Cleveland Indians mourn passing of Tribe Hall of Famer and 1953 AL MVP Al Rosen

CLEVELAND - The Cleveland Indians organization is deeply saddened by the death of Al Rosen, one of the greatest ambassadors the game of baseball has ever known.

"We lost a cherished member of the Indians family last night. Watching Al play was a true joy and something Indians fans of our generation still cherish," said Larry Dolan, father of Indians owner Paul Dolan.

Al "Flip" Rosen, 91, played his entire 10-year Major League career in an Indians uniform (1947-1956). He was voted unanimously as the American League MVP in 1953, a season in which he narrowly missed winning the Triple Crown. Rosen led the A.L. in '53 with 43 HRs and 145 RBIs. He lost the batting crown to Washington's Mickey Vernon by .001. Vernon hit .337 while Rosen hit .336. Rosen was the first unanimous MVP since his boyhood idol Hank Greenberg in 1935. He was a 4-time A.L. All-Star and drove in 100 runs five straight seasons.

"Al embodied the true meaning of success, as a player and person," Paul Dolan said.

Rosen is the only person in baseball history to have earned the honors of MVP as a player and Executive of the Year as a member of a front office. Rosen was named Executive of the Year in 1987 as President and General Manager of the San Francisco Giants.  

"He was an inspiration to us all and had a special presence, strength and intellect. His fierce competitive nature and toughness was legendary," said Indians President Mark Shapiro.

In the DVD titled "Beating The Odds- the Al Rosen Story", when asked about his own legacy in the game of baseball, Rosen stated simply "he was a man who played hard and worked hard."