1963 Cleveland Indians season
The 1963 Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished tied for fifth in the American League with a record of 79–83, games behind the New York Yankees.
Offseason
- November 26, 1962: Lou Piniella was drafted from the Indians by the Washington Senators in the 1962 first-year draft.
- November 26, 1962: Bob Lipski was drafted by the Indians from the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1962 rule 5 draft.
- March 1963: Rubén Gómez was signed as a free agent by the Indians.
- Prior to 1963 season: Duke Carmel was acquired from the Indians by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Regular season
Notable transactions
- April 2, 1963: Ellis Burton was purchased by the Indians from the Houston Colt.45s.
- May 8, 1963: Bob Lipski was returned by the Indians to the Philadelphia Phillies.
- May 25, 1963: Doc Edwards and $100,000 were traded by the Indians to the Kansas City Athletics for Joe Azcue and Dick Howser.
- May 27, 1963: Ellis Burton was purchased from the Indians by the Chicago Cubs.
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Joe Azcue | 94 | 320 | 91 | .284 | 14 | 46 |
| 1B | Fred Whitfield | 109 | 346 | 87 | .251 | 21 | 54 |
| 2B | Woodie Held | 133 | 416 | 103 | .248 | 17 | 61 |
| SS | 74 | 247 | 63 | .255 | 5 | 18 | |
| 3B | Max Alvis | 158 | 602 | 165 | .274 | 22 | 67 |
| LF | Tito Francona | 142 | 500 | 114 | .228 | 10 | 41 |
| CF | Vic Davalillo | 90 | 370 | 108 | .292 | 7 | 36 |
| RF | Al Luplow | 100 | 295 | 69 | .234 | 7 | 27 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Willie Kirkland | 127 | 427 | 98 | .230 | 15 | 47 |
| Joe Adcock | 97 | 283 | 71 | .251 | 13 | 49 |
| Johnny Romano | 89 | 255 | 55 | .216 | 10 | 34 |
| Jerry Kindall | 86 | 234 | 48 | .205 | 5 | 20 |
| Dick Howser | 49 | 162 | 40 | .247 | 1 | 10 |
| Mike de la Hoz | 67 | 150 | 40 | .267 | 5 | 25 |
| Tony Martínez | 43 | 141 | 22 | .156 | 0 | 8 |
| Willie Tasby | 52 | 116 | 26 | .224 | 4 | 5 |
| Gene Green | 43 | 78 | 16 | .205 | 2 | 7 |
| Bob Chance | 16 | 52 | 15 | .288 | 2 | 7 |
| 10 | 31 | 8 | .258 | 0 | 0 | |
| 26 | 31 | 6 | .194 | 1 | 1 | |
| Tommie Agee | 13 | 27 | 4 | .148 | 1 | 3 |
| Sammy Taylor | 4 | 10 | 3 | .300 | 0 | 1 |
| Cal Neeman | 9 | 9 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jim Lawrence | 2 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| 38 | 229.1 | 13 | 14 | 3.69 | 157 | |
| Dick Donovan | 30 | 206.0 | 11 | 13 | 4.24 | 84 |
| Jack Kralick | 28 | 197.1 | 13 | 9 | 2.92 | 116 |
| Sam McDowell | 14 | 65.0 | 3 | 5 | 4.85 | 63 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Pedro Ramos | 36 | 184.2 | 9 | 8 | 3.12 | 169 |
| Barry Latman | 38 | 149.1 | 7 | 12 | 4.94 | 133 |
| Early Wynn | 20 | 55.1 | 1 | 2 | 2.28 | 29 |
| Tommy John | 6 | 20.1 | 0 | 2 | 2.21 | 9 |
| Gordon Seyfried | 3 | 7.1 | 0 | 1 | 1.23 | 1 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| 43 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 2.88 | 47 | |
| 58 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 2.95 | 98 | |
| 43 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4.66 | 51 | |
| Jerry Walker | 39 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 4.91 | 41 |
| Ron Nischwitz | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6.48 | 10 |
| Jim Perry | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.23 | 7 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 3 |
Awards and honors
All-Star Game- Mudcat Grant, reserve