Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
The Houston Astros signed Harold Arauz as an international FA back in 2011 for $300K. He was 16 years old. He had a rough 2015 in Low-A. He ended the season with an 0-5 record, 6.79 ERA and allowing 72 hits in 51 innings. It was a terrible season. He joined the[…]
There is one stat that I have always loved, and I put way too much stock into: on-base percentage. Even now, with all the advanced stats we have, its the first thing that I look. For me, it started when I was in high school and trying to build line-ups[…]
This is one of several autographs that I just purchased from a collector who is selling off their collection. Ryan Zimmerman was the 4th overall pick of the 2005 draft, taken by the Washington Nationals out of the University of Virginia. Zimmerman hit .336/.377/.564 with 11 HR between A and AA-ball in 2005 and[…]
I bought this card as part of a lot from a collector who was clearing out some cards. When I saw he had a Sizemore I jumped. He was always tough to get in person, and despite being retired his autograph is still sought after by collectors. Grady Sizemore will always[…]
Sam Clay was drafted by the Twins in the 4th round of the 2014 draft out of Georgia Tech. Clay was a very good reliever while at Georgia Tech, though it was not clear if he would stick to the pen as a pro or transition into a starter. He had[…]
Why you remember So Taguchi: The St. Louis Cardinals signed So Taguchi as an international free agent in 2002. The 33-year-old Taguchi was a 10 year veteran of Japan Pacific League (JPPL). He was an All-Star in the JPPL, though he was not quite the hitter that Ichiro was. His biggest[…]
The 2014 Oakland Athletics were pretty amazing…at least in the first half. They had a great pitching staff and a buzz-saw of an offense. The catching was handled by Derek Norris and John Jaso, with Norris getting a majority of the starts. Unfortunately, Derek Norris, like the rest of the[…]
This is another signed Allen and Ginter that I got as part of a lot from a collector. I think I have a couple Kent’s, but this was was really nice so I didn’t want to pass up on it. Jeff Kent was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in[…]
Tyler Straub played four seasons of college ball (2013-2016), split between North Central Texas College (North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference) and Texas-San Antonio (Conference USA). He was a very good hitter in college. His senior year he hit .282/.342/.366 with 2 HR. It should be noted that most of those numbers[…]
Brett Kennedy was drafted out of Fordham in the 11th round of the 2015 draft by the San Diego Padres. His numbers in college were solid: over three seasons in the Atlantic 10 he would go 15-17 with a 3.73 ERA over 222 IP. He would allow 236 hits,[…]