Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
Mark Buehrle was a great pitcher. He did not quite have a Hall of Fame career, but it was still pretty great. In his 16-seasons in the majors, he only had an OPS+ under 100 twice. He led the league in innings twice and averaged 221 innings over his career.[…]
I met George Brett once. He was drunk and not very friendly. Still, he signed a ball for me, so I won’t judge him too much. Brett had a truly amazing career: Three-time batting champion, 13-time All-Star, 1980 MVP, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999. I[…]
Ryan Garko was always great hitter. He hit .350/.446/.591 during his four years at Stanford–including .380 his senior season. Despite his terrible glove, the Indians took him in the 3rd round of the 2003 draft. In 2004 he hit .330/.412/.565 between three levels, and was the Indians MiLB Player of[…]
I had a chance to add this Stan Musial signed index card to my collection on the cheap, so I jumped. You would have a hard time finding a Baseball-Reference page more impressive than Musial. Being a seven-time batting champ, 24-time All-Star, and three-time MVP will do that, I guess.[…]
Jim “Catfish” Hunter was a very good pitcher. He did not have a super-long career, but it was still a fantastic one: Career record of 224-166 with a 3.26 ERA/104 ERA+ Eight-time All-Star 1974 American League Cy Young He would win five World Series–three with the Athletics and two with the[…]
Josh Hader is a really good closer. Last season he pitched 75.2 innings for the Brewers, and only allowed 41 hits while striking out 138. Good for an 2.62 ERA/170 ERA+. He also got his second All-Star team selection. Standard Pitching Year Age Tm W L ERA G GF SV[…]
Ken Keltner is one of the greatest Cleveland Indians in team history. From 1937-1950 (13-seasons), Keltner hit .276/.338/.441 with 163 HR He was selected to seven All-Star teams and finished in the top 15 of MVP voting four times. While his bat was very good, he was known for his[…]
I wrote to Michael Madsen in 2006. At the time he was one of the A’s top-30 prospects. He was drafted out of Ohio State in the 21st round of the 2005 draft He had a very nice pro debut in 2005, going 6-1 with a 1.69 ERA/0.875 WHIP in[…]
I did not find the 2020 Gypsy Queen checklist to be all that thrilling, but I was happy to see Gio Urshela in there. Last season Gio hit .314/.355/.534 with 21 HR–good for a 133 OPS+ and 3.9 WAR. That, coupled with his plus defense…he has the potential to be[…]
Oliver Perez has been in the league for 17 seasons–that is a long time for a pitcher. He has had a very nice late-career resurgence with the Indians. In the last couple of seasons, he has been one of the more dependable arms in the Tribe pen. Over the last two seasons, he has pitched 73 innings in relief, allowing only 55 hits while striking out 91. Good for a 2.84 ERA/161 ERA+/1.014 WHIP.