Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
Fausto Carmona–or Roberto Hernandez, however you want to remember him–did not have a particularly impressive career. Over 11 seasons he went 71-99 with a 4.60 ERA/89 OPS+. He was selected to one All-Star game, in 2010. But there will always be 2007. That season Carmona went 19-8 with a 3.06[…]
Years ago Omar Vizquel did a private signing, and I sent three of these 2007 Heritage cards in to get signed. They came out pretty well–this being the best of the three. Omar had a heck of a career: 24 seasons in the big league, three All-Star selections, and 11[…]
Ronny Rodriguez spent part of 2018 and all of 2019 on the Tiger’s major league roster as a super-utility player. Over those two seasons, he hit .221/.254/.396 with 19 HR, good for a 70 OPS+. He was granted free agency in November 2020 and is not playing baseball right now.[…]
Matt Whitney was the Indians 1st round pick of the 2002 draft–33rd overall. He was a great prospect, who got comparisons to Manny Ramirez, Scott Rolen, and David Wright at different points in his minor league career.
The Philadelphia Phillies drafted outfielder Anthony Gose 51st overall in the 2008 MLB Draft. He was a good prospect and was included in a couple of reasonably high profile trades that saw him go to the Astros in 2010 (part of a package for Roy Oswalt), the Blues Jays later[…]
In 1983 the Indians traded Len Barker to the Braves for Brett Butler and Brook Jacoby. It was a good trade for the Indians. Butler would spend the next four seasons as the Indians starting centerfielder and would hit .288/.373/.396 (110 OPS+), averaging 5 HR and 41 stolen bases a[…]
Joe Borowski signed as a free agent with the Indians in 2006, and over the next roughly two seasons he would save 51 games–including a league-leading 45 in 2007. His peripherals during this run were rough: over 82.1 innings with the Tribe, he pitched to a tune of 5.57 ERA/1.530[…]
Paul Byrd is absolutely one of my favorite pitchers. I have tried writing to him a million times over the years and never have been able to get a response. Finally got this card from a fellow collector. I will take it. Byrd was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in[…]
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 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[…]