Harry Bemis, Steve O'Neill and Joe Azcue to break into the top ten all-time. He currently ranks eighth and could be moving to the very top if he plays a few more years with the Indians. The current number one is Victor Martinez, who only started five seasons, just one more than Santana has after this season. His biggest threat to not advancing any further would be if he makes a permanent move to first that could take him off the list altogether.
Right Handed Relief Pitchers
While some Indians fans may look at Vinnie Pestano's 2013 as a lost season, what it actually did was give him enough innings to qualify his amazing numbers from his first two full seasons. The increase in innings allowed him to pass Don McMahon, Steve Karsay, Cal McLish, Ed Klieman, Steve Gromek and Frank Funk to move into the top ten, ending up ranked eighth overall. Joe Smith remains ranked third all time behind Rafael Betancourt and Eric Plunk.
Closers
Chris Perez lost his role during the last week of the season and wasn't even considered in the play-offs, but still had a fairly good season and moved from fourth on the all-time closers list all the way up to second. Like Pestano, his extra innings helped qualify his already stellar career and the counting stats (saves and strike outs), helped move him past Dave LaRoche and Mike Jackson.
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