Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
Outfielder Bobby Bonds had a fantastic career in the Major Leagues, which included a single season in Cleveland. It’s a shame, though, that his career has been somewhat overshadowed by his son’s impact–both good and bad–on the game.
A couple of seasons ago infielder Aaron Bracho was one of the Cleveland Guardians’ best position prospects. But after two terrible seasons in High-A, his prospect status was on life-support. The dude could not hit over .200 in either season, and there was no reason to expect that 2023 was going to be any different.
Coming back to Cleveland in the Rosario trade was Noah Syndergaard. This was more about money–and Cleveland helping eat some salary–than about value back. I had heard that most Dodgers fans were sick of Syndergaard, but I did not appreciate how bad a pitcher he had become until I saw it in person.
Kyle Crockett. What a bummer. Cleveland drafted him in 2013, in the 4th round out of the University of Virginia. He was rated the 113th-best prospect in the draft and immediately became one of the organization’s top relief prospects.
Bartolo Colon will be officially retiring from baseball on 17 September 2023. He will retire as a New York Met, who he pitched for from 2014-16. He is 50 years old. I had no idea he hadn’t retired yet.
The Guardians minor league system has not performed to the lofty expectations of the pre-season. But, there are some bright spots. Among them, is infielder Dayan Frias.
If I was going to get excited about a player that is years away from the majors, I could do worse than shortstop Welbyn Francisca. In early 2023 the Guards signed him out of the Dominican Republic, where he was considered one of the top 50 international free agents.
From the Collection: Randy Johnson, sp, Arizona Diamondbacks … Fun fact! In 1998, Cleveland almost traded for Randy Johnson. The rotation of Bartolo Colon, Dave Burba, Jaret Wright, Charles Nagy, and Dwight Gooden was not one that was going to take them on a deep playoff run. Johnson, at the[…]
Infielder Juan Brito is having a fantastic first season in the Cleveland organization. On the season he is hitting .292/.406/.449 with 5 HR between High-A and AA.
Joe Lampe was Cleveland’s third-round pick of the 2022 draft, out of Arizona State. And is currently one of the Guard’s Top 30 prospects. I was thrilled to get this autograph this weekend. A friend got it for me roughly a month ago, but the post office lost the package. I was ready to give up on it, and it showed up today. So… a good weekend.