Baseball Card Articles Archives - Tan Man Baseball Fan

1995 Upper Deck Electric Diamond Gold Rarity Mystery

Did you know that the Alan Trammell version of this sold for over $400 the other day? Heck, Kent Merker went for $22! 1995 Upper Deck Electric Diamond Gold - This set was sold in 2 series. Series 2 is harder to find, but series 1 isn't exactly a cakewalk. Canseco is in series 1, and doesn't show up often, but isn't as tough as these series 2 cards. This is a card that I never thought much of until researching this set. The wild thing about it is the Electric Diamond Gold cards are stated to have fallen at

Remember when buybacks were rare?

Remember when buybacks were rare? Take for instance, this - Canseco's most famous Topps card, ever. In 2004, Topps gave collectors Jose's first ever buyback auto, and hand numbered it to 99. (Super rare, considering the they probably produced millions of them. The 1991 Donruss Elite is numbered to 10,000, so this buyback is less than 1% of those!) In 2015, they upped the ante and released one numbered to /14. In 2016, they released it again, but numbered to /97. The only real on card difference being the stamp is on the other side. Oh, and several

1986 Donruss Jose Canseco Rated Rookie Fun Facts and my latest Pickup (It’s SUPER rare!)

For a time period growing up in the late 80s/early 90s, there wasn't a bigger card than the 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco Rated Rookie. It was the grail of grails. I have heard reports of it selling for over $150 back then. It didn't matter to me, because anything over $20 might as well have been a million dollars. It was the card that was so hot and so big, that I don't even think it entered my dreams. 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco Rated Rookie - the face of the hobby While I was preoccupied with 1988 Donruss and 1989 Score,

2000 Venezuelan Sticker Jose Canseco – Ultra Rare!

If you know, you know. :) The 2000 Venezuelan Sticker. On the outside, it looks like one of the countless Panini stickers they did decades ago. This, however, is different. It was created in Venezuela during a time when global commerce for things like this just wasn't a common thing, and was created during a time when card companies were creating some truly beautiful cards, so unless you know what it is, even if it popped up, most wouldn't look at it twice. For old school supercollectors and player collectors, however, this has been on many people's want lists since

1889 Goodwin A35 Round Album John Ward – Kicked out of School for Stealing Chickens!

Aside from being one of my favorite 19th century pieces to look at, there is a lot of history here in this 1889 Goodwin A35 John Ward. The piece below was a custom project I worked on which houses the original, authentic 1889 A35. You can read more about that here. John Montgomery Ward was a celebrity who many admired from afar but many also despised up close. This very polarizing figure also formed the first ever sports player's union. Initially kicked out of school for stealing chickens, Ward became a star pitcher, tossing the 2nd perfect game in baseball

I bought a fake!

Not too long ago, I was perusing eBay and found something truly amazing. An 1871 Harry Wright pocket watch inscribed to him. I was head over heels in love with it, and decided to bid. I lost. Reeling from the loss, my spirits were picked up again by finding this beauty: The casual baseball fan may not know who Jack Glasscock is, but he was a star in the 19th century. In fact, his 1888 Goodwin baseball card is quite possibly my favorite card from the 19th century! I was able to win this piece, and was excited to display

How Baseball Cards Were Made in the 19th Century

I have loved the game of baseball (and cards!) since I was little. Nothing has captivated me quite like it. Well ... maybe when I first learned of dinosaurs. I guess that's why 19th century baseball - and its artifacts intrigue me so much. Each time I learn something from that time period, I savor it. Doing an "online archaeological dig" brings up many things about the sport I love so much that I never knew about. The online community is captivated by the likes of Trout, Acuna and Soto, but many cannot name a single player from before 1900

1919 W514 Babe Ruth Curse of the Bambino Baseball Card!

I picked this up a couple months ago, but have been waiting until the 100th year anniversary to the day! I'm still jumping out of my skin excited about it :) 1919 W514 Babe Ruth! I made a graphic detailing what is so special about it as shown below: This card has flown way under the radar given its historical significance and who it is of. It is nowhere near the most popular Babe Ruth card (though I think it should be up there) - heck - it isn't even the most popular card in the set! That honor goes

My latest article published in Beckett Monthly – Baseball Cards Shrouded in Mystery!

Check out my latest article published in Beckett Sports Monthly! I put together a video shown below to supplement it as well:

Before There Were Baseball Cards

Listening to a good baseball game on the radio is like soul food for my ears. As a numbers guy, I find myself oftentimes looking up statistics from players and teams while I've tuned in. My brain will run statistical scenarios on current players to see how they may stack up against our heroes of the past. Doing this got me to thinking how in tune we are to the game and its players, and how card collecting helps bridge the gap from being a fan to feeling truly connected. On September 1st, Justin Verlander pitched a no-hitter. I heard

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