Andre Thornton - Montreal Expos/Cleveland Indians

Montreal Expos/Cleveland Indians

After a relatively disappointing 1976 season, in which he battled injuries, Thorton split time between the Cubs and the Montreal Expos. After a short stay in Montreal, the Expos traded Thornton to the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Jackie Brown. The trade would prove to be one of the most lopsided deals of the 1970s; Brown would only pitch one more year in the majors.

Thornton sustained high levels of production through much of his Cleveland career. After hitting 28 home runs in his debut season in Cleveland, Thornton hit a career-high 33 home runs in 1978 (a total he would match in 1984). In 1979, he was honored with the Roberto Clemente Award, given to the player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement, and team contribution. In 1982, Thornton hit 32 home runs and batted in 116 runs, a career high. He also had 109 walks. From 1981 to 1984, he played primarily as a designated hitter; he won a Silver Slugger award as a designated hitter in 1984. Thornton played exclusively as a designated hitter from 1985 to 1987.

He missed all of 1980 with a severe knee injury that required two surgeries. In 1987, he started 12 of the first 20 games, but injuries and a decision to essentially bench him kept him out of all but 24 games for the rest of the season, including only seven starts. He retired after the season.

Thornton spent most of his career as one of the few marquee players on a dreadful team; he only played on a winning team twice (not counting the strike year of 1981) in his 11 years in Cleveland. He later said that while the Indians had some very good players, management simply couldn't keep them in Cleveland for any period of time.