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 Indianapolis Indians

Indianapolis Indians 2017 Season Information

October 12, 2017 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


With our season and Pittsburgh's 2017 campaign officially in the books, our communications staff compiled an end-of-season team packet with tidbits, statistics and player bio notes for media guide use, our website and your viewing pleasure. The document is attached to this email. Thank you all for a tremendous 2017 season - the preparation for 2018 is well under way!

IL WEST CHAMPS, AGAIN: The Indianapolis Indians (79-63) secured their fourth International League West Division title in the last six seasons as they held off Columbus (71-71) down the stretch to win the division by a comfortable eight-game margin. Indy started its run in the IL West in 2012 when they won the division by 14 games, and they followed that up with a 2013 division crown in which they beat second-place Columbus by nine games. Indy and Columbus tied for first in 2015. The 2017 squad start- ed off 8-16 and was at the bottom of the IL before a 21-8 May turned the season around. The Indians pulled into a tie for first place on May 18 and only slipped into second for a single day following a 10-1 loss at Columbus on Aug. 3. The Tribe then reeled off nine wins in 10 games en route to a 20-11 finish and Governors' Cup Semifinal with Durham.

BARKETT'S FIRST CAMPAIGN: Tribe first-year manager Andy Barkett had a very successful campaign in 2017. Barkett became the ninth skipper to lead the Indians since Victory Field opened in 1996, and his 79 regular-season wins were good for sec- ond-most among those nine managers in the VF era in their first year at the helm. Barkett's squad fell just short of Steve Smith's 81 victories from the 2000 season, the last Governors' Cup Championship season for the Tribe.

BOUNCED BY THE BULLS: The Indians and Durham Bulls met in the Governors' Cup Semifinals for a third time since Indy rejoined the IL in 1998. The Tribe knocked out the Bulls in 2000, winning the series 3-2 before defeating Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the Championship, 3-2. The two didn't meet in the semis again until 2013 when Durham swept Indy, 3-0. In 2017, Durham protected its home field by winning Game 1 by a convincing 10-3 margin. The Bulls then defeated Tyler Glasnow and the Indians 2-0 in Game 2. With their backs against the wall, the Indians staved off elimination momentarily with a 5-0 shutout in Game 3, but Durham rallied for a 4-3 win in Game 4 to take the series. Durham then beat Scranton/W-B in the Governors' Cup Championship Series, 3-1, before besting Memphis in the winner-take-all Triple-A National Championship.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Indians posted a 44-27 home record during the 2017 regular season, tied for the second-most home wins in the IL. Both Scranton/W-B and Lehigh Valley won 44 games on their respective home fields, while Durham's 45-26 record at the DBAP was the league's best. The 44 wins for the Tribe represented the fourth-highest win total at home since Victory Field opened in 1996, falling shy of the 1998 (45-26), 2012 (48-24) and 1997 (49-23) home records.

THE SEATS ARE FULL: For a second consecutive season and third time in five years, the Indians led Minor League Baseball in overall attendance. In 2017 Victory Field welcomed 641,141 patrons through its gates in 70 openings, good for an MiLB-best average attendance of 9,159 fans per game. WE'RE GOING STREAKING: The Indians' 2017 season featured numerous winning and losing streaks of four games or more. The Indians won four-plus consecutive games eight times and lost four or more contests in a row on five occasions. Indy won a season-high eight straight games from May 16-21 and suffered a season-high five-game losing streak from April 8-12. The Indians also boasted a five- (Aug. 10-15) and six-game winning streak (May 6-11). Indy's eight-game winning streak tied with an eight-gamer from June 27-July 4, 2012, for the second-longest winning streak in the Victory Field era (1996-present).

