New Brewers Sigz - the eBay Chapter

It’s been a while since I rapped at ya… the Brewers are back in the thick of things, which has made the early fall a pretty fun time. I’ve been celebrating the Crew’s return to relevance by adding some items to my All-Time Brewers collection. As you can see by the counter on the side, I’m closing in on a completed set of the all-time roster and have crossed the quarter pole in signed cards. I’ll be doing a few posts this week to show off my new additions.

Let’s start with the signed cards…

  

I just got this one back in the mail today, part of a late-season TTM volley to current Brewers. I was thrilled to get Hernan back, as he doesn’t have any certified autos out that I’m aware of. The Brewers picked Perez up off the waiver wire in mid-2015 and he has filled a super-sub role ever since. He can play almost anywhere (catcher is the only position he hasn’t played this year, which include an inning on the mound) and finished among the league leaders in stolen bases last year.

And now for a bundle I picked up off eBay last week:

George Canale

Canale appeared in 44 games over three seasons with the Brewers, 1989-1991. He was a power prospect in college, and is still 7^th place on the all-time career homers list for NCAA Division I. The only thing I recall about him was that he was erroneously pictured on Bill Spiers’ 1990 Topps card.

Chad Fox

Foxy had a longer career than I remembered, pitching ten seasons for five teams. Despite appearing in four seasons with the Brewers, this is his only non-team issue card. He had one phenomenal year in Milwaukee, registering a 1.89 ERA for the terrible 2001 team. He was voted the team’s most valuable pitcher that year, but struggled with injuries for most of the rest of his Brewers career. He was with the Marlins for their 2003 World Series run and posted a 3.97 postseason ERA.

Dave Stapleton

Stapleton was a hot prospect when he arrived in Milwaukee late in the 1987 season. He looked great over 14 innings and started the ’88 season with the big club. He appeared in only six games before blowing out his shoulder. He never appeared in the majors again.

Jamie Easterly

One of the lesser-known members of the 1982 World Series team, Easterly was left off the postseason roster and was sent to the Indians in 1983 as a part of the Gorman Thomas trade. In 1978, as a member of the Braves, he gave up Willie McCovey’s 500^th home run.

Ron Robinson

This large, terrifying ginger was picked up in a June 1990 trade with the eventual World Series champion Reds. The Brewers gave up young outfielder Glenn Braggs and speedster Billy Bates for the 30-year-old starter – an off example of a contending team trading an established starter for younger role players. Robinson was in his seventh season with the Reds as mid-rotation guy. In 1988, he came within a strike of throwing a perfect game. It must have stung to be traded to the mediocre Brewers while the only franchise you’ve ever known runs off with a world title. Robinson had a solid finish to the ’90 season, but only pitched nine more game after because of injuries.