Editing Cleveland Guardians (section)

===1994–2001: New beginnings===
====1994: Jacobs Field opens====
{{main|1994 Cleveland Indians season}}

[[File:Jacobs Field main sign.JPG|right|thumb|[[Jacobs Field]] sign pictured in 2006]]
Indians General Manager [[John Hart (baseball)|John Hart]] and team owner [[Richard Jacobs (businessman)|Richard E. Jacobs]] managed to turn the team's fortunes around. The Indians opened [[Jacobs Field]] in 1994 with the aim of improving on the prior season's sixth-place finish. The Indians were only one game behind the division-leading [[1994 Chicago White Sox season|Chicago White Sox]] on August 12 when a [[1994–95 Major League Baseball strike|players strike]] wiped out the rest of the season.

====1995–1996: First AL pennant since 1954====

Having contended for the division in the aborted 1994 season, Cleveland sprinted to a 100–44 record (the season was shortened by 18 games due to player/owner negotiations) in 1995, winning its first-ever divisional title. Veterans [[Dennis Martínez]], [[Orel Hershiser]] and [[Eddie Murray]] combined with a young core of players including [[Omar Vizquel]], [[Albert Belle]], [[Jim Thome]], [[Manny Ramírez]], [[Kenny Lofton]] and [[Charles Nagy]] to lead the league in team batting average as well as team ERA.

After defeating the [[1995 Boston Red Sox season|Boston Red Sox]] in the [[1995 American League Division Series|Division Series]] and the [[1995 Seattle Mariners season|Seattle Mariners]] in the [[1995 American League Championship Series|ALCS]], Cleveland clinched the American League pennant and a [[World Series]] berth, for the first time since 1954. The [[1995 World Series|World Series]] ended in disappointment, however: the Indians fell in six games to the [[1995 Atlanta Braves season|Atlanta Braves]].

[[File:Kenny Lofton 1996.jpg|thumb|[[Kenny Lofton]] in 1996]]
Tickets for every Indians home game sold out several months before opening day in 1996.<ref name="Tickets">{{cite news|title=Indians plan to sell additional tickets|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/07/sports/baseball-indians-plan-to-sell-additional-tickets.html|access-date=October 19, 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=March 7, 1996|archive-date=October 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020115959/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/07/sports/baseball-indians-plan-to-sell-additional-tickets.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Indians repeated as AL Central champions but lost to the [[Wild card (sports)|wild card]] [[1996 Baltimore Orioles season|Baltimore Orioles]] in the [[1996 American League Division Series|Division Series]].

====1997: Two outs away====
{{main|1997 Cleveland Indians season}}

In 1997, Cleveland started slow but finished with an 86–75 record. Taking their third consecutive AL Central title, the Indians defeated the [[1997 New York Yankees season|New York Yankees]] in the [[1997 American League Division Series|Division Series]], 3–2. After defeating the [[1997 Baltimore Orioles season|Baltimore Orioles]] in the [[1997 American League Championship Series|ALCS]], Cleveland went on to face the [[1997 Florida Marlins season|Florida Marlins]] in the [[1997 World Series|World Series]] that featured the coldest game in World Series history. With the series tied after Game 6, the Indians went into the ninth inning of Game Seven with a 2–1 lead, but closer [[José Mesa]] allowed the Marlins to tie the game. In the eleventh inning, [[Édgar Rentería]] drove in the winning run giving the Marlins their first championship. Cleveland became the first team to lose the World Series after carrying the lead into the ninth inning of the seventh game.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |first=Mark |last=Bloch |title=Cleveland's Legacy of Loss |url=http://www.panmodern.com/cleveland_Mark_Bloch.html |work=[[ESPN.com]] |date=October 27, 1997 |access-date=October 5, 2024}}</ref> 

====1998–2001====
In [[1998 Cleveland Indians season|1998]], the Indians made the postseason for the fourth straight year. After defeating the wild-card [[1998 Boston Red Sox season|Boston Red Sox]] 3–1 in the [[1998 American League Division Series|Division Series]], Cleveland lost the [[1998 American League Championship Series|1998 ALCS]] in six games to the [[1998 New York Yankees season|New York Yankees]], who had come into the postseason with a then-AL record 114 wins in the regular season.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=No work Yankees |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/1998/postseason/news/1998/10/14/series_yankees/ |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=October 15, 1998 |access-date=September 8, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010619025513/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/1998/postseason/news/1998/10/14/series_yankees/ |archive-date=June 19, 2001 }}</ref>

