Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
Back in 2011, the top three of the UCLA Bruins rotation were Trevor Bauer, Gerrit Cole, and Adam Plutko. As good as that rotation was–and both Bauer and Cole would get taken in the first round of that year’s draft–it would be the Plutko-led rotation in 2012 that would win the National Championship.
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.
Since coming to Boston, Verdugo has been a solid player. Over the past two seasons, he has had a 105 OPS+, and only averaged 12 HR a season. Considering the circumstances, Boston was probably hoping for something a little bit more.
I was able to get pitcher David Peterson‘s autograph back in 2015 when he was visiting Hawaii with the Oregon Ducks. That weekend he would make his first NCAA start, pitching 6.0 innings and striking out eight. Peterson was drafted by the New York Mets with the 20th overall pick[…]
If you were to ask who my favorite active player is, it might very well end up being Joey Votto. This autograph that I got back TTM back in 2006 is high on the list of reasons why.
Bobby Dalbec was drafted out of the University of Arizona in the 4th round of the 2016 draft. Arizona played Hawaii that season, which is where I was able to get this autograph. I was very happy to get it. That Arizona team was stacked with prospects, and Dalbec was[…]
Ryan Ludwick is one of my all-time favorite players. The big reason he that is one of the rare players who played for both of my favorite organizations (CLE and OAK). It’s also in large part because he was on the 2002 Oklahoma RedHawks team, which was a team that I absolutely loved. That roster was stacked with prospects–many of which I followed since they came from the Athletics organization in the Carlos Pena trade.
Nellie Rodriguez was drafted by Cleveland in the 15th round of the 2012 draft. From 2014-2017 Rodriguez was one of the Tribe’s Top 30 prospects–almost totally based on his plus power.
I got to see Zack Greinke when he was with the Royals AAA club in Omaha. Made me a fan, though admittedly is not all that easy considering what a prickly dude he is.
I always forget what a good prospect Lonnie Chisenhall was. In 2010 he was ranked the #31 overall prospect in baseball, and the next season he moved up to #25.