All Indians two-timer team
Last year around this time, I did the all-obscure reference Indians team. This year, with the re-aquisition of Kenny Lofton, I thought it might be fun to compile a new list, this one of players who liked it so much in Cleveland, they came back after playing for another team.


Or they couldn't find a job anywhere else.


The ground rules for this list: All are Indians players during my lifetime, which means Larry Doby will not be appearing, despite being a better player than everyone on this list.


Stats are thanks to Baseball-Reference.com

C- Jesse Levis (1992-1995; 1999): In sports, timing is everything. Had Levis come around even three years earlier than he did, he'd have been the Indians starter (No way Andy Allanson would have beat him out). But Levis came up in 1992, when Sandy Alomar, despite constant injuries, was the Indians' rock.

The Indians liked Levis a lot, though. I remember Peter Gammons saying during the 1992 expansion draft that the Tribe was considering sending Alomar to Toronto (where he'd be on the same team as Roberto) for Pat Borders and a pitching prospect. Anybody else glad they didn't go through with that one?

Levis was servicable for the Brewers, and returned to the Indians in 1999, signing with Cleveland two days after being released by the Devil Rays. He hit three homers in his career. I saw his first -- on my only trip to Tiger Stadium in 1992. It helped the Indians win the game, which sweetened the memory.

1B - Jose Hernandez (1992; 2005): He played all of three games in the 1992 season for the Indians, then returned 13 years later. He missed the beginning golden age by two years, then returned four years after it ended.

Still, Hernandez was servicable enough in 2005, mainly playing first against left-handed starters. He hit six homers and managed just a .231 average. Scoff if you want, but his average was 112 points higher than one of the Indians' current utility men (ehehehehMikeRouseehehehe).


2B - Carlos Baerga (1990-1996; 1999): Of all the moves Indians General Manager Jon Hart made, his trade of Baerga to the Mets in 1996 may have been the one he felt the worst about.

Baerga was the first Indian of the 1990s (with the possible exception of Sandy Alomar) to win the hearts of Cleveland fans. For four years, he hit more than .300 and had more than 15 homers. His homer in the eighth inning of the 1995 ALCS off Randy Johnson was the final nail in the Mariners' coffin.


But whatever Baerga had, he seemed to lose it in 1996, and never got it back. He was hitting just .267 with 10 homers on July 29, 1996, when Hart shocked the fans by trading Baerga to the Mets. The Indians received future NL MVP Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino. I actually loved watching the Indians with Vizcaino at second, since he complimented Omar Vizquel very well.


The Indians lost in the first round of the playoffs to Baltimore in 1996. Hart used Kent and Vizcaino (along with Julian Tavarez) to get Matt Williams from the Giants. Then he sent Williams to Arizona for Travis Fryman.

Back to Baerga. I always thought Hart felt bad about trading Baerga, even though it was a good trade. Baerga never regained his form and became a bench player. But Hart brought Bearga back, getting him from the Padres in 1999. Baerga, in a backup role, hit .228 and was left off the postseason roster, although he did sit on the bench during the Boston series, which, the Indians lost.

SS - Julio Franco (1983-1988; 1996-1997): Julio Franco was a great player on some miserable Indians teams in the 1980s. He hit more than .280 in five of his first six seasons with the Tribe, and batted more than .300 from 1986-1988. The Indians rewarded him by shipping him to Texas for Pete O'Brien, Oddibe McDowell and Jerry Browne.


Yeah, just take a guess who got the better of that deal.

Franco hit forever. He hit in Texas. He hit in Chicago. He hit in Japan.

Then, in 1996, the Indians brought Franco back to play first base. He hit again, batting .322 with 20 homers that season. In 1997, the Indians figured he was washed up, and released him. Eleven years later, he's still playing.

3B - Brook Jacoby (1984-1991; 1992): Brook Jacoby and the Indians were meant for each other. You might say Brook Jacoby was Casey Blake before Casey Blake was cool.

Except, Jacoby was much better than Blake. A solid defensive player, Jacoby was a two-time all-star, Jacoby hit .300 with 32 homers in 1987. His last solid season was 1990, when he made the all-star team. The next year, he scuffled on a horrid Indians team, and was dealt to Oakland for Lee Tinsley and Apolinar Garcia. Speaking of that. If a trade fell in the forest and no one noticed it, did it make a sound?

The Indians brought back Jacoby in 1992, where he backed up Carlos Martinez at third. He hit four homers and retired.

LF-Candy Maldanado (1990; 1993-1994): The 1990 Indians were an interesting team, with a large group of veterans carrying the team to a fourth-place finish in the American League East, winning 77 games. It was one of those weird seasons where the Indians were not all that bad.

One of the reasons the team was decent was the play of Maldanado, who GM Hank Peters signed to a one-year deal. He hit.273 and led the team with 22 homers (no, really).

But the Indians were in the beginnings of a rebuilding movement, so they let Maldanado go. The Indians slugged along for a few seasons, while Maldanado became a postseason hero with the 1992 Blue Jays.

In late 1993, in a bizarre move, John Hart brought Maldanado back, sending Glenallen Hill to the Cubs for the outfielder. Maldanado was decent for the remainder of the '93 season, and returned in 1994. He was the starting designated hitter in the Indians' first game at Jacobs Field, against the Mariners.

But Maldanado didn't do so well in 1994. He batted .196 with five homers. The Tribe was so thrilled they traded for Dave Winfield -- during the 1994 players strike. Candy signed with Toronto, then finished his career in Texas in 1995.

CF - Kenny Lofton (1992-1996; 1998-2001; 2007): This is an obvious choice. The Indians and Lofton are like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. They can't seem to live with or without each other. One of the great surprises for me as a fan came when Lofton signed with the Indians in 1998. The signing came less than seven months after the outfielder said the Indians "stabbed him in the back" by trading him.

But Lofton is a Cleveland legend. If you don't believe me, listen to the crowd when he comes up to hit. My guess is his number will be retired by the Indians, and rightfully so.

RF -- Mark Whiten (1991-1992, 1998-2000): Mark Whiten had one of the biggest swings I'd ever seen. My best memory of his career came in 1998, when he crushed a homer in game 3 of the ALCS against the Yankees.

His career highlight came with the Cardinals in 1993, when he hit four homers in one game. He hit 105 homers in his career, but he never got cheated. The Indians first dealt him in 1993, and got pitcher Mark Clark in return. If memory serves, Whiten came back after playing in Mexico.

He also had one of the best nicknames ever -- "Hard Hittin'" Mark Whiten. That alone gets him on this list.

Pitchers
Tom Candiotti (1986-1991; 1999)
Dave Burba (1998-2001; 2002)
Doug Jones (1986-1990; 1998): Not much to say here, but then pitchers needed to be represented. If you choose to remember these guys, remember the first go-round. Though many of you probably don't even remember a second tenure.