Every year around spring training the baseball card bug bites me. It must have something to do with all that pre-season anticipation and Topps releasing all of their new designs. And each year when this feeling hits me, I head over to Check Out My Collectibles and see if I can score a bargain or two. Recently a small batch of Indians cards I'd ordered in the spring arrived and I thought I'd share them. Like my previous baseball card posts in the past, none of these are very special to serious collectors, nor are they worth a lot of money. I just buy them because I like the player and/or I like the design.
Let's begin with this Mike Clevinger 2016 Bowman Chrome - Prospects Autograph. It's a really clean auto in blue ink. It's not a particularly noteworthy card but I've been an admirer of Clev for a while now and am hoping he features for the big club in 2017. The card was just $2.74, which I think is a decent price for an autograph.
Up next is a card from the same set but from the year before, a 2015 Bowman Chrome - Prospects Autographs featuring third baseman Giovanny Urseha and his signature. The auto isn't the greatest but I still like the card a lot, and at $1.73 I added it to my basket without a second's thought. I've long been a fan of Gio's defensive prowess at the hot corner and despite Yandy Diaz beating him out for the Opening Day roster spot, I still want to see Urshela get some time in Cleveland in 2017.
This was the most deluxe card I bought from my mini haul. This Andrew Miller 2016 Topps Tier One - Prime Performers Autographs set me back $8.25. It's numbered 240 out of 249, and I don't tend to fuss over numbered cards too much but it's an added bonus. Despite Miller being in his old Yankees uniform, I still think it's a lovely card, especially with the extra large auto and gold trim. I'm like a magpie, I love shiny things.
Next up is a bit of a strange one, which I bought for a couple of reasons. When I fully got into my Indians fandom in 2008, Fausto Carmona was one of my favorite players. Coming off the back of a superb 2007 season, in which the Dominican posted a 3.06 ERA and a 19-8 record, I thought this guy was going to be a star. Unfortunately his 2008 season was a train-wreck but it did help teach me a lesson about pitchers. The second reason is because in 2012 it was revealed that Fausto Carmona was actually Roberto Hernandez, and Carmona was his alias (he was also three years older than he claimed to be as Carmona.) This got me thinking: how many people own an autographed card by a fake player, signed with a fake name? I thought it made this quite a unique pick-up and it also helped that it's a quality card, with very heavy stock and numbered out of 300 too. For the record it's a 2011 Topps Marquee - Monumental Markings that cost me $3.70 and I love it. I am still a big fan of those Indians home jerseys with the navy piping too.
And finally we have something a little simpler but still a great card. How can any Francisco Lindor card not be great? This is a 2016 Topps Update Series - [Base] card that cost $0.70 and features Lindor in his All Star garb from last year's midsummer classic in San Diego. It's the photography I love most about this card, the shot of his name across his jersey and the way his head is tilted away from the sun. Frankie is such a dude, and I pray to the baseball gods he can remain in Cleveland for the next 20 years.
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