BROOM EMOJI: The Tribe swept a total of six separate series in 2017, including a pair of two-game sets, two three-game series and two four-game sets. The Tribe were swept just twice all year, both coming in three-game series against Columbus (April 10- 12 at home, Aug. 1-3 at COL). Indy's two-game sweeps came at Columbus (May 6-7) and at Louisville (Aug. 4-5). The three-game sweeps came at home against Charlotte (May 8-10) and at Norfolk (June 13-15). The two four-game sweeps both occurred at home, the first against Toledo (May 19-21) and the second against Syracuse (Aug. 10-13). Indy's four-game sweep of Toledo was its first four-game sweep against the Mud Hens since June 25-28, 2010 at Victory Field, and third since rejoining the IL in 1998. The Tribe's four-game sweep of Syracuse was their first four-game sweep against the Chiefs since May 27-30, 2006 at Syracuse, and third since 1998. IT STARTS WITH THE STARTING PITCHING: Indianapolis' starting rotation was the backbone to the Tribe's success in 2017. Thirteen different pitchers made at least one start for the Indians, with six of those (Steven Brault - 20, Tyler Eppler - 21, Tyler Glasnow - 15, Clay Holmes - 24, Drew Hutchison - 26, Nick Kingham - 19) making 15-plus starts apiece. Overall, the rotation boasted a 57-38 record and 3.39 ERA (290 ER/770.1 IP) while notching 68 quality starts in the regular season.

STAFF STRIKEOUTS: Indians pitchers piled up 1,142 strikeouts in 142 regular-season contests, the fourth-highest total in the IL. The 1,142 whiffs fell just short of the franchise record 1,153 strikeouts from 2013, a year in which Indy played 144 games. The total was still good for second-most in franchise history, easily surpassing the 1,123 punchouts from the 2012 campaign.

GETTING OFFENSIVE: Indianapolis was well-represented on the team offensive leaderboards. Among IL squads, the Tribe ranked first in doubles (279) and second in average (.268), runs scored (647), hits (1,283), RBI (607) and OBP (T-2nd, .333). Indy was third in total bases (1,928) and fourth in both slugging percentage (.402) and stolen bases (101). Indy's .268 average and 1,283 hits were the best numbers in those categories by a Tribe team since the 2005 squad (.275 average; 1,342 hits).

BATTING Batting Average .268 (2nd) Runs

647 (2nd) Hits

1283 (2nd) Doubles

279 (1st) Triples

27 (7th) Home Runs 104 (10th) RBI

607 (2nd) Total Bases 1928 (3rd) Walks

441 (7th) Strikeouts (Fewest) 1065 (5th) Stolen Bases 101 (4th) Caught Stealing (Fewest) 41 (9th) OBP

.333 (T-2nd) SLG

.402 (4th) PITCHING Innings Pitched 1245.1 (5th) ERA

3.48 (4th) WHIP

1.30 (6th) Saves

39 (5th) Hits Allowed (Fewest) 1163 (4th) Runs Allowed (Fewest) 529 (4th) ER Allowed (Fewest) 482 (5th) HR Allowed (Fewest) 103 (5th) Hit Batters (Fewest) 51 (10th) Walks (Fewest) 453 (7th) Strikeouts 1142 (4th) Day Games: 21-18 Night Games: 58-45 Before All-Star Break: 50-39 After All-Star Break: 29-24 April: 7-15 May: 21-8 June: 17-12 July: 14-14 August: 18-12 September: 2-2 Monday: 8-7 Tuesday: 11-9 Wednesday: 6-12 Thursday: 16-6 Friday: 13-10 Saturday: 13-10 Sunday: 12-9 Scoring First: 57-19 Opponent Scoring First: 22-44 Extra Innings: 4-10 Shutout Record: 10-13 Doubleheaders: 3-1-3 Commit An Error: 28-36 Commit No Errors: 51-27 Walk-Off Wins: 4 Walk-Off Losses: 6 vs. IL West: 38-32 vs. IL North: 20-19 vs. IL South: 21-12 Scoring 4+ Runs: 66-21 Scoring 3 Or Fewer Runs: 13-42 Out-Hit Opponent: 62-9 Out-Hit By Opponent: 15-45 Teams Tie in Hits: 2-9 Indy Hits HR: 42-18 Indy no HR: 37-45 Opp. Hits HR: 35-34 Opp. no HR: 44-29 Lead After 6: 65-11 Trail After 6: 8-46 Tied After 6: 6-6 Lead After 7: 73-7 Trail After 7: 2-51 Tied After 7: 4-5 Lead After 8: 68-5 Trail After 8: 1-49 Tied After 8: 2-5 Vs. LH Starter: 28-23 Vs. RH Starter: 51-40 Series (W-L-S): 18-13-11 2017 indy bits - REGULAR SEASON Games 142 ERA 3.48 (482 ER in 1245.1 IP) Record 79-63 Starter W-L 57-38 Average .268 Starter ERA 3.39 (290 ER in 770.1 IP) Runs (Avg/Gm) 647 (4.6) Reliever W-L 22-25 XBH (Avg/Gm) 410 (2.9) Reliever ERA 3.64 (192 ER in 475.0 IP) Home Runs 104 Walks 453 Stolen Bases 101 Strikeouts 1142 RISP .268 (348-for-1300) Save/Opps 39/55 PLAYOFFS Games 4 ERA 3.71 (14 ER in 34.0 IP) Record 1-3 Starter W-L 1-2 Average .226 Starter ERA 3.57 (9 ER in 22.2 IP) Runs (Avg/Gm) 11 (2.8) Reliever W-L 0-1 XBH (Avg/Gm) 7 (1.8) Reliever ERA 3.97 (5 ER in 11.1 IP) Home Runs 2 Walks 20 Stolen Bases 4 Strikeouts 32 RISP .259 (7-for-27) Save/Opps 0/1 SHOW BOUND: Over the course of the 2017 season, a total of 17 players were either recalled or had their contract selected by Pittsburgh, eight of whom went on to make their major league debut. First baseman/outfielder Jose Osuna was the first to be recalled in April and was the first of the eight to make his MLB debut. Right-hander's Edgar Santa- na, Dovydas Neverauskas and Angel Sanchez, infielder Gift Ngoepe and outfielders Danny Ortiz, Jordan Luplow and Christopher Bostick all made their debuts as well.

