They were the tail end of the ‘90s powerhouse teams, with enough offense to knock a team silly, but not enough pitching to back up a deep playoff run.
Jim Thome, Roberto Alomar, Kenny Lofton, Charles Nagy, Omar Vizquel, and others from the Tribe’s glory days were still there, but it wouldn’t be long before the band was broken up and a new wave of talent — with varying levels of success — would push the Indians into a new millennium.
One of those new faces was pitcher CC Sabathia, who was fast-tracked to the majors three years after being selected by the Indians in the first round of the 1998 Amateur Draft.