October 03, 2005

Hafner completes monster season as Indians’ playoff bid falls short

Former Cowley College All-American Travis Hafner completed another stellar season for the Cleveland Indians by going 2-for-4 with his 42 nd double in a 3-1 season ending loss to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.

Hafner helped the Indians stay in the American League Wild Card hunt until the final day of the season. However, with Cleveland’s loss on Sunday coupled with the Boston Red Sox’ 10-1 win over the Yankees, the Indians were eliminated from playoff contention.

Still, the Indians (93-69) won 13 more games than the prior season. Their 93 wins marked the eighth highest total in the 105-year history of the franchise.

In just his second full season in the big leagues, Hafner finished in the top 10 of six American League offensive categories.

Hafner, who played at Cowley in 1997 and 1998, finished third in on-base percentage (.408), third in slugging percentage (.595), fifth in doubles (42), seventh in batting average (.305), ninth in home runs (33), and tied for ninth in runs batted in (108).