Home of the Kit Pellow Fan Association

Collecting Cleveland Baseball Since 1982

Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.

From My Collection: Matt Laporta, if, Cleveland Indians

Matt LaPorta signed scorecard
Matt LaPorta signed scorecard

Matt LaPorta was the centerpiece of the 2008 Cleveland-Milwaukee deal that saw C.C. Sabathia leave Indians. I thought it was a good trade at the time, and it seems to have worked out despite LaPorta never really panning out. That’s because the PTBNL was Michael Brantley, who has had a very nice career in Cleveland.

It’s still a little surprising that LaPorta did not work out. He was the 7th overall pick in the 2007 draft and was considered one of the best prospects in the game when he came over to the Indians. He made the majors in 2009, and while his numbers were not great that season he did not seem totally overmatched (.254/.308/.442 with 7 HR). He struggled in 2010 and would spend the rest of career bouncing between AAA and the majors.

Fans in Cleveland were rough on him. It’s not his fault that he was the face of the Sabathia trade in Cleveland, and fans wanted to see something for that loss. When LaPorta struggled, his twitter was not a pleasant place to be. I always felt bad for him, and wonder if his career would have panned out the same if he came up with the Brewers.

He will always be a favorite of mine. I hope whatever he is doing now he is enjoying it.

Standard Batting
Year Age Tm Lg G AB H HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
2009 24 CLE AL 52 181 46 7 21 2 0 12 37 .254 .308 .442 .750 99
2010 25 CLE AL 110 376 83 12 41 0 0 46 82 .221 .306 .362 .668 87
2011 26 CLE AL 107 352 87 11 53 1 0 23 87 .247 .299 .412 .711 98
2012 27 CLE AL 22 58 14 1 5 0 0 1 17 .241 .267 .328 .594 67
4 Yr 4 Yr 4 Yr 4 Yr 291 967 230 31 120 3 0 82 223 .238 .301 .393 .694 92
162 162 162 162 162 538 128 17 67 2 0 46 124 .238 .301 .393 .694 92
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/24/2018.