Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
Jake Gautreau was drafted by San Diego with the 14th overall pick of the 2001 MLB draft. In his last season at Tulane, he hit .355/.435/.659 with 21 HR and was thought to be one of the better college hitters in the country. Coming into the 2002 season he was[…]
From 2013-2018, OF Dylan Cozens was one of the Phillies Top 30 prospects–ranking as high as #10 following the 2017 season. I was at the 2016 Eastern League All-Star game and people were falling over themselves for his autograph. It was so bad that I never got him, and decided to not even go back the next day.
Alex Gordon had a very nice 14-season career in the big leagues. The Royals drafted him 2nd overall in the 2005 draft, and he would make the majors just two seasons later. He was selected to three All-Star teams and won eight Gold Gloves, and retired with a line of[…]
Twins outfielder Byron Buxton is having himself a season. He is hitting .370/.408/.772 with 9 HR and leads the majors in WAR with 2.86. This should not be a huge surprise; Buxton was the 2nd overall pick of the 2012 draft and from 2013-2016 was considered one of the[…]
Jerome Williams was a very good pitching prospect. He was the Giant’s #1 prospect in both 2001 and 2002, and their #3 prospect in 2003. He made the majors in 2003 with the Giants and he held his own, going 7-5 with a 3.30 ERA/1.260 WHIP. But he struggled in[…]
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[…]
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[…]
Mark Buehrle was a great pitcher. He did not quite have a Hall of Fame career, but it was still pretty great. In his 16-seasons in the majors, he only had an OPS+ under 100 twice. He led the league in innings twice and averaged 221 innings over his career.[…]