CLEVELAND -- Kenny Lofton played fast, played hard and, perhaps most importantly, he insists he played clean in an era when steroids were baseball's dirty little secret.

Lofton's statistics earned him a place in Cleveland's Hall of Fame.

One day, he hopes they get him into Cooperstown's shrine.

"I just went out there and did what I had to do," Lofton said. "I was not a cheater."

The pre-eminent leadoff hitter and base stealer in franchise history, Lofton was picked Wednesday for the Indians' Hall of Fame. He and Cy Slapnicka, a former general manager and scout who signed Hall of Fame pitchers Bob Feller and Bob Lemon, will be inducted on Aug. 7 before the Indians host Minnesota.

A five-time All-Star, Lofton played 10 seasons with Cleveland. He was the table-setter for the club's powerful offense, which featured sluggers Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and Albert Belle. Lofton also roamed center field, where he often turned potential extra-base hits into outs.


Lofton was a career .299 hitter that stole 622 bases in his 17-year career. He was also a six-time All-Star selection and a four-time Gold Glove Award winner.

One of the most popular players in Indians history, Lofton finished with a .300 average, set the club mark for steals (452) and ranks third in career runs (975) and 10th in hits (1,512). Overall, he finished with more than 2,400 career hits, led the AL in steals five straight seasons and won four Gold Gloves over 17 years.

An argument could be made he belongs in baseball's hallowed Hall.

Now more than ever.

In light of Mark McGwire's admission to using steroids and human-growth hormone while setting home run records, and with other high-profile players being suspended for banned substances, Lofton's statistics may be viewed differently by Hall of Fame voters once he becomes eligible for induction.

Lofton hopes so.

"I was a guy who never did it [steroids], never tried to do it, never wanted to do it but I played against guys who obviously were doing it," he said. "My competition level had to be at a certain level to be able to compete with those guys who were cheating.

"I was not a cheater, so hopefully they'll take a look at that and see what I did under that period and hopefully they take that into account."

Former Indians catcher Sandy Alomar believes voters should take a long look at Lofton's accomplishments before deciding on his Hall worthiness.

"Kenny was a complete player. He was a five-tool guy," Alomar said. "Kenny could go deep and he took pride on the leadoff spot and playing his role. I think the voters have to realize that and they have to reward players for their abilities, not just for power numbers or RBIs but for how well he played his role. For a time, he was the most dominant leadoff guy other than Rickey Henderson."

Lofton, who had three stints with the Indians from 1991-2007, said it was a constant challenge not to expose players who were not playing by the rules.

"I felt that I did it the right way and always felt like the good guys always lose," he said. "I just sat back and kept doing what I was doing. They always say things are going to come out in the light, and that's what happened."

Lofton said his most memorable moment with the Indians came when he scored from second base on a passed ball in Game 6 of the 1995 ALCS, clinching Cleveland's first World Series appearance since 1954. It was also the play Alomar said defined Lofton.

"He won the game by himself," Alomar said. "He was a winner and a postseason guy. The bigger the stage, the better he got. Everybody talks about home runs and things like that, but this guy was the igniter for this organization for many years."

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

Spring Training in Goodyear, Ariz. for the Cleveland Indians may still be a month away, but on Monday Jan. 25, first-year manager Manny Acta took two hours worth of questions from Tribe fans at Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School in hopes of fans not only getting to know him better, but also a chance to familiarize themselves with the 2010 Cleveland Indians.

The event was held in the school's auditorium and hosted by the Cleveland Indians. While Acta joked about some of his philosophies throughout the night, he also gave fans an insight into his true beliefs on baseball.

While Matt Underwood of Sports Time Ohio helped moderate the event, dozens of fans got to voice their opinions and questions toward Acta loud and clear using a microphone in the auditorium.

Throughout the night issues such as the rotation, lineup, bullpen, Spring Training, outfielders, the Central Division, minor leaguers and the coaching staff were all discussed.

WTAM 1100 Cleveland Indians Beat Reporter Nick Camino attended the event and had this to say:

Below are some things I gathered from Manny Acta's town hall meeting held at beautiful Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School.

1. Westbrook and Carmona should be ready: Unless Tribe fans and the media are being completely lied to, I feel like Jake Westbrook and Fausto Carmona should be ready to lead a starting rotation that has many questions marks right now. Similar to Manny Acta, I am not going to say they will be back to their old selves, but improvements should be made by both pitchers this season. After listening to Acta tonight as well as pitching coach Tim Belcher earlier in the week, Westbrook and Carmona's issues are more psychological than physical...these guys can pitch, trust me.

2. Rafael Perez may start this season: The bolded statement is not a misprint. Tonight at the town hall-type meeting that Acta and the Indians held, the Tribe's skipper said Rafael Perez may actually start in the regular season. He had been getting time on the mound starting in winter ball, but nobody had expected him to actually start this season. Now, with that being said, don't expect him to crack the rotation or anything. Remember, Perez had his share of issues as well last season. However, if he can string things together and the Indians rotation needs him, at least we know Acta is confident in putting "Raffy" on the mound.

3. Acta keeping the bunting people happy: To no surprise at all, bunting was brought up at the event. I have got to hand it to you Tribe fans, you love bunting. While Manny Acta did admit he's not crazy about the bunt as some of you fans, he will bunt when he needs to. The thing about Acta is that he uses common sense and he does research. He will do not only what he thinks will work in a certain situation, but also what mathematically works too. So relax bunting people, Manny will have the Indians bunting, it just has to be the right situation.

