The Columbus Clippers are the AAA affiliate of the Guardians since 2008. They began in 1977 with the Pirates, then the Yankees, then the Nationals. I don't care about these teams, but I live near the stadium, so I go see em. Particularly when the Reds' affiliate Louisville Bats are in town. 20-30 bucks gets you a cushioned seat behind home plate. Have I been asked if I'm a scout because I sit there keeping score the old fashioned way by hand? Yes. Yes I have.
The goal is a card, any card, of every player who passed through the Clippers organization on their way to the majors. And what the heck, throw in the managers. Because they have only existed since the 70's, this is possible. As of the end of 2025, there have been precisely 1099 players to do this. Add the 22 managers and I'm sitting at 1075/1121 toward completion. A few recents will be easy enough. A few more are sitting in my Sportlots box. A few obscure ones from non-overproduction eras are proving tough. Or at least, tough to find cheaply. I refuse to pay two bucks for some minor league card from the 80's.
The letter A is complete. 44 players from Kurt Abbott to Oscar Azocar as well as 1980 manager Joe Altobelli. I pick up an auto when I can. Jonathan Albaladejo gets the honors. And yes, until I have a solo card from Dave Augustine, his RC alongside Ken Griffey is holding the place.
That's an awesome project! Hope you can find those elusive ones.
ReplyDeleteOnce or twice when I was in college in the Chicago area, I told people who asked why I was wearing a Mets cap or shirt at Wrigley for a non-Mets game that I was a scout. Bad boy, I know.
Sometimes I said yeah, sometimes I said "no, I'm just the biggest dork in the stadium"
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