5 Greatest Cleveland Guardians Hitters of All Time

Earl Averill and Elmer Flick are both appealing options here at No. 5, but Thome's success against the backdrop of the rigors of 1990s baseball outweighs the incredible individual achievements of Averill and Flick, two Cleveland baseball legends in their own right.

Thome was one of the better "three true outcomes" hitters of his day, finishing his career with a Cleveland record 337 home runs and 1,008 walks (his 1,747 walks across his entire career ranks seventh all-time). His 72.9 career wins above replacement (WAR) ranks as one of the best in his era.

4. Larry Doby (1947-1955, 1958)

While Jackie Robinson will always be known for breaking the color barrier on April 15, 1947, it was Doby, also a World War II veteran, who helped integrate the American League that July, when he became the first player of color in the AL.

His legacy hardly stops there, however, as Doby was massively integral to Cleveland's 1948 World Series title, their last to date.

In particular, Doby, who hit to a .318 average in Cleveland's six-game World Series win over the Boston Braves, also became the first black player to homer in the Fall Classic with his home run in Game 4.

From that point, the seven-time All-Star was one of the greatest on-base threats in baseball, narrowly missing the batting title in 1949 and leading the AL in home runs in 1952 and 1954.

3. Jose Ramirez (2013-Present)

Ramirez's legacy in Cleveland is still being crafted, but over 14 years with the team, the 33-year-old has put together an incredible legacy as not just the current face of the Guardians but one of the best players in franchise history.

Perennially in the conversation for AL MVP, Ramirez has a year-after-year dual threat ability that's rare in the MLB. Since making his MLB debut, Ramirez has stolen 20 bases in nine of his 12 full seasons (excluding his 2015 rookie year and the pandemic-shorted 2020 season).

His 39-home-run, 41-stolen-base season in 2024 was among the best in franchise history, and he's developed an incredibly full skill set as a MLB veteran.

2. Nap Lajoie (1902-1914)

Lajole was so important to Cleveland in his day that the team was called the Naps from 1903 to 1914 to honor his popularity and role as player-manager from 1905 to 1909.

His 3,252 hits rank 14th in MLB history, and his 2,052 hits with Cleveland rank first in franchise history. His sterling .340 average and .851 OPS (fueled by an excellent .389 on-base percentage) speak to how well-rounded a hitter he was. Lajoie was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937 as part of Cooperstown's second inaugural class.

While this list ranks offensive output, Lajoie was also one of the most gifted second basemen of his time, leading the league in putouts five times.

1. Tris Speaker (1916-1926)

Tristram "Tris" Speaker is not only the best player in Cleveland baseball history, but it's not far-fetched to say also one of the best players in baseball history. His career 126.3 offensive wins above replacement is sixth in MLB history.

Above Speaker in that category are only Babe Ruth (154.5), Ty Cobb (150), Barry Bonds (143.6), Willie Mays (136.5), and Hank Aaron (132.7).

Before Ruth was traded to the Yankees from Boston, Speaker was also traded by Boston over a contract dispute in 1916, and immediately made his former team regret it, leading the league in hits, doubles, and batting average (hitting to an absurd .386 clip, which broke Cobb's multiyear batting title streak).

Speaker was integral as a player-manager to one of Cleveland's early World Series titles in 1920, winning over the Brooklyn Robins. Unbeknownst to him at the time, he would also become the blueprint for baseball's current platoon hitting tactic, which he popularized as a strategy to better exploit pitcher weaknesses.

His 792 career doubles are an MLB record, and his .345 career batting average is among the best in history. Speaker was an all-time offensive great who skyrocketed Cleveland to become one of the best in baseball.