Card Show Purchases: Children of a Lesser Player Collection

While it's tough to call these guys "lesser" player collections, well, many of them are. I've changed my taxonomy for my player collections to Primary and Secondary, depending on whether I collect them no matter what team they are on or only with the Brewers/Braves.  

Some of the cards/players in this thread are primary guys -- Jean Segura and Carlos Gomez in particular. Others, though, are secondary guys. While I appreciate all that Yovani Gallardo has done for the Brewers, I won't collect his cards on his new team were he to leave after this season for another team. 

I am sure that Gallardo would be heartbroken to hear this. Perhaps it will convince him to stay.

Uh-huh. 

Okay, enough gabbing. Here are the cards broken down by player, with any relevant stories about the card or the player that there may be.

Carlos Gomez

I think that is my first official Carlos Gomez rookie card. I remember when he came up with the Mets from all the expectations that fantasy players had for him. I stayed away because he hadn't figured out plate discipline, but then I got him as a waiver claim in the first week of the season when he joined the Brewers. His play in Milwaukee kept him on my roster for 3 years.  The Gold and Wal-Mart variations actually end up being for my team collection rather than my Gomez collection, though, since I have both already.  And, that A&G is my first Gomez relic.

Jean Segura

Segura cards can be had cheaply right now. It's telling, though, to see his stats from around the time that his son got sick and ultimately passed away -- and the two weeks after that -- as compared with his stats for the rest of the season.  June and July were his bad months, and they were terrible: .189/.230/.283 is terrible for 194 plate appearances. His April and May were a decent (though his OBP is still suboptimal) .269/.297/.353 and his numbers from August 1 onward have been downright good (especially OBP) -- .274/.361/.298. Yeah, you'd like him to have more power, but I'll take a 12 to 10 walk to strikeout ratio from him at this point.

I just hope next season is more like these last two months than his middle two months.

Corey Hart

The big, tall, goofy-looking Kentuckian got a few cards added to his player collection at this show, though my scanner appears to hate him and cut two of his borders off. Corey sat out last year with knee issues then took the money from Seattle and ran out of Milwaukee. Based on his numbers this year with Seattle -- 62 games, 6 HR, 21 RBI, .202/.274/.321 -- I'd say that the Mariners did Milwaukee a favor.

Jonathan Lucroy

The Brewers recent problems/regression to the mean have put a damper on the Lucroy for MVP talk. It's too bad, because Lucroy is right in the running for being the best player in the NL at this point. And his walk-off celebration on his Topps card this year looks just as good in Chrome as it did in the base set.

Yovani Gallardo

I am not sure whether the Brewers will pick up their $13-million team option for next year. Gallardo has pitched relatively well this season, and he has never really had any health issues in his time in the majors. He's only 28 right now too, so there's hope that they can get one more year out of him without him getting hurt. 

Rickie Weeks

There is virtually no chance that the Brewers will pick up Weeks's option for 2015, and there is a higher likelihood that the club will choose to void the option. The team has that right if Weeks does not make 600 plate appearances in 2014 (he's at 255 currently) or over 1200 between 2013 and 2014 (he's at 654 currently). 

With Weeks refusing earlier this year to play either outfield or another infield position and with Scooter Gennett showing he can play second in the major leagues, Weeks will be elsewhere next year unless Weeks chooses to sign with Milwaukee for like $1 million a year.

Dave Nilsson

Just one Aussie from this past show. "Press Proof!"

Jose Valentin

A Topps Finest Jose Valentin? Sure, I'll take that. How much are you going to pay me to take it, though?

I kid, a little. I mean, these dealers started searching their hidden boxes for Brewers in hopes of getting rid of them.

Geoff Jenkins

Jenkins as an Unsung Hero for Fleer "Platinum" from the early 2000s. This card looks like it should have come with microwave popcorn or a loaf of bread.

That's all for tonight. I think I have to put up all the Prince Fielders by themselves. I added a bunch of cards to the Round Mound of Disabled Ranger collection, so tomorrow might be that. Or maybe that will be Friday. That way, fewer people will be subjected to it.