A little more than three months ago, Cleveland pitcher Carlos Carrasco revealed some breathtaking artistic skill in the dugout as he transformed an ordinary baseball into a remarkable sculpture of José Ramírez. (With the help of some of his rotation mates, of course.)
That mini-Ramírez became the first in a series, and Carrasco and fellow starting pitcher Trevor Bauer have now finished their work. After following the rules they agreed to together—no updating the baseball once’s it’s completed (“it’s an accurate representation of where we were at that time”), pick one feature to emphasize per player, only use items found at the ballpark, work on the baseballs only while the team is winning—the set is complete.
Here they are, ranked:
1) Brandon Guyer
2) Josh Tomlin
3) Trevor Bauer
4) Zach McAllister
5) Yandy Diaz
6) Corey Kluber
7) Bryan Shaw
8) Joe Smith
9) Cody Allen
10) Edwin Encarnacion
11) Tyler Olson
12) Mike Clevinger
13) Austin Jackson
14) Yan Gomes
15) José Ramírez
16) Bradley Zimmer
17) Jay Bruce
18) Michael Brantley
19) Francisco Lindor
20) Jason Kipnis
21) Carlos Carrasco
22) Danny Salazar
23) Roberto Pérez
24) Carlos Santana
25) Andrew Miller
26) Getting hit by a bullpen cart
27) Dan Otero