Is this some sort of a record???

Topps chrome refractors packed a heckuva punch for Canseco collectors at the end of his career. His last at bat was 10/01, and his official retirement was 05/02.   Around the same time period, Topps released FOUR Canseco flagship refractors, all featuring him on different teams (Yankees, White Sox, Angels, Expos). (Is that some sort of a record???) I love using these three pictured as they were literally right in the mix of this time period. They are beautiful together!   With Jose only having played 76 games in his last season (he was picked up late by the White

Jose Canseco Christmas Tree!

It's crazy to think that more time has passed since I quit supercollecting Canseco than the entire time I was a Canseco supercollector.  Admittedly, it is a bit difficult to quantify exactly *when* I became one.  In October 2013, I wrote about how I was going to sell my entire childhood Canseco collection.  I loooove one of the things I wrote in that article: Seriously?  A serial stalker?  Oh, 2013 Tanner - wait until you meet 2014-2018 Tanner LOL.  Here's a pic of the bulk of my collection in 2013 that I sold.  The biggest card I owned was probably

1888 Yum Yum Tobacco – The 19th Century Evangelist & The Pirate

You've probably heard of Old Judge, Gypsy Queen, Allen & Ginter, and Goodwin.  But have you heard of Yum Yum Tobacco?  If you are not a 19th century baseball card aficionado, the odds are you haven't.  They are among the rarest of the rare, and perhaps possess one of the greatest names for a baseball card ever.  Yum Yum Tobacco?  C'mon!  Did the likes of these Wild West types go into a saloon and ask for some "Yum Yum"?  I get a kick out of thinking that it may have actually happened.  "Git me sum Yum Yum & make it

Meeting an Online Friend in Person for the First Time

Baseball wasn't all that interesting to me in the mid to late 90s.  Sure, I'd check in on the 1998 home run race between McGwire and Sosa, and while I was at it, I'd keep tabs on Canseco, but that was it for the most part.  By the way, I'd check these things through the newspaper.  The internet was just beginning to pick up steam.  Around this time, I thought it was a super intriguing idea to create my own website, though I wasn't sure why.  To have a place in cyberspace where people could visit and get to know

MTV Cribs Style Show Off of My Office!

Over the past couple of years, I found that I enjoy displaying pieces of my collection in my office nearly as much as the pieces themselves!  For the first time, I thought I'd show you my office in 360.  This was inspired by the 11/07/21 podcast episode I just did last night at www.tanmanbaseballfan.com/podcast  If you love baseball cards, transformers, comics, and voltron, I think you'll click with me ... otherwise, you will probably think I'm weird :)   This wall shows my game used / autographed bat of Canseco who hit home run #12 in 1997 with it.  On top

O Bash Brother, Where Art Thou?

Have you ever been in this situation before?  You go on a collecting "purge" to move things you aren't in love with, only to find out you wished you never sold one or two of the pieces in the first place. That's what happened to me when I gave up what I now consider to be the ULTIMATE Bash Brothers baseball card. A little background ... As you probably know, Canseco & McGwire made waves during the 80s and early 90s as the premiere slugging teammates.  Depending upon what your favorite team was, they were either superheroes or supervillains, and

An 1874 Woodcut of America’s longest continuously running sports franchise!

When you watch the game tonight and see the 150 patch on the Braves jerseys, this is why!     Pictured here is an original 1874 woodcut of America's longest continually operating sports franchise, ever. Shown are the champions from Boston, the Boston Red Stockings - who, after a number of name changes and moves, finally became known as the Atlanta Braves.     This original woodcut is from June 27th, 1874 - 3 years after the team was formed - nearly a century and a half ago! It features big names of baseball pioneers such as Harry Wright -

The Legend of Jim Creighton – 159 Years Ago TODAY

159 years ago TODAY, Jim Creighton, whom many consider baseball's first superstar reportedly had something strange happen to him. As the story goes, he hit a home run, and internally ruptured something, passing away four days later. The events of this fateful day will be argued until the end of time, but nevertheless, it is a great legend.   Creighton is credited as "weaponizing the ball" as a pitcher, that is, he developed a delivery that made it difficult for batters to hit, in a time when pitchers were supposed to pitch so balls could be hit. Creighton drew crowds

Timothy Keefe – 19th Century Baseball Giant in more ways than one!

Tim Keefe is not well known by the average casual baseball fan of today since he died nearly a century ago, but he was a giant in 19th century baseball, in more ways than one. His storied career spanned a very formative time during baseball, with his first year being the last year pitchers pitched from 45 feet away, and his last year being the first year they pitched from 60 ft 6 inches away. His father Patrick was a POW in the Civil War, and all four of Patrick's brothers were killed during the war. Keefe was known by

What is Your Favorite Multi Player Card?

What is YOUR favorite multi player card?   If I had to pick my favorite dual card, I'd say it is this one. I lost out on it a couple years ago, then bought out the guy who beat me. I had never seen one before or since.     Canseco and Clark were front and center for the Battle of the Bay (the 1989 Earthquake World Series) - it was a clash of the titans. If you were a California kid in the late 80s, this was likely your life for a while.   In 2005, the Battle of