New Arrival: Rick Sutcliffe, sp, Cleveland Baseball
…
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.
…
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.
…
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.
…
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.
…
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.

New Arrival: Tony Pena, c, Cleveland Baseball
…
Card: 2017 Topps Archives – Fan Favorite Autographs 1983 Tony Pena #FFA-TP
…
Tony Pena had a great career as both a player (from 1980-1997) and coach (2002-2017). For me, I know him for his brief late-career run with Cleveland and a game winning homerun in the 1995 American League Division Series.
…
Don’t forget: Tony Pena had some very good seasons in the 1980’s with Pittsburg and St. Louis and was a five time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner. By the time he signed with Cleveland he was 37, but still a capable backup catcher.
…
Pena was a solid backup in Cleveland, which was important considering starting catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. was always struggling with health issues. In 1995 he caught the majority of the season, and his respectable .262/.302/.376.
…
But the highlight of Pena’s time in Cleveland came when he hit a walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the 13th inning of Game 1 in the 1995 American League Division Series that helped propel the Indians to a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox. At the time, it was the longest playoff game in history.

New Arrival: Cecil Fielder, DH, Cleveland Baseball
…
Card: 2021 Archives 1991 Topps Bazooka Shining Stars Cecil Fielder
…
If you are a player on the downward slope of your career, chances are Cleveland is more than happy to come and kick those tires. Enter Cecil Fielder.
…
In late 1998, the Angels released Cecil Fielder. At the time he was hitting .241 with 14 HR in 381 at-bats. Those numbers are much less impressive since he was limited to only DH duties. Only 34, it was clear that he was nearing the end of a 13-season career.
…
But Cleveland needed a bat to replace Jim Thome, who was lost to injury. So, they signed Fielder. In 35 at-bats for Cleveland he got five hits, one walk and 13 K’s. He was released less than a month later and would never play in the majors again.
…
Of course, Cecil Fielder was a great player in his prime, and for a period in the early 90’s he was one of the best offensive players in the game. From 1990-1996 he averaged almost 37 homeruns with a 125 OPS+. This included leading the leagues in homers in both 1990 (50) and 1991 (44) and leading the league in RBI from 1990-1992. Twice, 1990 and 1991, he finished second in MVP voting. Sure, he struck out a bunch, but with that kind of power it was worth it. And the Tigers made sure he was paid what he was worth, and in both 1995 and 1996 he was the highest paid player in the game (at $9.2 million…ha).
…
Unfortunately, Fielder did not age well. He had zero value with the glove, and by the time the Yankees traded for him in 1996 he was already on the downward slide, and he would be out of the game just two years later.

New Arrival: Cliff Floyd, of, Florida Marlins
…
Card: 2001 Topps Heritage
…
You know who was really good? Cliff Floyd. For the longest time I tried not to think about him because he was part of that 1997 Florida club that beat Cleveland in the World Series. But it’s been like 30 years, and I am just about over it.
…
Anyway. Cliff Floyd. He had a very good 17 season career. But during his peak, which I would say was from 1997-2005, he was excellent. During that time, he carried a 130 OPS+ and averaged 21 HR a season. Despite that, he was only selected to a single All-Star game.
…
The single All-Star game makes sense when you consider the era that he played. If you isolate offensive stats from 1997-2005, he is (by OPS+) the 37th best player in the league. Between him and #1 you gave to go through like 20 Hall of Fame talents.

New Arrival: Mark Langston, sp, Cleveland Baseball
…
If you are a Cleveland fan and were around for the 90’s version of the club, you will remember how the team pitching was almost always on the cusp of being a dumpster fire. The team had a historically good offense, but they could never find the arms needed to match them. It’s still frustrating to think about 30 years later.
…
Case in point: Mark Langston. Langston had technically retired following the 1998 season after getting waived by San Diego. He had gone 4–6 with a 5.86 ERA. This included a World Series appearance that was maybe not his best work. I will let you look that up. It’s depressing.
…
But in the spring of 1999, Langston had a change of heart and decided to sign a minor league contract with Cleveland. And it went about how you would expect. He went 1–2 with a 5.25 ERA in 25 games, to include five starts. He retired, for real this time, the following March.
…
It was the end of what was a solid career. His career record was 179–158 with a 107 ERA+. Langston led the league in strikeouts three times and, from 1984–1993, averaged 200 a season. He was a four-time All-Star and one of the best defensive pitchers of the era, winning seven Gold Gloves.

New Arrival: Bob Rush, sp, Chicago Cubs
…
Bob Rush. You may not know his name all that well now, but if you were a baseball fan in the 1950’s, you almost certainly did.
…
Rush had nice 13 season career in the big leagues, mostly with the Cubs, from 1948 through 1960. He retired with a 127-152 record, 110 ERA+ and two All-Star selections. Certainly, above average.
…
His best season came in 1952, when he went 17-13 with a 143 ERA+ with Chicago, earning his second All-Star selection. At one point he rattled off seven complete games wins in a row, three of which were shutouts. And don’t think it was because of the Cubs offense, either. During this streak Rush had a 0.70 ERA.
…
What was impressive about Rush’s overall career was that he was a workhorse. From 1948 to 1956 he averaged 214.1 innings a season. His 1,927.1 innings pitched during this period was the 6th most in the league. And he wasn’t just grinding away; he was a quality pitcher with a solid 112 ERA+ during that run. And even got to start a World Series game with the 1958 Milwaukee Braves, where he pitched a gem (6 IP, 3 hits, 2 ER), though got the loss.
…
Oh, if you are curious who was #1 in innings pitched during this same timeframe: Robin Roberts with…get this…2,608.1 innings. That is INSANE.
…
Anway. Rush had a good career. And he epitomizes the caliber of player who sits comfortably between the games super-start and role-players, and who generally makes the game tick.

