I have very few card collections given my limited resources and space, but I did decide some time ago to begin collecting on-card Royals autographs. It’s been a blast so far trying to track these things down and this is the latest addition to my collection. To view the cards currently in the collection, take a look at the Gallery or the other posts in this series. I’m working on getting a legit want list together on my trade page but, in the meantime, if you have any on-card Royals autos that it looks like I don’t have, don’t hesitate to drop me a line!
Kila? Is that you?
Dude looks like a combo pack of Kila Ka’ihue and Billy Zane.
Sometimes you see a 1st round pick who didn’t make it to the Show and you have to wonder why. Jay Gehrke never made it past A+ ball. His numbers at that level weren’t fantastic, but by no means were they the type of numbers that someone retires or gets fired over. Since there was no Baseball Reference page in 2001 (his last year in pro ball), the picture is incomplete.
Was it an injury that put Gehrke out of pro ball? A decision to go in a different direction with his career?
Luckily, Google helped my fill in the blanks here. He’s currently a financial adviser at this firm after, as his bio states, a “career-ending injury.” Well, that answers that question. I hope Jay’s enjoying his career in Phoenix. A career-ending injury sounds painful bot physically and emotionally- but he got his picture on a real live baseball card which was certainly one of my dreams as a kid! Best of luck, Jay!
There’s one only a mother could love. Or a guy collecting Royals autos.