Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
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.[…]
Ryan Garko was always great hitter. He hit .350/.446/.591 during his four years at Stanford–including .380 his senior season. Despite his terrible glove, the Indians took him in the 3rd round of the 2003 draft. In 2004 he hit .330/.412/.565 between three levels, and was the Indians MiLB Player of[…]
Josh Hader is a really good closer. Last season he pitched 75.2 innings for the Brewers, and only allowed 41 hits while striking out 138. Good for an 2.62 ERA/170 ERA+. He also got his second All-Star team selection. Standard Pitching Year Age Tm W L ERA G GF SV[…]
I don’t much care for the Yankees. But I do like Aaron Judge. Even though he was a first-round pick by the Yankees in 2013 (32nd overall), I don’t think anyone was expecting THIS kind of production.
Despite that year with the Cubs…I really like Ben Zobrist. He has had a really great career and easily one of the more interesting players of the 2000s. Drafted in the 6th round by the Houston Astros in 2004 He was Top 20 prospect with the Astros, who thought that[…]
Josh Bell was the Pirates 2nd round pick of the 2011 draft out of Dallas Jesuit College Prep. While moving up through the Pirates organization he was considered one of the better prospects in baseball. Between 2011 and 2016 he was ranked one of the Pirates Top 10 prospects six[…]
Nolan Arenado is one of my favorite players. I feel…compelled…to grab his autograph if it is a good deal. A fellow collector was selling a few extra’s that he had gotten in person, and I jumped. Arenado is clearly on a path to the Hall of Fame. But there is[…]
This card–2004 Bowman Heritage–I pulled myself back in 2005. I have tried to get it signed a couple of times and finally lucked out this past spring. Eric Chavez was the 10th overall pick of the 1996 MLB draft, selected by the Athletics out of high school. I always forget[…]