For the [[1999 Cleveland Indians season|1999 season]], Cleveland added relief pitcher [[Ricardo Rincón]] and second baseman [[Roberto Alomar]], brother of catcher Sandy Alomar Jr.,<ref>{{cite news |first=Ros |last=Newhan |title=Early Returns Favor Braves |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-nov-29-sp-48911-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=November 29, 1998 |access-date=September 8, 2008 |archive-date=December 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206141959/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/nov/29/sports/sp-48911 |url-status=live }}</ref> and won the Central Division title for the fifth consecutive year. The team scored 1,009 runs, becoming the first (and to date only) team since the 1950 Boston Red Sox to score more than 1,000 runs in a season. This time, Cleveland did not make it past the first round, losing the [[1999 American League Division Series|Division Series]] to the [[1999 Boston Red Sox season|Red Sox]], despite taking a 2–0 lead in the series. In game three, Indians starter Dave Burba went down with an injury in the 4th inning.<ref name="Burba">{{cite news |first=Joe |last=Lapointe |title=1999 PLAYOFFS: DIVISION SERIES; Red Sox Find Answers, Raising More Questions |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/10/sports/1999-playoffs-division-series-red-sox-find-answers-raising-more-questions.html?pagewanted=all |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 10, 1999 |access-date=September 8, 2008 |archive-date=December 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214154312/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/10/sports/1999-playoffs-division-series-red-sox-find-answers-raising-more-questions.html?pagewanted=all |url-status=live }}</ref> Four pitchers, including presumed game four starter [[Jaret Wright]], surrendered nine runs in relief. Without a long reliever or emergency starter on the playoff roster, Hargrove started both [[Bartolo Colón]] and [[Charles Nagy]] in games four and five on only three days rest.<ref name=Burba/> The Indians lost game four 23–7 and game five 12–8.<ref>{{cite news|title=Red Sox headed to ALCS after beating Cleveland 12–8 |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/1999/postseason/division_series/al_div2/news/1999/10/11/redsox_indians_ap/ |work=CNNSI.com |date=October 12, 1999 |access-date=September 8, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714034232/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/1999/postseason/division_series/al_div2/news/1999/10/11/redsox_indians_ap/ |archive-date=July 14, 2007 }}</ref> Four days later, Hargrove was dismissed as manager.<ref>{{cite book |first=John |last=Snyder |title=Indians Journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9jkqN0qu-fcC&pg=PA501 |publisher=Menasha Ridge Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-57860-308-4 |access-date=November 19, 2015 |archive-date=December 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214154318/https://books.google.com/books?id=9jkqN0qu-fcC&pg=PA501 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2000, the [[2000 Cleveland Indians season|Indians]] had a 44–42 start, but caught fire after the All Star break and went 46–30 the rest of the way to finish 90–72.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/games/standings.cgi?date=2000-07-09|title=Standings on Sunday, July 9, 2000 - Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=March 27, 2018|archive-date=December 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214154326/https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/?date=2000-07-09|url-status=live}}</ref> The team had one of the league's best offenses that year and a defense that yielded three gold gloves. However, they ended up five games behind the [[2000 Chicago White Sox season|Chicago White Sox]] in the Central division and missed the wild card by one game to the [[2000 Seattle Mariners season|Seattle Mariners]]. Mid-season trades brought [[Bob Wickman]] and [[Jake Westbrook]] to Cleveland. After the season, free-agent outfielder [[Manny Ramírez]] departed for the [[Boston Red Sox]].

In 2000, [[Larry Dolan|Larry J. Dolan]] bought the Indians for $320&nbsp;million from Richard E. Jacobs, who, along with his late brother David, had paid $45&nbsp;million for the club in 1986. The sale set a record at the time for the sale of a baseball franchise.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cleveland Indians sold to Dolan|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/-cleveland-indians-sold-dolan/story.aspx?guid=%7B30D9D583-27E3-4DC4-88E4-46E59CB9252B%7D|work=CBS Marketwatch |date=November 4, 1999 |access-date=September 8, 2008}}</ref>

[[2001 Cleveland Indians season|2001]] saw a return to the postseason. After the departures of Ramírez and [[Sandy Alomar Jr.]], the Indians signed [[Ellis Burks]] and former [[MLB Most Valuable Player Award|MVP]] [[Juan González (baseball)|Juan González]], who helped the team win the Central division with a 91–71 record. One of the highlights came on August 5, when the Indians completed the biggest comeback in MLB History. Cleveland rallied to close a 14–2 deficit in the seventh inning to defeat the [[2001 Seattle Mariners season|Seattle Mariners]] 15–14 in 11 innings. The Mariners, who won an MLB record-tying 116 games that season, had a strong bullpen, and Indians manager [[Charlie Manuel]] had already pulled many of his starters with the game seemingly out of reach.

Seattle and Cleveland met in the [[2001 American League Division Series|first round of the postseason]]; however, the Mariners won the series 3–2. In the 2001–02 offseason, GM John Hart resigned and his assistant, [[Mark Shapiro (sports executive)|Mark Shapiro]], took the reins.