The 2007 Cleveland Indians season was the 107th season for the franchise. The Indians won the AL Central title for the first time since 2001 on September 23, 2007, with a win over the Oakland Athletics. They played for the American League title before losing to the Boston Red Sox in seven games.
To prepare for 2007, Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro signed relievers Aaron Fultz, Joe Borowski, and Roberto Hernández to fix a bullpen that had the fewest saves (and most blown saves) in 2006. He also traded third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff for second baseman Josh Barfield. On January 2, Luis Rivas was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
Regular season
Season summary
The Indians began the 2007 season on the road in Chicago for a three-game series with the White Sox. The lineup supplied plenty of offense as the Indians won the first two games of the series. Grady Sizemore hit three home runs in the series, but the White Sox won the third game, leaving the Indians with a record of 2–1 as they head home.
However, their home opener, as well as the remainder of a four-game series with the Seattle Mariners, was postponed due to heavy snow. After a discussion about a possible relocation of the following series between the Indians and the Angels to Anaheim, the Indians decided to relocate the three-game series to Miller Park in Milwaukee. The three-game series averaged a surprising 17,498 fans in attendance, and featured several homages to the fact that the film Major League was shot in Milwaukee, including closer Joe Borowski entering the game to "Wild Thing".
In that series, the Indians got a solid outing by CC Sabathia, and although the Angels roughed up the bullpen, closer Joe Borowski held on in the 9th inning to give the Indians a 7–6 victory. Angels' pitcher Joe Saunders dominated the second game, and the Angels won 4–1. In the final game of the series, Travis Hafner hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning to put the Indians ahead 4–2 for a comeback win.
On April 13, the Indians announced they had signed starter Jake Westbrook to a three-year contract extension. Westbrook would have been eligible for free agency at the end of the season.
The Indians came back to Cleveland and played their first official game at Jacobs Field, but lost to the White Sox 6–4. However, the Indians won the next two games with impressive pitching and defense and improved to 6–3 on the season. The three-game series averaged 16,586 fans per game in attendance, a modern-era record for lowest average attendance in a team's first home series of the season.
On April 28, the Indians had a six-game winning streak snapped in part because of a rare scoring decision. The umpires retroactively added a run to the Baltimore Orioles' score three innings after the play had occurred. Manager Eric Wedge immediately appealed the decision to the MLB commissioner's office. The game will remain as originally played, as the commissioner's office has upheld the umpire's decision. The Indians won the following game to end the month of April with a 14–8 record, having won seven of their last eight games.
The Indians continued their fast start into May, with a three-game sweep of the Blue Jays at home. They struggled on the ensuing road trip, however, going 4–6 against the Orioles, Angels, and Athletics, including a game in which the Indians led the Athletics 7–5 going into the bottom of the 9th. The bullpen gave up home runs to Milton Bradley and Jack Cust and went on to lose 10–7.
However, when they returned to Jacobs Field, the Indians got hot again, going 6–1 against the Twins, Reds, and Mariners. After a series loss to the Royals on the road, the Indians swept the contending Tigers at Comerica Park, and went on to finish 19–11 in the month of May.
June began memorably for the Indians, when in the bottom of the 9th inning, they rallied from a 4-run deficit to defeat the Tigers 12–11 in front of a near-capacity crowd at Jacobs Field. Entering interleague play, however, the Indians began to struggle, losing a series on the road to the last place Reds, at home to the Braves and to the last-place Nationals. They had a mediocre 9–9 record in interleague play, but finished the month strong by taking three of four from the Athletics, and sweeping a 4-game set from the Devil Rays, and went 15–11 in June, still in first place over the Detroit Tigers. Named to the All Star team this month were Víctor Martínez, CC Sabathia and Grady Sizemore.