Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
Despite being contenders in 2018 the Athletics starting rotation was, for the most part, a dumpster fire. In an effort to help fortify the rotation down the stretch the A’s traded for Mike Fiers. Fiers was having a decent season with the Tigers–but most importantly was a warm body who[…]
Brandon Barnes was the Astro’s 6th round pick in the 2005 draft and has spent parts of six seasons in the majors. He signed with the Indians as a free agent this past November. He spent most of 2018 with the Indians AAA affiliate but was called up in September for[…]
Yusmeiro Petit was a very important part of the Athletics bullpen this season. He appeared in 74 games and went 7-4 with a 139 ERA+. He only had 76 K’s in 93 innings, but he only allowed 76 hits. This was his second strong season in a row coming out[…]
Mallex Smith was drafted in the 5th round (165th overall) by the San Diego Padres in 2012 out of high school in Florida. He has zero power, but his ability to put the ball in play, excellent speed and plus defense made him one of the better center field prospects[…]
Chad Pinder was drafted in the supplemental 2nd round (71st overall) by the Oakland Athletics in 2013 out of Virginia Tech. Coming up through the A’s system he was a solid hitter with good power who was able to play multiple defensive positions. From 2013 to 2017 he rated four times in the[…]
Beau Taylor was drafted in the 5th round (166th overall) by the Oakland Athletics in 2011 out of Central Florida. In his eight seasons in the game, he has ranked twice in the A’s Top 30 prospect lists, topping out at #19 for the 2013 season. He has moved slowly,[…]
In 2013 Scott Kazmir signed a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians. He would go on to have a very nice season, going 10-9 with a 4.04 ERA/1.323 WHIP/94 ERA+ over 158 innings. He was no small reason why the Indians were able to sneak into the post-season as the[…]
Joey Wendle was one of the Indians better middle infield prospects from 2012-2014. But there was no room for him with Jason Kipnis on the roster, and so he was traded to the A’s for Brandon Moss. It was not a terrible trade. Moss was the kind of power hitter[…]
I got this autograph from Todd Frazier back in 2014 when the Red’s were in town playing the Cleveland Indians. He was a good signer every time he was in Cleveland. It’s one of the big reasons that, despite playing for the Yankees, I still kind of root for him.[…]
A couple weeks ago I got a surprise envelope in the mail. The cards were from a consignment that finished roughly two years ago but was just now finding their way back to me in Hawaii. They were all players from the 2017 Cal Ripken League, a collegiate summer league.[…]