New Arrival: Randy Velarde, if, Oakland Athletics
…
Randy Velarde was a solid major league infielder. But at no point would you mistake him for Roberto Alomar. Mostly not. Maybe one time. But other than that, probably not.
…
He spent 16 seasons in the big leagues and retired with a respectable 101 OPS+ and 24.9 WAR. He even snuck in 100 career homers. Except in 1999.
…
In 1999, Randy Velarde was, by WAR, the fifth best player in the American League. His 7.0 WAR put him just a hair behind Manny Ramirez (7.3) and Roberto Alomar (7.4). That season he had career highs in HR (16) and had a 126 OPS+. He ended the season with 200 hits, making him the sixth player in Major League history to amass 200 hits in a single season while playing for two different teams.
…
Velarde got on my radar following his trade to Oakland during the 1999 season. Between him, Miguel Tejada, and Frank Menechino the A’s had a very solid middle infield during the 1999 and 2000 seasons.
…
And when Oakland decided to flip him to the Rangers in the winter of 2000, they got back future workhorse starting pitcher Aaron Harang. Which would have been a great trade if Oakland didn’t end up trading Harang before he became that workhorse.
…
Anyway. Velarde’s 1999 breakout came at the unfortunate baseball age of 36. While he would have a couple more decent seasons in the big leagues, he would retire following the 2002 season. But it was a nice late-career resurgence.

New Arrival: Jim Edmonds, cf, St. Louis Cardinals
…
Centerfielder Jim Edmonds had a very good career. 17 seasons, four All-Star selections, eight Gold Gloves and a Championship. I don’t think anyone doesn’t think he was a good player. But gosh, his first six years in St. Louis was something else.
…
Edmonds signed with St. Louis in 2000 and proceeded to have an insane six year run with the club. During this period, he had a 154 OPS+, to include 210 HR and a .406 OBP. This was while also being a Gold Glove outfielder (winning one each season during this run). How many Gold Glove center fielders have averaged 35 HR a season? He really was special.
…
Some more perspective! Edmonds is seventh all-time at homeruns (393) for centerfielders (since 1947). He sits comfortably ahead of the next best player, Fred Lynn (306). Mike Trout precedes him, with 406.
…
That said, I kind of agree that he is on the right at the edge of the HOF but probably shouldn’t be in there. Its close! JAWS has him as the 15th best centerfielder in history, with 60.4 career WAR. There are 21 other centerfielders in the hall, and their average WAR is 71.2.

From the Collection: Blake Stein, sp, Oakland Athletics
…
Starting Pitcher Blake Stein was never a huge pitching prospect. But organization saw something in him they liked, for sure.
…
Stein was a 6th-round draft pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1994. He put up strong numbers in the minors, especially in 1996, when he went 16–5 with a 2.15 ERA at High-A. That season put him on the prospect radar, and he entered 1997 as one of the Cardinals’ top 10 prospects.
…
In July 1997, Stein was involved in the first of two major trades. The Cardinals packaged him with pitchers Eric Ludwick and T.J. Mathews to acquire Mark McGwire from the Athletics.
…
Stein didn’t do much in Oakland, and in 1999 he was included in another trade package, this time with pitchers Jeff D’Amico and Brad Rigby, to acquire Kansas City Royals ace Kevin Appier.
…
Stein also didn’t do much with Kansas City and bounced around the league until 2002. He retired with a 21–28 record. But he helped facilitate two big trades — and it’s always nice to be wanted.

New Arrival: Carlos Beltran, of, Kansas City Royals
…
There was a time, I want to say roughly 2006, that you might have been hard pressed to say who was the better player, Carlos Beltran or Bobby Abreu. At that point, each had enjoyed strong careers. Beltrán, a nine‑year veteran, was a Rookie of the Year winner with three All‑Star selections, a Gold Glove, and a Silver Slugger under his belt. He had amassed 40.4 WAR. Abreu, eleven years into his career, had two All‑Star selections, a Gold Glove, and a Silver Slugger. He had amassed 49.5 WAR.
…
Beltrán, in the end, simply aged better. He would finish with 70.0 career WAR to Abreu’s 60.2. It’s worth noting, though, that Abreu retired with a better OPS+ than Beltrán (128 vs. 119). While you could argue that prime Abreu was the better all‑around hitter, Beltrán had more power, hitting 435 career home runs to Abreu’s 288.
…
Beltrán was a very good player for a very long time and deserved his spot in the Hall of Fame. Abreu was one of the best players of the 2000s but ultimately didn’t reach Beltrán’s level by the end of his career.