QUICK!!!  Your house is on fire, and you can only save ten cards in your collection.  What are they?!

That is the question I posed to a friend of mine.  As a Jose Canseco super collector I do this with myself as well, and it almost ALWAYS seems like I spend too much time spinning my wheels trying to figure out what they are.  I have mad love for 80s/90s inserts and prototypes, but I always seem to gravitate toward the shiny high-end stuff.

Even still, I’m going to go ahead and limit this to my top 10 favorite game used / autographed cards in my collection.  COMPLETELY different from my previous top 10 from about a year ago , SIX have fallen out of my top ten and two have left my collection *sniffle*.  (June 2020 Update: I now only have one card from that list that I truly care about – the auto refractor!)

I tried hard to put them in order, but it was hard to figure out what would go where – I tried my best though!  Truthfully, this list could be completely different tomorrow – it all depends upon what my mood is.

Jose Canseco Super Collector UPDATED Top 10 Game Used / Autographed Cards in My Collection

Updated in June of 2020!

2020 Topps Tier One Bat Barrel
This one just came in a few days ago.  I really like the design and embellishments!

2016 Topps Archives Signature Series 1997 Finest Refractor Auto 1/1
A couple years ago, I fell hard for these buybacks.  When I had over 100 different, this card didn’t mean a whole lot to me.  Then I did some research and realized this might either be the only refractor 1/1 buyback of Canseco they released, if not one of very few.  I’ve never seen one before, but this is the one I decided to keep!  All 100+ others are now long gone. 

2015 Topps Dynasty 25th Anniversary Patch /5
When I had a massive run of these, I wouldn’t have put this as my favorite, because it isn’t a 1/1 like a few others I had.  Now that I’m more focused on patch rarity and quality over what the serial number says, I couldn’t be happier getting this one back into my collection.  Featuring a large 25th anniversary sleeve patch, Canseco has very little in the way of this type of patch (there may only be 2 others in existence!), so this one is perfect for my collection.

2005 SP Legendary Duels Dual Patch w/Will Clark /10
Talk about a 1/1 killer!  The 1989 World Series pitted these two as the hero and foe (the labels would be depend upon who you were rooting for).  This is considered their best card together, both featuring beautiful patches.  Like the World Series patch, this is a card I hold in very high regard, loving it over many other 1/1s out there.

2016 Panini Immaculate Bat Barrel 1/1
I sold this card, but ended up getting it back, in a rather complicated trade.  It has always been my favorite barrel to look at, thanks to the gold holofoil.

2019 Tier One Bat Knob Autograph 1/1
I love everything about this card, and actually came across it when someone asked me if I knew of anyone who would be interested.  I quickly shot my hand up!  At one point or another, I’ve owned everything single 1/1 knob/auto of Canseco ever made.  I’ve since sold the others and this one came up after selling them.  So happy to have this one in my collection!

2017 Leaf Q 2015 Flashback Elephant Patch Auto 1/1
This is quite possibly my favorite patch card to look at.  Everything is perfect, if you can get over the airbrushed out logos … but then again, a huge A’s logo is right on the sleeve patch!


2005 Flair Greats Sweet Swatch Classic World Series Patch
Mama-mia!  Never in a million years would I have ever thought I would have been the owner of a piece of 1989 World Series patch!  This was the pinnacle of my childhood when it came to baseball.  I LOVED every second of the 1989 World Series, and owning a piece of the World Series sleeve patch that rested on my baseball hero’s arm takes the cake.

2019 Topps Museum Wood 1/1
At one point or another, I’ve also owned all of the Museum wood Cansecos.  It is extremely difficult to say which was my favorite, but the one I currently have makes an extremely strong case!  Everything about it is perfect.

2019 National Treasures Rookie Rawlings Tag Auto 1/1
This popped up on Thanksgiving Day, and my jaw dropped, and I mean … dropped.  You can trace the rawlings tag to a rookie game used jersey from one of the big auction houses.  A Rawlings tag like this is a massive deal, as is the fact that it is from a rookie jersey that can be traced back.  I consider this quite possibly the best card I’ve ever owned of Canseco – even back when I had everything!  Because this card is so loved, I’ll post a few pics:


Honorable Mentions

I could fill up this page with honorable mentions, but two cards in particular make it feel like a crime to not mention them at all:

2019 Flawless Button / Auto /2
On card autograph and bright, glowing green foil accentuates this card.  Button cards of Canseco are extremely hard to come by!

2019 Flawless Rawlings Tag / Auto  1/1
How do you make a button card a /2?  You make the Rawlings sleeve tag the 1/1!  With as how rare Canseco button cards are, Rawlings tag cards are way rarer.

Here is a pic of the last two with a few others in the run.  It is an impressive set – rookie jersey patch, rawlings tag, button and elephant logo sleeve!

That does it for this installment – thanks for reading!  In the future, I may do one for my top 10 prototypes/inserts/etc.

If you have ANY rare Canseco cards in your collection, or know of anyone who has some, please let me know – I’m always looking to add to my collection!  You can always reach me at tanmanbaseballfan@gmail.com – thanks!