Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
Cal Poly visited Hawaii a couple of years ago, and pitcher Taylor Dollard was on their roster. He was a well thought of prospect, and I was able to get his autograph. He would go on to be drafted by Seattle in the 5th round of the 2020 draft.
I was able to get this autograph TTM from Mookie Betts in 2012, while he was playing for the Low-A Lowell Spinners. It’s hard to believe, but at the time he was not a huge prospect and was not even ranked by Baseball America.
From 2004-2008, Wladimir Balentien was one of the Seattle Mariners best hitting prospects. He was projected to be a power-hitting outfielder and a solid outfield defender. But like so many power-hitting prospects, he struggled to make contact in the majors. He did not have the same issue in Japan.
Doug Nikhazy was drafted by Cleveland in the 2nd round of the 2021 draft out of the University of Mississippi. He does not have the super high ceiling you would expect with a second-round pick. But he is a lefty with four decent pitches, so there is lots to like.
Scott Brosius was in the big leagues for 11 seasons (1991-2001). He is best known for his four seasons with the Yankees, especially his 1998 season. That year, Brosius hit .300 with a 121 OPS+, was selected to his only All-Star team, and won the World Series and World Series[…]
Man, Steve Carlton was great. I mean, he is in the Hall of Fame, so of course, he is. But man! Look at this: 329 career wins During his peak–from 1967 to 1984–he averaged 262 innings a 17 wins a season. 262 innings! He won 20-games six times, including a[…]
If we just avoid the issue of PEDS, Jason Giambi was a great player. He spent 20-seasons in the big leagues and retired with 440 HR and 139 OPS+. While he didn’t have a Hall of Fame career even before the specter of PEDS hung over his career, he was[…]
It would take a couple of seasons, but Westbrook would develop into a very solid starting pitcher. Over nine seasons with the Tribe, Westbrook went 69-69 with a 4.29 ERA/1.374 WHIP/101 ERA+.
Luis Arraez was never ranked as one of the Twin’s Top 10 prospects as he was moving up through the system. This is insane when you consider what he has accomplished at the major league level.
Logan Allen was Cleveland’s 2nd round pick in the 2020 draft, out of Florida International University. This season Allen is pitching at AA Akron and is having a fantastic campaign, going 5-3 with a 3.33 ERA and 104 K’s in 73 IP. In fact, he is so good that just[…]