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Tribe's All-Time 9 has crowded outfield

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By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com

09/22/09 8:02 PM ET

Imagine filling out a lineup card and having the 1948 vintage Lou Boudreau or the 1999 version of Omar Vizquel at your disposal for shortstop.

Imagine plotting out an outfield in which you must decipher between the likes of Albert Belle in '95, Rocky Colavito in '58, Manny Ramirez in '99 and Grady Sizemore in 2006.

Not even Mike Hargrove in the '90s had it this good.

Well, imagine no more, because MLB.com is offering Tribe fans a chance to fill out their dream lineup with a few agonizing moments of deliberation followed by a few clicks of the mouse.

More than 4.1 million votes have been cast since the 9/9/09 debut of the "All-Time 9s," a platform for fans to debate the greatest single-season performances for all 30 Major League franchises. The voting marks the start of MLB.com's Lineup Card campaign, a gathering place for the posting and never-ending discussion of the greatest past and present lineups.

Here's a look at how the Tribe's closest races are shaping up:

Catcher: Sandy Alomar Jr. was inducted into the Indians' team Hall of Fame the same day Victor Martinez was traded to the Red Sox. Both players carried a captain-like presence in the Tribe clubhouse at one time, and now they are neck-and-neck in the fan voting. At last check, Martinez's 2007 season (.301 average, 25 homers, 114 RBIs) was just barely edging Alomar's 1997 campaign (.324 average, 21 homers, 83 RBIs).

Outfield: Ramirez (.333 average, 44 homers, 165 RBIs in '99) and Belle (.317 average, 50 homers, 126 RBIs in '95) seem to have a foothold on the first two outfield spots. But can legends such as Joe Jackson (.408 average in 1911) or Tris Speaker (.380 average, 17 homers and 130 RBIs in 1923) overtake Kenny Lofton (.349 average, 60 stolen bases in '94) for the third spot? At last check, Speaker and Lofton were within 10 votes of each other, with Jackson not far behind.

Shortstop: The most intriguing debate of the bunch might be at short, where, at last count, Vizquel's 1999 season (.333 average, 66 RBIs, 42 stolen bases) was just barely edging Boudreau's player-manager heroics from the championship season in '48 (.355 average, 19 homers, 106 RBIs).

Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.