Astros fan raising funds to buy out Carlos Gomez



Click through the gallery to see other notable veterans who went bust after arriving in Houston. less Carlos Gomez's tenure with the Astros has been one marked by massive struggles since he was acquired from Milwaukee last July.

Click through the gallery to see other notable veterans who went bust after arriving ... more Carlos Gomez's tenure with the Astros has been one marked by massive struggles since he was acquired from Milwaukee last July. Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close Astros fan raising funds to buy out Carlos Gomez 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

It's not often that you see fans passing the hat to raise money for billionaire sports owners.

But the struggles of Astros outfielder Carlos Gomez have prompted one fan to do so, at least in cyberspace.

After the Astros' 2-1 home loss to the Yankees on Monday night - which ended with Gomez grounding into a double play with the potential tying run in scoring position - an Astros fan started a page on the fundraising site GoFundMe to buy out Gomez's contract (his 2016 salary is $9 million).

As of Tuesday afternoon, six donations totaling $60 had been made to the page, which was started by Andrew Collins, an Astros fan in Austin who's originally from Spring.

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This was Collins' fundraising appeal on the GoFundMe page:

We all love the Astros. We all know Carlos Gomez is a huge bust. Let's pay him to leave our beloved team and city. Let's buy out his contract and send him on his way. We can make room for quality players looking to make an impact. Our management doesn't seem to want to budge on benching Gomez and the only reason I can think of is because they are just paying him too much. Let's ease that stress for them by buying him out and sending him on his merry way.

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Why did Collins start the page?

"I just really don't like Carlos Gomez, man," Collins said. "As far as being a fan goes, I think he showboats way too much and underperforms. I think he has all the tools to be a gifted athlete. He just can't get his (stuff) together. I don't think he fits on the team, either."

"He's got a cannon (for an arm) he can't control. He's really quick, but takes terrible routes. The Astros lost that game (Monday) because he took a terrible route. He gets burned by balls that go over his head every three games."

This season, Gomez is hitting a career-worst .209 with five home runs and 28 RBIs while striking out 94 times in 277 at-bats entering Tuesday. He's had a particularly brutal July, hitting .159 with a .216 on-base percentage this month after batting .286 in June.

Since joining the Astros in a deal with the Brewers before last July's trade deadline, Gomez has hit .221 with 9 homers and 41 RBIs in 118 games. His four-year, $28.3 million contract is up at season's end and given his struggles, his Astros days seem numbered.

As for his fundraiser, Collins admitted he's not holding out hope for a deluge of donations.

"I know I haven't gotten any money put into that page," he said, laughing. "But I really didn't expect anybody to throw any money into it. It was more of a joke than anything."