Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
Not that I need another Travis Hafner autograph, but this card was too nice to pass up. The Indians traded Einar Diaz and Ryan Drese to the Rangers for Travis Hafner in 2002. It was a very good trade. Never forget how amazing Hafner was from 2004-2007: .296/.410/.567 with an[…]
An on-card autograph! I could not pass it up. Will Wilson was selected by the Angels with the 15th overall pick of the 2019 draft. I saw Wilson play here in Hawaii while with North Carolina State, so it was neat seeing him go so high in the draft. Wilson[…]
The Philadelphia Phillies drafted outfielder Anthony Gose 51st overall in the 2008 MLB Draft. He was a good prospect and was included in a couple of reasonably high profile trades that saw him go to the Astros in 2010 (part of a package for Roy Oswalt), the Blues Jays later[…]
Back in 2002, the Indians sent 1B Russel Branyan to the Reds for 1B Ben Broussard. I guess it’s not a great deal for the Indians if you are just counting career WAR (11.2 for Branyan, 4 for Broussard), but Broussard would have a very solid four-year run with[…]
In 2005 Rich Harden went 10-5 with a 2.53 ERA/1.063 WHIP over 128 innings for the Oakland Athletics. He struck out 121 and only walked 43. It was the second strong season in a row for the 23-year old Canadian, and he looked like yet another ace for the[…]
I ordered the three cards that cover the Lindor trade, and all three arrived this week. Cleveland baseball is nothing but disappointment.
Casey Blake was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 7th round of the 1996 draft. He would spend all of the 1997 season with the Dunedin Blue Jays, hitting .238/.319/.332 with 7 HR. Other notable future major leaguers on that team included IF Ryan Freel, pitchers Kelvim[…]
Jim Mecir was the Seattle Mariner’s 3rd round pick of the 1991 draft. He would make the majors in 1995 and spent 11 seasons in the big league, pitching for five different organizations. He spent his entire career pitching out of the pen and was more often than not fantastic,[…]
In 1983 the Indians traded Len Barker to the Braves for Brett Butler and Brook Jacoby. It was a good trade for the Indians. Butler would spend the next four seasons as the Indians starting centerfielder and would hit .288/.373/.396 (110 OPS+), averaging 5 HR and 41 stolen bases a[…]
I always like Scott Podsednik. He really had one great tool—speed—but still, it was a very exciting 11-season career. • Podsednik was drafted by the Rangers in the 3rd round of the 1994 MLB draft. It would take him roughly eight seasons to make the majors, debuting with the Mariners[…]