Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
Pitcher Carl Pavano was ranked one of the Top 10 prospects in baseball coming into the 1998 season. While he would never quite live up to that lofty billing, he did have some very nice seasons during his 14-year career.
Kevin Brown had a very impressive ten-season stretch.
Ryan Ludwick is one of my all-time favorite players. The big reason he that is one of the rare players who played for both of my favorite organizations (CLE and OAK). It’s also in large part because he was on the 2002 Oklahoma RedHawks team, which was a team that I absolutely loved. That roster was stacked with prospects–many of which I followed since they came from the Athletics organization in the Carlos Pena trade.
I always forget how good Greg Maddux was at his peak. From 1988 to 2000 Greg Maddux was arguably the best pitcher in the game. During this period he would average 18 wins a season and won the Cy Young award four consecutive seasons in a row. And then there[…]
Taylor Tankersley was drafted by the Marlins with the 27th overall pick of the 2004 draft. He was the definition of a polished college pitcher, and while he did not profile as a top-of-the-line ace it was expected that he would move quickly through the system.
The 1966 Cleveland Indians were not a great team, finishing the season with an 81-81 record and 5th in the American League. What made them respectable was a fantastic pitching staff led by Gary Bell, Sonny Siebert, Sam McDowell, Steve Hargan, and Luis Tiant.
Tyler Soderstrom was drafted by the Oakland Athletics with the 26th overall pick of the 2020 draft. He was considered one of the best prep catchers in the country, with a plus-plus bat that projects to hit for average and power.
Tony Horton made the majors in 1964 with the Boston Red Sox. While the Red Sox considered him a legit prospect, he struggled to find playing time behind another promising rookie, George Scott. So in June 1967 the Red Sox, in contention and in need of pitching, traded Horton and Don Demeter to Cleveland for Gary Bell.
Do you know who was a pretty good pitcher? Bret Saberhagen.
Eddie Murray spent 21-seasons in the big leagues. Three of those seasons, in the twilight of his career, came with Cleveland. They were good too. In 1995, at the age of 39, he would hit .323/.375/.516 with 21 HR, good for a 129 OPS+.