Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
Dansby Swanson is a solid player. He is not a top-tier shortstop, but he is something north of a league-average offensive producer with a plus glove. And when you play a premium offensive position, you can’t ask for much more.
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.
Baltimore Orioles third base prospect Jordan Westburg is tearing it up in AAA, hitting .309/.384/.608 with 15 HR. The fact that he is performing so well is not a surprise to anyone. He was Baltimore’s 1st round pick in 2020 (30th overall), and opened the 2023 season as the organization’s #6 prospect.
Aaron Judge had…a year. Led the game with 62 HR, a .425 OBP, and 211 OPS+. It was one of the greatest seasons in baseball history. He did not bring this bat to the playoffs though and only had five hits in 36 at-bats.
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[…]
Brandon Moss is one of my favorite players, having played for both Cleveland and Oakland. Moss was a very productive bat during his three seasons (2012-2014) with the A’s, hitting .254/.340/.504 and averaging 25 HR a season. Good for an OPS+ of 135. This included his only All-Star selection in[…]
Nick Markakis spent 15 very good seasons in the big leagues. His career was defined by consistency: he was rarely injured (averaging 144 games a year), and retired with a very solid line of .288/.357/.423, good for a 109 OPS+. His best season came very late in his career. In[…]
Keith Foulke had a great career in the majors, but I will also love him for his time, be it brief, with Oakland.
I was a fan of Jeremy Sowers while he was pitching at Vanderbilt, and was excited when Cleveland drafted him with the 6th overall pick of the 2004 draft.
Cleveland outfielder Brian Giles. If you don’t know the story, it’s a little depressing.