Collecting Game-used: Big-league from down on the farm

Not all gamers are alike, whether they are from the majors or the minors.

I got a reminder of that recently with a weekend grab -- on sale! -- that you see here as MiLB seasons are over and teams need to move their leftover equipment, whether it's from players who just finished their year or players who are not likely to come back as they've been promoted or traded elsewhere to play now or in the future.

In the case of this game-used 2021 Columbus Clippers cap straight from the team? Well, it's from a guy who's been in the big-leagues as well as down on the farm off and on the last few years -- and it's a cap where, admittedly, when I popped open the box I was like "Oh ... this is a little underwhelming." unlike a lot of the other items you have seen in this Collecting Game-used series.

There's plenty of mystery, too, though. Keep reading to see the details.

THE BASICS ...
Game-used cap (team authenticated): Bradley Zimmer 2021 Columbus Clippers (Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians)
Watch it in action: Not this time.

The matchup: Unknown
The result: Unknown

What's Buzz-worthy: At first glance, I wondered whether I had received an unused cap by mistake but then I spotted the low-key Sharpied No. 11 inside -- and that didn't calm my worries (not that there were too many for $30 for a big-leaguer) as he's worn a different number with the Indians (No. 4) as well as in past stints with the Clippers (No. 6). But, once I found a 2021 roster with uni numbers -- not a given with MiLB teams -- I found that his latest stint for Columbus had him wearing No. 11 when the Indians sent him down after spring training (March 26) and then before they called him up (May 27). He played in 18 games, hitting .267 with 16 hits before this season in MLB where he's played in 93 games, hitting .223 with seven homers and 30 RBI. It's his fifth summer in the majors -- so that's why I knew his name and why I chose his cap from a list of various players and styles as sold by the team as gamers. I chose this style of cap since it looked better than the others (it's an alternate model from the standard blue as seen on his 2007 card with the team as seen here) and I figured its lighter color might show more use. Meanwhile, the reality? Well, this cap barely looks touched ... so perhaps it was used on a day where he didn't play or had light duty. The game log below shows all of the options for when it could have been worn -- all of his games -- but I was unable to figure out a schedule for when/where the team would have worn these alternate caps/alternate jerseys. I couldn't find any game photos of him where this cap could have been seen, either, let alone his new 2021 uniform number. Then, I wondered whether it might be seen on a 2021 Clippers card but, well, it seems the team may not have even made a card set this year, which isn't all that surprising since there wasn't even a MiLB season last year. The team doesn't really offer any authentication with its caps -- perhaps they might if requested -- but the invoice did note what it was and where it was from ... so there's that. It's not quite a big-league piece -- I typically grab photo-matched items after I do the research -- but the quality and variety of MiLB caps got me to bite. This is the time of year to be checking team sites and stores as well.

>> See all past Collecting Game-used stories from Buzz here

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