Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
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.
New Arrival: Ramon Laureano, of, Cleveland Guardians … Outfielder Ramon Laureano is one of a bunch of players Cleveland added to their roster late this season. Unlike most, he has a future with the team since he was selected off waivers from the Athletics and is under team control until[…]
… Mail Day: Max West, of, Boston Braves … Outfielder Max West made his Major League debut in 1938. He was 21 years old and held his own with a 91 OPS+. Over the next four years, he was one of the best bats in the Boston line-up, hitting .269/.359/.424[…]
Mail Day: Bob Lennon, of, New York Giants … If you were collecting autographs in 1954, you would probably be falling over yourself to get New York Giants minor league outfielder Bob Lennon. … Lennon, In 1954 while playing for the Giants AAA club, the Nashville Volunteers, won the Southern[…]
Kyle Crockett. What a bummer. Cleveland drafted him in 2013, in the 4th round out of the University of Virginia. He was rated the 113th-best prospect in the draft and immediately became one of the organization’s top relief prospects.
Nelson Cruz is hitting .283/.399/.681 this season, with 5 HR. He has 6 walks to 46 K’s. After 19 seasons in the big leagues, it looks like the 42-year-old’s career might finally be coming to an end. But it was a very fine career.
Bartolo Colon will be officially retiring from baseball on 17 September 2023. He will retire as a New York Met, who he pitched for from 2014-16. He is 50 years old. I had no idea he hadn’t retired yet.
The Guardians minor league system has not performed to the lofty expectations of the pre-season. But, there are some bright spots. Among them, is infielder Dayan Frias.
If I was going to get excited about a player that is years away from the majors, I could do worse than shortstop Welbyn Francisca. In early 2023 the Guards signed him out of the Dominican Republic, where he was considered one of the top 50 international free agents.
My fantasy team needed some help in the infield in late June, and the Padre’s Ha-Seong Kim was available as a free agent, so I jumped. It was a good call.