Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
New Arrival: Carlos Beltran, of, Kansas City Royals … There was a time, I want to say roughly 2006, that you might have been hard pressed to say who was the better player, Carlos Beltran or Bobby Abreu. At that point, each had enjoyed strong careers. Beltrán, a nine‑year veteran,[…]
From the Collection: Ted Williams, of, Boston Red Sox … Ted Williams. Dude was interesting. Complicated. Had a heck of a life. His baseball reference page is yet another you need to visit to appreciate. His stats are absolutely insane. How good was he? His last season, in 1960, he[…]
From the Collection: Joe Mauer, c, Minnesota Twins … I enjoy autographs in ballpoint pen on paper items such as scratch paper and book pages. They are not as valuable as certified autographs, but they feel personal and authentic…which I think counts for something. They also tend to look good[…]
From the Collection: Warren Spahn, sp, Atlanta Braves … Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn. Did you know that he is the only Major League Baseball player to receive a battlefield promotion during World War II? Unlike many MLB players, Spahn spent a considerable amount of time on the front[…]
I am a big fan of signed books. I normally remove the signed page and toss it in a toploader (or now, more often, an archival album). Assuming it’s signed in ballpoint and the book was even reasonably well taken care of, the autographs are normally still bold. Both blue[…]
Willie Mays was a pretty good baseball player. After 23 seasons in the big leagues, he retired with 660 HR and a line of .301/.384/.557, good for a 155 OPS+. Mays was selected to 24 All-Star teams, 12 Gold Gloves, two MVP awards, the 1951 Rookie of the Year Award,[…]
I got this autograph through the mail years ago, and it is one of my favorite pieces in my collection. Ballpoint has a bad habit of smearing when you sign cards like this, so I have no idea how he managed to sign it perfectly, put it back in the envelope, and it still comes out perfect.
I’m not a huge Phillies fan, so I sometimes fail to appreciate what a great pitcher Robin Roberts was.
Tony Gwynn. I got this autograph while he was coaching at San Diego State University. I am very happy that it held up so well over the years, and while I have gotten a couple of other Gwynn autographs over the years, this is still one of my favorite ones.[…]
I was pretty jazzed to get these Carl Yastrzemski and Eddie Murray autographs. Both are signed on what looks like autograph book paper, and in both cases with a bold, blue ballpoint pen.