HOUSTON — In spring training, when his hair looked like the fuzzy coat on a faded tennis ball, Francisco Lindor kept repeating the same word.



Finish. Finish. Finish.



Another October, another ultimatum. The aim is a parade down East Ninth Street, with Terry Francona sitting atop a float, waving to a shirtless JR Smith in a sea of frenzied fans on a breezy, early-November afternoon.



Anything short of that scene and this season will blend in with those from the late ’90s, from 2007, from each of the past two years. The beginning of the October journey, however, springs a new sense of hope. The Indians are one of eight teams left standing to vie for that final champagne celebration, that dog pile in the center of the diamond, the euphoria that eases winter’s burden.



For 70 years, Indians fans have waited for that moment, for that last pitch, the moment the players raise both arms in the air and sprint toward the mound. On Oct. 11, 1948,...