Minor Matters: 1984 Spokane Indians Sandy Alomar Jr.
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I collect the first minor league card of prominent Cleveland players. It’s a fun collection, but it can be frustrating. There are always a handful of cards that are difficult, if not nearly impossible to find. Other times, you can find the cards, but they are inexplicably expensive. If you are a completest like me…it can get grating.
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Sandy Alomar’s 1985 Spokane Indians cards has been all of the above. It’s the only major 90s Cleveland player I didn’t have. Since I started this collection a couple years ago, I’ve never seen a copy for sale. I knew it existed, but that was it. I got so desperate looking for it I was even taking random pot-shots on the Spokane craigslist and Facebook groups to see if someone had one tucked away someplace. No dice.
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So why is this card so hard to get? From what I was told, this set was sponsored by the Spokesman Review/Spokane Chronicle newspaper and, during the 1984 season was given away as singles. No full sets were sold. So, for that reason, it’s hard to find any singles from this set flowing around since…it’s easy to misplace a single card.
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I was finally able to get a copy from a minor league collector last week. A very cool one. So that is that.

Mail Day: Joe Carter, 1b/of, Cleveland Baseball
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Joe Carter. For a while in the 1980s, Cleveland had a decent enough offensive team. Guys like Brook Jacoby, Cory Snyder, Brett Butler, and Joe Carter at least made watching Cleveland games fun. Of those players, Joe Carter had probably the longest lasting impact on the franchise because of what it took to get him, and then what they got when it was time to trade him away.
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Joe Carter came to Cleveland in 1984 as part of a package that cost the club ace Rick Sutcliffe. Sutcliffe went on to have a nice career, but so did Carter. With Cleveland, and from 1984-1989, he averaged 25 HR a season and a 112 OPS+.
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When Joe Carter was traded to the Padres in 1989, Cleveland netted three players: Sandy Alomar, Carlos Baerga and Chris James. Of course, Alomar and Baerga would go on to form the foundation of the mid-90s Cleveland powerhouse.
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Of course, we can keep pulling this trade string! Baerga would eventually be traded in 1996 for two players: Jeff Kent and José Vizcaíno. Jeff Kent…future Hall of Famer Jeff Kent…would never really get a shot in Cleveland, and following the season would be traded to the Giants for 3B Matt Williams. Matt Williams was good in his one season with Cleveland (32 HR, 101 OPS+), but would be traded the following season to Arizona for 3B Travis Fryman.  Fryman would have a very nice four seasons in Cleveland, averaging 15 HR and a 100 OPS+.
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Fryman would retire following the 2002 season, ending the trade tree that started in 1984.

New Arrival: Angel Martinez, of, Cleveland Guardians
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Card: 2022 Topps Heritage Angel Martinez
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Angel Martinez has been a well-regarded hitting prospect in the Cleveland organization since 2000. And since 2022, he has consistently rated in the top 10 of what has normally been a deep Guardians organization.
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Martinez is one of roughly 500 athletic middle infielders the Guard acquired over the last several years, with the hope they would develop as hitters and then settle on a position in either the infield or outfield. In the case of Martinez, he has transitioned to the outfield.
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Since making his major league debut in 2024, he has run hot and cold at the major league level. Last season Martinez got almost 450 at-bats in the big leagues and ended the season with a 74 OPS+. But he had flashes of being something more than just a replacement level player, and he was only 23. You could see why he was a top prospect, and it was hopefully just a matter of time before he put it together.
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And here we are in 2026, and he is hopefully putting it together. On the season, he is carrying a 130 OPS+ (second best on the team) and has already hit nine home runs–well on his way of beating his MLB career best of 11. He still strikes out too much, but with his power and glove you are more than happy to make the tradeoff.

From the Field: Mateo Rickman, if, CSUN Baseball
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CSUN freshman first baseman Mateo Rickman had a great first season of college ball.
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During CSUN’s weekend series in Hawaii, he was one of the standout bats–especially in the first game of the series against Hawaii’s ace Isaiah Magdaleno. Mateo’s hit in the fifth innings was all stood between Magdaleno and a no-hitter. In the second game, he went 2-4, and in the third game he went 1-5. Getting hits off Hawaii’s starters is always a challenge, so this was an impressive showing.
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All told, Rickman hit .318 on the season with a .383 OBP and three home runs. Solid numbers, especially considering he is a freshman, and he will only get better. CSUN is very lucky to have him.

From the Field: Vaughn Coleman, of, CSUN Baseball
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The last team to visit Hawaii this season was CSUN, who had one of the more formable offensive teams in the Big West. There were a couple players that I was excited to get, including freshman outfielder Vaughn Coleman. He has had a fantastic season, hitting .297 with a .421 OBP (best on the team), 10 HR (third best on the team), and despite the pop in the bat was still able to take a walk (21 walks to 32 K’s). He is a big part of the CSUN programs future, and if he continues to develop will be a legit draft prospect.

