Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
Wes Covington had a very nice career for a player who never got more than 400 at-bats in a season. He was part of the Milwaukee Braves squad that went to the World Series in both 1957 and 1958 and, in both cases, was one of the best hitters on[…]
Myles Smith is a freshman outfielder for UC Irvine baseball. He only got 48 at-bats this season, and while his average was a little low (.229), he has a solid .377 OBP. There is a lot to like in his game, and he will almost certainly become a full-time player[…]
Owen Miller has been one of a few nice surprises for the Guards this season. When Cleveland traded Mike Clevinger in 2020, Owen Miller was part of the package they got back–a package that also included Gabriel Arias, Austin Hedges, Josh Naylor and Cal Quantrill. It was not a bad[…]
Sterling Hitchcock was the 9th-round pick of the New York Yankees in the 1989 draft. He would spend 13 seasons in the big leagues, his prime from 1995 to 1999 when he was in the Yankees and Padres rotation. During that period he would go 55-51 with a 4.65 ERA/1.391[…]
Milan Tolentino was Cleveland’s 4th-round pick in 2020 out of Santa Margarita Catholic in California. He opened the season in the back-half of the Guardian’s Top 30 prospect list but has been on fire in 2022 at Low-A Lynchburg, hitting .333/.436/.428 with one home run. Tolentino is quickly becoming another[…]
Zach Neto had another great season at Campbell in 2022, hitting .405/.514/.774 with 15 HR. These numbers are pretty much in line with his 2021 numbers (.405/.488/.746) and illustrate why is one of the better hitting prospects in the Big South this season. Register Batting Year Age AgeDif Tm Lg[…]
Alex Thomas is one of Arizona’s biggest prospects. He opened the season in AAA, and after battering minor league pitching to the tune of .277/.362/.495, he was called up to the big league club. Through his first six games, he is hitting .438/.471/.813 with one HR, which is…impressive. Granted it’s[…]
Del Crandall was in the majors from 1949 to 1966 and is one of the better all-around catchers in baseball history. He was known primarily for his defense, but his bat had more than a little juice to go with his Gold Glove. He almost won the 1949 NL Rookie[…]
After being drafted in the 39th round of the 2002 draft–a draft position not known to make many majors leaguers, he would go on to spend parts of three seasons in the majors–to include an All-Star selection. And there is no denying he was a masher in the minors, highlighted by his 2011 campaign with the Cubs AAA affiliate when he hit .331/.405/.664 with 38 HR and was selected the Pacific Coast League MVP.
I really wanted a Luis Robert card before the season started, mostly because I expect him to have a monster year. I pulled the trigger on this signed 2021 Topps Heritage. It’s a very nice card.