Written and media by Sara Dawson.
The Cleveland Indian’s impressive winning streak is over. After having a perfect record and astonishing 142-37 scoring margin and three weeks of play, the Indians lost on September 15th against the Kansas City Royals. If the Indians had an extra inning, they might have won. They struggled against the Royals and lost four to three. This is the first loss since winning 22 in a row. The large number of sustaining wins granted the Indians title of longest streak in American League History. However, the team is still beat out by The New York Giant’s major league record set in 1916. This streak consisted of 26 games and stood for 101 years. Though the Indian’s streak is shorter than this, some contend that it still reigns supreme. Comparisons could continue about the two teams, but in the end, each record just goes to show how hard maintaining a winning streak can be.
Since the Indian’s loss on September 15th, the team has not stopped from trying again. They have started focusing on the playoffs and beat the Kansas City Royals the next two nights. On September 16th, the Indians won eight to four against the Kansas City Royals. The Indians pulled it off again against the Royals with three to two the following game. The Indians then headed out to Los Angeles to play in the Angel Stadium against the LA Angels. Cleveland played an impressive game Tuesday night, September 19th, winning six to three. On September 20th the team did it again, winning against the LA Angels six to five. The Indians are definitely proving that a loss will not bring them down. They have started their streak over, and are poised for the post-season.
In an interview with NPR and Joe Posnanski, the interviewer asked Posnanski, “So you write that, quote, ‘no team has ever played baseball like the Cleveland Indians have been playing during this streak.’ What makes you say that? What’s so special about this moment?”
Posnanski said, “Well, it’s obviously special for a lot of reasons. You start with the streak itself. This is just not something that tends to happen in baseball. But the way Cleveland has been winning these games — I mean, baseball is a game where mediocre teams beat good teams all the time, where, no matter how good you are, you lose 60 games, plus. Every full season. So for a team to be playing at this level, where not only have they won 19 in a row, they really have hardly ever been challenged — they’ve been trailing for only, like, four innings the entire streak. This is a completely different kind of streak from anything we’ve ever seen before. And this has been a pretty special run.”
The Indians have definitely shown off and are ready to play whoever is next. Additionally, Cleveland is trying its best to be in the playoffs, so the other teams better watch out!