From the Field: Hekili Robello, sp, Hawaii Baseball
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In 2026 the University of Hawaii had an elite rotation. Hekili Robello was a big part of that. Slotting behind the team’s ace, Isaiah Magdaleno, Robello emerged as one of the best pitchers in the Big West. Over 82 innings, he only allowed 74 hits while striking out 74. He limited hitters to a .240 batting average.

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Of course, none of this should be a huge surprise following his two seasons at Santa Rosa Junior College, where over 173 innings he struck out 151.
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I am hoping that Robello will return in 2027. He would immediately become the teams Friday night starter, and Brody Martin-Grudzielanek would become the teams #2 starter. That would be an excellent 1-2 punch that could stand up to any team in the Mountain West.

New Arrival: Robert Arias, of, Cleveland Guardians
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Cards: 2026 Bowman Chrome and Bowman Best
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Cleveland minor league outfielder Robert Arias is one of the better prospects in the system. This season, with the Guard’s low-A affiliate, Arias has a .884 OPS. This includes four homeruns and more walks (27) than K’s (22). He is quickly moving up on prospect lists and will likely enter the 2027 season high within the Top 10.
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Cleveland’s vaunted pitching pipeline seems to be getting a little thin. But the hitting side of the development house seems to be hitting its stride. I literally don’t remember the last time I could say that Cleveland had this many talented hitting prospects moving up through the system.
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What is a bit of a bummer is that he is part of the Angel Genao-club of Guardian players who don’t love signing autographs. For whatever reason, that is a really big club. Which is a bummer. I am not a fan of autographed Chome cards, simply because I worry that autographs won’t hold up. I am trying to get over that, since I think there is plenty of evidence that they hold up fine if taken care of.

Cleveland’s Daniel Schneemann is having a season. So far in 2026, Schneemann is carrying a 114 OPS+ while serving as the team’s primary utility player. He has started game in the outfield, second, third, and shortstop.
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Schneemann has been a valuable utility player since making the majors in 2024. In 2025, despite a 77 OPS+, he carried a 1.9 WAR largely because his glove could play all over the field.
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He is 29, so chances are he is not going to get much better than he is this season, but a utility player with anything approaching a league average bat is something that every team in a contention window would love to have. If not? Then you risk having a player like Michael Martinez coming to bat in critical moments. Like the bottom of the 10th inning of the World Series. And nobody wants that.

Hot List: 1994 Score Rookie & Traded Highest Call-Up Alex Rodriguez #HC1
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1994 Score Rookie & Traded Highest Call-Up Alex Rodriguez #HC1 is one of A-Rod’s scarcest “rookie year” cards. While technically not a rookie card, it was a regular on the Beckett Hot List during his peak seasons. Even now, this card isn’t especially cheap.
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1994 Score Rookie & Traded was released in October 1994. It is a largely forgotten release. Despite having 83 rookies in the set, there were no notable rookie cards past Chan Ho Park and a short-print of Jose Lima. For some reason, the original checklist didn’t include Alex Rodriguez–one of the few late-season 1994 sets released without a “true” Alex Rodriguez rookie card. It also came out right around the time the 1994 World Series was being cancelled, which sapped enthusiasm for the set.
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Score ended up getting on in there in the end, though. Due to a printing issue with Jose Lima’s card (#RT158), Score double printed John Mabry’s card (#RT130) and then added a redemption card for A-Rod. Since its a redemption, this isn’t considered a “true” rookie card.

New Arrival: Rick Sutcliffe, sp, Cleveland Baseball
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Baseball trade trees can be fun. Like how Cleveland trading for Rick Sutcliffe in 1982 would set the stage for the Cleveland offensive juggernaut of the 1990’s.
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In 1982 Rick Sutcliffe was a young, promising pitcher with the Dodgers. He won 17 games in 1979, and was the National League Rookie of the Year, but struggled in 1980 and 1981. Unfortunately, he did not get along with the Dodgers head coach Tommy Lasorda and demanded a trade. And that is how he opened the 1982 season in a Cleveland uniform.
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With Cleveland, Sutcliffe was amazing. It is likely that his troubles in 1980 and 1981 stemmed from him tipping pitches, a problem that he solved. And it showed. In 1982 he went 14-8 with a league best 2.96 ERA, and in 1983 went 17-11 with a 4.29 ERA and was selected to his first All-Star game. Remember…we are talking about an 80’s Cleveland team here…so winning 17 games there is no easy feat.
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Sutcliffe struggled with Cleveland to open the 1984 season (4-5, 5.15 ERA) and was traded to the Cubs. And of course, he would go 16-1 with a 2.69 ERA for the rest of the season and end up winning the National League Cy Young Award. He would go on to have a very nice career and retire with 171-139 record and three All-Star selections.
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But hey! When Cleveland traded away Sutcliffe, part of the return package included a 24-year-old slugger named Joe Carter.  Carter would blossom into one of the leagues better hitters while in Cleveland. The best part? When Cleveland traded Carter away to the Padres in 1989, they got back two young prospect, Sandy Alomar and Carlos Baerga, who would become cornerstones of the team.