4. Playing like a National League team: Manny mentioned that the American League is a power hitting league. Not just due to the DH rule, but that's just how it is looked at. And while Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, Shin-Soo Choo and Jhonny Peralta do boast power, Acta admitted this Indians ball club may play N.L.-type ball. Meaning fast paced, not just relying on power sticks. I like the idea, if you have speed you may as well use it and be aggressive.

5. Bullpen not brought up: Besides a fan at the event bringing up Jeremy Sowers as a long reliever, which was a good question by the way, the bullpen really was not discussed. I am not sure why, considering that is a section of the team that is very concerning. When I look at it, it does not blow me away, but at the same time, if Chris Perez can keep his stuff around the plate, he could make for a very dangerous set-up man for closer Kerry Wood. And I expect Wood not only to be better this season, but also get more opportunites to save games early, which should prepare him for later in the season.

6. Spring Training games are important: Over the past few seasons, for some reason the Cleveland Indians have had losing seasons in Spring Training, which were usually followed by poor starts to the regular season. And while Eric Wedge's teams did play good second-half baseball, it was not good enough to make the postseason, obviously excluding the 2007 campaign. Acta said something tonight though that really hit me. He said, "I don't like hitting the showers after a loss, even in Spring Training." That not only shows me this new manager is a winner, but that yes, it may only be March and the games don't technically count, but you want to get that winning mentality going early.

7. Jamey Carroll a good guy...but went for the money: Showing just how good of a guy he is, Manny Acta had nothing but good things to say about former Indians infielder Jamey Carroll. Moreover, in the short time I have known radio play-by-play analyst Tom Hamilton he has had great things to say about Carroll too. While I like his hustle and consistent effort between the lines it is truly confusing to me why he left. And I have bad news Tribe fans, I think it was because of one thing...$MONEY$. Why else would he leave Cleveland? Instead he signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who if you have not heard are a complete mess right now due to the owners getting a divorce. Acta admitted the Indians offered him good money, obviously not enough for Mr. Carroll, who I still hold high respect for in between the lines.

8. The right choice: The last thing I will say is that the Indians truly made a great hire. Manny Acta is genuine, he means what he says and he lives for the game of baseball. I truly think the Indians are in good hands with him and his coaching staff. And while he may have been fired by the Washington Nationals, this is a perfect fit for him. Remember, Joe Torre was fired three different times by three different teams before he went to New York and won a bunch of World Series rings with the Yankees. Cleveland is a good fit for Manny Acta and he fits right in with a blue collar-town mentality too.

- Nick

Check out Nick's photo gallery from the event on the Indians photo page or in the newest picture gallery section of WTAM.com. After the event Nick also caught up with Manny Acta, listen to their one-on-one interview on the Indians podcast page right here on WTAM.com.

CLEVELAND - The Cleveland Indians kept their arbitration streak intact by coming to terms with reliever Rafael Perez on a $795,000 deal.

The club was scheduled to exchange salary figures Tuesday with Perez, the only player on Cleveland's roster eligible for arbitration. The Indians have not gone to arbitration since 1991.


Despite a rough 2009, in 2007 Perez held a 1.78 ERA in 44 appearances. The Indians are hoping he can return to numbers he had in that season and in 2008.

Perez, who can earn another $25,000 with an All-Star appearance, was a major disappointment last season. The left-hander went 4-3 with a 7.31 ERA in 48 innings with Cleveland and was twice sent down to the minor leagues.

The Indians are counting on him to regain the form that made him one of the AL's premier setup men. In 2008, he was Cleveland's most reliable reliever and in 2007 he had a 1.78 ERA in 44 appearances.

CLEVELAND - The Indians continue to stockpile middle-infield options this offseason. The latest is Brian Bixler, who was acquired in a trade with the Pirates on Monday.

To get Bixler, the Indians sent the Bucs Class A third baseman Jesus Brito, who batted a combined .353 with a .998 OPS with short-season Mahoning Valley and the Indians' Arizona League team last year.

The addition of Bixler fills up the Tribe's 40-man roster.

Bixler, 27, is a Sandusky, Ohio, native who was the Pirates' second-round selection in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft. Although he played parts of the past two seasons with the Pirates, he spent the bulk of the past three years at Triple-A Indianapolis, where he hit a combined .276 with 21 homers, 130 RBIs and a .766 OPS while striking out 366 times in 1,199 at-bats.


Bixler played well at shortstop for the Pirates last season, but at times did struggle at the plate.

Last season, Bixler batted .275 with 23 doubles, eight triples, nine homers and 43 RBIs in 103 games at Indianapolis, and he hit .227 (10-for-44) with five runs scored and three RBIs in 18 games over three stints with the Bucs.

In 50 games with the Pirates in '08, Bixler batted .157 (17-for-108) with two doubles, one triple and two RBIs.

CLEVELAND, OH – The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has signed catcher Mike Redmond to free agent Major League contract.

Redmond, 38, owns a 12-year Major League career batting average of .289 (636-2201) with 113 doubles, 13 home runs and 238 RBI in 741 games with the Florida Marlins and Minnesota Twins since debuting in 1998.  The Spokane, Washington native was a member of the 2003 World Series Champion Marlins and was a member of Minnesota’s AL Central winning teams in 2006 and 2009.
 

Mike Redmond has been a veteran catcher in MLB since 1998.

Redmond has spent the last 5 seasons since 2005 in the AL Central with the Minnesota Twins where he hit a combined .297 (256-863) in 257 games.  He hit .341 (61-179) for the Twins in 2006 and last season hit .237 (32-135) in 45 games.

The 40-man roster now stands at 39 players.