BRAULT'S BREAKOUT SEASON: Left-hander Steven Brault began the season 0-3 through five starts but he flipped the script when the calendar turned from April to May. The 25-year-old established himself as Indy's ace and one of the IL's most electrifying pitchers over his final 16 games (15 starts), going 10-2 with a 1.43 ERA (15 ER/94.2 IP). He earned his first midseason All-Star election as a pitcher for the IL and tossed a scoreless inning in the Triple-A Midsummer Classic in Tacoma, Wash. He finished with a 10-5 record and a league-best 1.94 ERA (26 ER/120.1 IP), becoming the second pitcher in franchise history (1902-present) to lead his respective league with a sub-2.00 ERA, joining Paul Carter (1.65) from the 1916 Indianapolis Indians. Additionally, he was the seventh Tribe pitcher in franchise history to lead his league in ERA. Brault's .199 average against was second-lowest in the IL and his 1.07 WHIP was the third-best mark. The California native also registered a remarkable 5-3 record and 0.84 ERA (6 ER/64.0 IP) in 11 games (10 starts) at Victory Field. Further, he held left-handed batters to a .155 average (20-for-129). He was named as Indy's Pitcher of the Year, the IL's Most Valuable Pitcher, Pittsburgh's Minor League Pitcher of the Year and to Baseball America's Triple-A All-Star Team. Brault also earned his first major league win on Sept. 11 at Milwaukee with six scoreless frames against the Brewers, surrending just one hit and one walk with six punchouts.

FEEL THE BREEZE: Following a mid-June demotion to Indianapolis, right-hander Tyler Glasnow dominated IL opponents by going 9-2 with a 1.93 ERA (20 ER/93.1 IP) and 140 strikeouts in 15 regular-season starts. Despite missing the first two months of the minor league season due to pitching for Pittsburgh, Glasnow still managed to pace Tribe pitchers in whiffs while finishing third overall in the IL. Seven of his 15 starts featured 10-plus strikeouts, including a pair of dozen-punchout performances on June 26 vs. Durham and July 30 vs. Pawtucket. He also fanned nine batters over six innings of one-run ball in Game 2 of the Governors' Cup Semifinals against the Bulls. Glasnow's 140 strikeouts were the most by a Tribe pitcher since Mark Gardner struck out 175 batters in 1989. He also became the 13th pitcher in franchise history (1902-present) to lead Indy's staff in strikeouts in consecutive seasons. The last to accomplish that feat was Marty McLeary with 115 and 95 strikeouts in 2006 and 2007. Glasnow's 273 strikeouts over the last two seasons for the Tribe is the third-highest total in a two-year span in the last six decades, trailing only Franklin Kreutzer (278, 1962-63) and Dave DeBusschere (302, 1964-65).


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