The All-Time Cleveland Indians Lineup

The Cleveland Indians are a franchise rich with history and sustained success. That's because some absolute legends of the game passed through town since the team was founded in 1901.

Coming up with an all-time lineup is no easy task, but we do our best here to avoid controversy.

Cleveland Indians All-Time Starting Lineup

Nap Lajoie, 2B

Nap Lajoie was so good the team was called the "Naps" from 1903-1914. The Hall of Famer spent 13 years in Cleveland from 1902-1914 and is the franchise leader in WAR, hits, and at-bats. He finished his career with 3,243 hits and had 424 doubles in Cleveland. Lajoie led the league in hits four times and is the perfect man to bat leadoff.

Earl Averill, CF

Averill was with the Indians from 1929-1939 and is the franchise leader in total bases, runs scored, and triples. The six-time All-Star had his number retired by the team and is fourth all-time in WAR. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1975.

Tris Speaker, LF

Speaker primarily played in center but gets bumped to left field in this stacked lineup. He joined the Indians in 1916 and was with the team through the 1926 season. Speaker is second in WAR behind Lajoie and is first in on-base percentage with an impressive mark of .444. He also remains the franchise leader in doubles after all this time with 486.

Jim Thome, 1B

Thome is the first modern era player in this lineup. He's the franchise leader in home runs with 337 and also has the most walks in team history. The slugger is sixth in WAR and was part of the great Indians teams in the latter half of the 1990s. Thome's .414 on-base percentage with the Indians ranks third in team history.

Albert Belle, DH

Belle had a controversial ending to his Indians career, but he still mashed 242 home runs over the course of eight seasons in town. That puts him second behind Thome in franchise history. Belle led the league in RBI twice and had 50 home runs during the 1995 season. Belle brings a swagger to this lineup that's tough to match.

Victor Martinez, C

Martinez narrowly gets the nod over Sandy Alomar Jr. The catcher spent nearly eight seasons in Cleveland before being traded to Boston in 2009. He had a 19.3 WAR over that span and made three All-Star Games. Martinez was a key piece on the 2007 team that nearly made the World Series and had 25 home runs and 114 RBI that season.

Lou Boudreau, SS

Boudreau is third all-time in WAR and that puts him ahead of Omar Vizquel at shortstop. He played for the Indians from 1938-1950 and served as player-manager from 1942-1950. He's the franchise leader in defensive WAR and made eight All-Star Games. Boudreau led the league in doubles three times and provides power in the bottom third of the lineup.

Al Rosen, 3B

Rosen spent his entire career from 1947-1956 with the Indians and was a four-time All-Star and the AL MVP in 1953. He showed great power for a third baseman and led the league in home runs twice. His 192 career home runs rank 10th all-time in team history and his MVP season saw him hit 43 bombs and drive in 145 runs.

Manny Ramirez, RF

Ramirez was with the Indians from 1993-2000 and is third all-time in home runs. His .998 OPS is the best mark in franchise history thanks to his career .592 slugging percentage. Ramirez was a young star with the Indians and provides amazing power to round out the lineup.

Bob Feller, SP

Feller is the only logical choice here. The legend spent 18 seasons with the Indians and took a four-year hiatus when he fought in World War II. He made eight All-Star Games, led the league in strikeouts seven times, and helped lead the team to a World Series title in 1948. Feller is the ultimate ace and the Hall of Famer makes this lineup one that seems nearly impossible to beat.