Expert: Rebecca Toney - 3/20/2002

Question
Hi, quick questions.  Hopefully you can help me with these two questions.  How many second basemen did the Indians play at second base after trading Carlos Baerga to the Mets and before getting Robby Alomar?   Also, what year did John Hart become the GM of the Indians and what was the team's record prior in the prior year of his arrival?  Thanks Rebecca.  

Answer
Wow!  Those were not actually "quick questions" - it took me quite a bit of research to pin down exactly when John Hart took control of the Tribe.  I knew roughly that it was the early 90s, but that's not specific enough to then give the previous year's record...

Hart became GM after the 1991 season, which had a dismal record of 57 - 105.  (Incidentally, he was the team manager that year.)  His first season as GM was 1992, and the team improved to 76 - 86.

As for the second basemen, I looked up the years 1996-1998 and found that the Tribe tried out 14 players in addition to Carlos Baerga.  Baerga, Tony Fernandez, and David Bell were the key guys, each logging about 100 games.  Branson, Vizcaino, Julio Franco, Shawan Dunston, Enrique Wilson, Joey Cora, and Candalle shared time playing between 20 - 50 games each.  Five others, including Bip Roberts and Jeff Kent, played a handful of games each.

Thanks - I enjoyed your questions, and I hope this helps!

Rebecca