Broadcaster Flemming Confident in Team’s Pursuit of Three-Peat

The Indianapolis Indians are seeking the franchise’s first back-to-back-to-back International League (IL) West Division championships and just the second three-peat title in team history. A tall order at first glance, but with 11 wins in their first 16 games, claiming a spot in the record books may not be such a pipe dream.

Indians broadcaster Will Flemming, who has helped call each of the Tribe’s IL West titles from 2012-13, said this year’s Tribe squad is one of the best he’s ever seen.

And there’s already a track record to prove it.

“It’s always impressive to get off to a good start on the road,” Flemming said after the Indians swept Columbus at Huntington Park and won two of three in Toledo. “Just look at the roster, the talent level is higher than that of the other teams in our division.”

From an up-and-coming power-hitting prospect Andrew Lambo, to long-time team veterans Matt Hague and Chase d’Arnaud, Indianapolis never faces the issue of fielding a strong lineup. Rather, the challenge is finding a way to get everyone on the field.

“That doesn’t happen by accident,” Flemming said.

The Indians broadcaster attributed this continuous influx of talent to the front office personnel of the team’s parent club, the Pittsburgh Pirates. While the Major League Bucs have enjoyed a high level of success in the National League’s Central Division, the Pirates franchise has also maintained competitive rosters throughout the levels of their minor league system.

And the Indians are a prime example. During the 2013-14 offseason, Pittsburgh made key acquisitions that have helped bolster their Triple-A affiliate’s lineup, including outfielder Chris Dickerson and infielders Chris McGuiness and Brent Morel. Each of the three veterans boast major league experience and remain on-call for a return to the Bigs, but in the meantime have combined to score 26 runs with 20 RBI.

“You can’t say enough about those three players,” Flemming said. “Day in and day out they just keep coming up with big hits and driving in important runs for this first-place [Indians] team.”

There are also welcomed surprises in players like Blake Davis, who didn’t begin the season on the Tribe’s roster, but made an immediate impact after receiving a Triple-A promotion.

After just four games with the Indians, Davis had already driven in a team-high seven RBI on the season.

“You can never tell how a guy is going to adjust when he first begins the season with a new team,” Flemming said in reference to Davis. “Going from the Opening Day roster, you wouldn’t have guessed there would be any room for extra additions, much less one that turns into a near-everyday starter.”

That wasn’t quite the case for the biggest impact player on Indianapolis’ roster – the five-tool top prospect Gregory Polanco. From day one, everyone knew he was in a league of his own.

“He’s dominated the league every night and made it look easy,” Flemming said. “When you do things like he has, there’s no doubt he’ll be a high-impact player when he gets to the majors.”

Polanco immediately lived up the hype that followed his MVP offseason in the Dominican, establishing season highs in the IL with his 11-game on-base streak and 10-game hitting streak. The right fielder then capped the impressive stretch with IL Batter of the Week honors for the period of April 7-13, a span in which he led the league in both hits (14) and average (.500).

Though his streak and the Indians red-hot 13-game start are only small samples size from the 144-game season, Flemming said the talented Tribe, powered by Polanco, will be able to maintain this success through the highs and lows of the campaign.

“There will be some regression,” Flemming said. “But there won’t be a drop off in consistent ability though. [The team] will still keep themselves in the game.”

Through a few, usually unnoticed key factors, he also added. Defense and aggressive base running.

“Defense and savvy don’t slump,” Flemming said. “And that’s something the Indians have in surplus.”

This, of course, is coming from the broadcaster who’s witnessed each and every game during the back-to-back division championship runs.

It’s safe to say he knows what it takes to win a third.

“On paper, everything looks in line,” Flemming said.

“The Indians are well positioned to make a run for three in a row.”

[symple_toggle title=”Writer’s Note”]This article was originally published on the Indianapolis Indians website.[/symple_toggle]