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Carlos Santana and the fans raise their arms in triumph after his walk-off game winning home run in the 10th inning to win the game 6-5 over the White Sox. (Thomas Ondrey/The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Last September, the Indians' clubhouse resembled a library: an open space hosting a handful of people quietly passing the time.

After a 5-24 month of August and a 94-loss season in 2012, a playoff appearance in 2013 seemed like the plot of a fiction novel.

These Indians, though, proved wrong anyone who judged a book by its cover. Their payroll -- a little north of $80 million -- didn't stack up against the league's free-spending savages. No player batted .300 or clubbed 25 home runs or collected 85 RBIs or tallied 15 wins or 30 saves.

And yet, the Indians, a team that lost its 92nd game of the season on Sept. 29, 2012, captured their 92nd victory of the season on Sept. 29, 2013, the final day of their regular season.

"The way we turned it around this year," said owner Paul Dolan, "to win 92 games and to do it the way they did it with the people who did it, that was great for the franchise and the community. We're thrilled we can bring a playoff game back to Cleveland again."

So how did it materialize? How did a team that appeared so incapable of shaking from the shackles of ineptitude reverse course so quickly?

The Indians' 24-game increase in the win column tied a franchise record, excluding strike-shortened seasons. (The club jumped from 66 to 100 wins in 1994-95 and from 52 to 78 in '81-'82).

To general manager Chris Antonetti, the architect of the playoff-caliber roster, the turnaround has resulted from a true team effort.

"So many people contributed to get us to this point," Antonetti said. "The group of guys we have embodies what a team is about, because everybody contributed. It may not be superstars that are recognized around baseball, but it's been a team that came together and we won a lot of games. It's really been a collective effort."

Some of the improvement has come from within.

Second baseman Jason Kipnis, who earned his first All-Star nod, ranked 10th among American League position players with a 5.9 WAR (Wins Above Replacement), up nearly two wins over his 2012 total. Justin Masterson, his Midsummer Classic companion, increased his WAR by more than three wins, to 3.4. Ubaldo Jimenez, recognized as the AL Pitcher of the Month for September, posted a 2.8 WAR, a year after he submitted a WAR of -0.6. Hurlers Corey Kluber, Zach McAllister and Cody Allen also boosted their WAR by more than a win.

Kipnis and Carlos Santana both ranked in the top seven among American Leaguers in Win Probability Added, a statistic that measures a batter's in-game influence on the outcome.

"Kipnis has turned into one of the best players in the league," manager Terry Francona said Monday.

Antonetti's offseason additions factored into the equation as well.

The team severed ties with the likes of Casey Kotchman, Shelley Duncan and Brent Lillibridge, players who all logged negative WAR totals and batted below the .230 mark in 2012. Sabermetrically, Yan Gomes (4.0 WAR), Nick Swisher (3.4), Michael Bourn (2.4), Ryan Raburn (2.1) and Scott Kazmir (1.1) all donated to the cause. Even Mark Rzepczynski, the southpaw reliever acquired prior to the Trade Deadline, added nearly a full win in 27 near-spotless appearances.

"I've been asked so many times the last week, 'Who's your MVP?'" Francona said. "I don't know that we have one, because I could probably name 15, 16, 17 guys where, if they weren't on our team, we wouldn't be here. I don't know that a lot of teams can say that."

Masterson, Cleveland's ace for the season's first five months, succumbed to an oblique injury and missed most of September. Chris Perez surrendered 17 runs on 30 hits in 20 1/3 innings (7.52 ERA) over August and September. Swisher, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and others suffered through extended slumps at various junctures of the calendar.

What, then, fueled a 24-win leap?

The team went 26-41 against sub-.500 opponents last season. It went 56-18 against such squads this year.

Ten different Indians hitters slugged 10 or more homers. Ten different Indians hitters drove in 45 or more runs.

"The sum of all of our parts can be a pretty good team," Francona said. "That's not such a bad way to come to work."

After an unspeakable finish to the 2012 campaign, the Indians made some noise in 2013, especially during a 21-6 surge in September.

Now can they script an October best-seller?

"In reality, the core of the team was here," Dolan said. "Those guys went from suffering through last year to pouring champagne all over each other.

"It's a great moment for all of us."