CLEVELAND — Considering the circumstances under which their season was taking place, the Cleveland Indians' 2020 campaign always figured to be a unique one.
But man, did the Indians take that theory to the next level.
While the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shortened baseball's regular season to just 60 games, Cleveland made 2020 a year to remember on the baseball field. Even without fans in the stand, the Indians still brought no shortage of magic to Progressive Field, with Shane Bieber becoming the first pitcher in baseball to win the Triple Crown since 2006 and Jose Ramirez turning in an MVP-caliber campaign.
Cleveland's 2020 season culminated with a wild week in which a Ramirez walk-off home run vs. the Chicago White Sox clinched the team a postseason spot, while the Indians went from the No. 7 seed to No. 4 on the final day of the regular season. As a result, Cleveland will host the New York Yankees in a best-of-three Wild Card Series at Progressive Field with Game 1 scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
There was some turbulence too, with Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac being optioned to the team's alternate training site after breaking the team's COVID-19 prevention protocols and the former being traded to the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline. Most notably, Terry Francona hasn't managed the Indians since Aug. 16 and won't return to manage the team during the postseason as he continues to deal with health issues.
Add it all together and you get a 2020 Indians season unlike any other with endless possibilities remaining for the postseason. Ahead of Tuesday's Game 1 vs. the Yankees, MLB Network put together a hype video recapping Cleveland's 2020 campaign, which you won't want to miss.
