Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
Mike Mussina had an amazing career. The fact that he decided to retire after winning his first 20-game season–the first pitcher since Sandy Koufax in 1967 to do such a thing–kind of makes me like him more. Standard Pitching Year Age Tm Lg W L ERA IP H BB SO[…]
Mike Napoli has a very nice 12-season career: He retired with a line of .246/.346/.475, with 267 HR. Good for an OPS+ of 117. Those numbers are a little more impressive when you remember that he spent almost as much of his career at catcher than first base. Selected[…]
Wade Boggs was a great hitter. 18 seasons in the big leagues, career line of .328/.415/.443. There was a point in his career where he might have been one of the most potent hitters in baseball history: from 1985-1990 he hit .357/.454/.496, good for an OPS+ of 158. All told,[…]
Juan Marichal retired following the 1975 season with a 238-140 record.
Despite Mark McGwire being an Oakland Athletics, and his home run chase taking part in the formative part of my youth…I don’t really consider myself a particularly huge fan. Still, I was able to get this card for a good price and jumped. Standard Batting Year Age Tm Lg G[…]
Billy Williams spent the first 16 seasons of his career with the Chicago Cubs. With the Cubs, he would put together a Hall of Fame career: 1961 Rookie of the Year, six-time All-Star, and 1972 batting champ. The one thing that he did not get was a World Series ring.[…]
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[…]
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.
Years ago, while he was in college, I wrote to Mike Minor. He ended up not signing the card that I sent, but did write me a nice note and signed a bio page. Been a fan ever since and I was happy to see him have a career year[…]
Scott Rolen was a very good player. Maybe Hall of Fame good. Rolen made the big leagues in 1996 and by 1997 was a regular in the Phillies lineup. That season he would hit .283/.377/.469 and win the NL ROY. Rolen would spend 17 seasons in the big leagues and[…]