Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
Russell Branyan was a very well thought of prospect when he was coming up through the minors. In 1999 he was Cleveland’s #1 prospect, and was through to the premier power hitter in all of minor league baseball.
From 2004-2008, Wladimir Balentien was one of the Seattle Mariners best hitting prospects. He was projected to be a power-hitting outfielder and a solid outfield defender. But like so many power-hitting prospects, he struggled to make contact in the majors. He did not have the same issue in Japan.
Quincy Nieporte is a 27-year-old first baseman in the Detroit system and spent all of 2022 with AA-Erie. A 26th-round pick, Nieporte really isn’t a big prospect, but that does not stop him from putting up some big numbers.
Eugenio Suarez had one of the better seasons of his career in 2022, with a 129 OPS+ and 31 HR. Suarez has a rough 2021 (82 OPS+), so this was a very nice bounceback campaign for him. And it was great for Seattle as well, since he was no small[…]
I am not a Yankees fan by any stretch of the imagination. But in the late-1980s, Don Mattingly was one of the most well-known players in the game, so I was well aware of his career. And I was also from Cleveland, so it’s not like there was anyone on the Indians who were going to outshine him.
Zack Greinke ended his 2022 campaign by going 4-9 with a 3.68 ERA/1.343 WHIP/111 ERA+ over 137 innings. At 38 years old and 19 seasons at the big league level in the books, you have to think his career is just about to wrap up. It has certainly been an impressive career
Doug Nikhazy was drafted by Cleveland in the 2nd round of the 2021 draft out of the University of Mississippi. He does not have the super high ceiling you would expect with a second-round pick. But he is a lefty with four decent pitches, so there is lots to like.
Nothing illustrated the anemic 2021 Cleveland team more than the fact that they were no-hit three–and really four–times during the season. Insane.
Carl Yastrzemski had an amazing career. When he retired following the 1983 season, he had been in the majors for 22 years. His accolades speak for themselves
Man, I remember being really excited about infielder Brett Lawrie. He was Brewer’s 16th overall pick of the 2008 draft. He was a well-regarded prospect and put up fantastic numbers in the minors.