Page "Cleveland Indians" Paragraph 94

On January 18, 2011, longtime popular former first baseman and manager Mike Hargrove was brought in as a special adviser.

The Indians started the 2011 season strong-going 30-15 in their first 45 games and seven games ahead of the Detroit Tigers for first place.

Injuries led to a slump where the Indians fell out of first place.

Many minor leaguers got opportunities such as Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall to fill in for the injuries.

The biggest news of the season came on July 30 when the Indians traded four prospects for Colorado Rockies star pitcher, Ubaldo Jiménez.

The Indians sent their top two pitchers in the minors, Alex White and Drew Pomeranz along with Joe Gardner and Matt McBride.

On August 25, the Indians signed the team leader in home runs, Jim Thome off of waivers.

He made his first appearance in an Indians uniform since he left Cleveland after the 2002 season.

To honor Thome, the Indians placed him at his original position, third base, for one pitch against the Minnesota Twins on September 25.

It was his first time playing third base since 1996.

This would also be his last appearance as an Indian.

The Indians finished the season in 2nd place, 15 games behind the division champion Tigers.