New Arrivals: Carlos Baerga, if, Cleveland Indians

Carlos Baerga was a key player on the powerhouse Indians teams that I grew up with. For several seasons he was one of the best second basemen in baseball and looked like he might very well be on a Hall of Fame trajectory. From 1992 to 1995 he hit .315/.350/.476, averaging 19 HR–good for an OPS+ of 120. He was a three-time All-Star and two time Silver Slugger.

But in 1996 the wheels came off.

He would hit .267/.302/.396 with 12 HR, but his defense was a liability and while his numbers were not terrible he was clearly struggling with the bat and compared to his previous seasons. The Indians saw the writing on the wall and decided to trade him in late July 1996 to the Mets for Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino.

He was never the same player he was during his peak. He would stick around until 2005 but be largely ineffective.

Still, Baerga was one of the catalysts of the Indians mid-90’s revival and will always have a special place in Cleveland history.

I don’t really have any nice Barga autographs. I only got him in-person once and it was a zoo..so I got a terrible looking autograph. I am hesitant to send anything to a private signing since I am sure I will bump into him at some point. I saw these and was able to snag them for $3 each. They are nice looking cards and the autographs really pop, so I feel pretty good about picking them up.