Historical Highlight: Les Fleming

Following four full seasons in the major leagues with Cleveland, Les Fleming swapped out one Indians jersey for another. In an offseason trade that sent veteran first baseman Elbie Fletcher from Pittsburgh to Cleveland, Fleming found himself on the 1948 Opening Day roster for Triple-A Indianapolis.

Fleming was an established big leaguer at the time, leading all of Major League Baseball after appearing in 156 games during the 1942 season, his first full season in the majors. He hit .292 (160-for-548) that season with 14 home runs, 82 RBI and an MLB-leading 23 intentional walks to land himself 25th in MVP voting. He then served in the Navy during World War II and missed the 1943 and ’44 seasons.

Through five years with Cleveland (1941-42, 1945-47), he hit a combined .281 (361-for-1283) with 29 home runs and 191 RBI in 402 games played. Despite his track record in the majors, his numbers were falling, and he spent the entire 1948 season with Indianapolis.

In Triple-A, he thrived. He appeared in 151 games for the Tribe that season, hitting .323 (170-for-527) with 26 home runs and a franchise record 143 RBI. He led the Indians in average, homers, RBI and total bases (288) and anchored Indianapolis to its only 100-win season in franchise history.

That performance led him to break through to Pittsburgh’s Opening Day roster in 1949, but the numbers didn’t transfer. Through 24 games he had only driven in seven runs and had yet to hit one out of the park. His final MLB game came on June 9, but his career was far from over.

Fleming picked up right where he left off in Indianapolis. Through 95 games, he slashed .340/.453/.556 with 14 home runs and 69 RBI to help the Tribe to a 93-win season. That year, the American Association Indians beat Montreal 4-2 in the Junior World Series to end the season as the best team in Triple-A.

He spent the next seven seasons falling from Triple-A to Double-A and ended his season in his home state with the Big State League Beaumont Exporters.