Upper Deck … No Longer Even Trying

It has been a surprisingly busy year for Jose Canseco fans looking to pick up some new cards. For better but mostly worse we have seen cards of the former slugger from the likes of Leaf, Tristar, and now Upper Deck. This product, which is titled ‘World of Sports’ doesn’t quite compare to Leaf’s ‘Legends of Sport’ release except in similar crappy generic product names.

It features a man in his late 40′s wearing a shirt with a spider on it. That about sums up the entire card. Jose Canseco wearing a douchebag spider shirt, probably a hand me down from a company Jose promotes on Twitter for. The card is sad, the photography has nothing to do with sports, and even Upper Deck, once on top of the baseball card world, appear to be scrapping the barrel at this point.

This card below is currently on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $150 dollars. Sounds ridiculous I know but there are plenty of Jose Canseco nuts (and I mean NUTS) who will likely pay top dollar for this card and the next few that appear on eBay in the coming days. Short print or not, it should be a $20 dollar card at best, which is the absolute most a normal person would pay for.

Here’s hoping Upper Deck has another Jose card in their World of Sports release …

Leaf Surprises A Disgruntled, Former Collector

It ain’t easy being a Jose Canseco collector. For starters, we haven’t had a single, licensed product release featuring the former MVP since 2007 and even that had a print run so low you’d have to blow some major change to get a hold of it. I have seen non-licensed junk featuring Jose Canseco from the likes of Upper Deck, Tristar, Leaf, and a few lesser-known companies and all have kept my wallet safe and secure.

Simply put, without MLB licensing, baseball cards lack everything that makes them great. I don’t care if you pack your product full of parallels and autographs, it won’t touch licensed products from the Topps Company and clearly that can be seen by the prices seen on the secondary market. That doesn’t mean non-licensed companies should give up, though. In this case, despite some pretty bad Jose cards … I am glad Leaf kept trying.

Below is Leaf’s latest effort from 2011′s (released in 2012) Legends of Sport. Although the photo chosen is not the greatest, is does its job of covering up “Athletics” on his chest but still shows the Oakland A’s colors of yellow and green and Jose’s iconic #33 jersey number. I also love that they went with a younger Jose from what appears to be 1989-1991. It is the first new Jose Canseco card in four years I am considering purchasing.

As for Leaf’s Legends of Sport … it looks like one of the coolest products I have seen in a very long time, logos or no logos. I have already seen autographs from Rickey Henderson, Cal Ripken Jr., Andre Dawson, Joe Montana and others. Oh, and of course this absolutely sick Babe Ruth. Looks like Topps Company finally has some competition on its hands. It also appears that I may be back on the collecting saddle thanks to Leaf Trading Cards.

This Picture Makes Me Sad

Jose Canseco is not giving up on his dream. In a way, it gives us all a little hope to believe and persevere. Maybe by some miracle, Jose will get signed by the Tigres the Quintana Roo. Maybe he will actually show flashes of his old self this time, something he certainly didn’t do with the Yuma Scorpions in 2011. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

Maybe not …

Jose Canseco is old. Seeing this photo of Jose during the Tigres’ Spring Training/Tryouts makes me sad. I wonder if Jose regrets being a major douchebag during his days on top of the baseball world? The cocky attitude, the “I’m better than everyone else” behavior, and coldness to his biggest fans. It all comes back around one day.

I for one hope he gets signed at least. At 47 years of age and with no steady income, Jose needs all the help and happiness he can find and feed his ego, which at this point is probably on life support. Hell, I hope he even puts up some respectable numbers and brags about it on Twitter.

I’d much rather see him in a cheap uniform in the middle of nowhere than on the front page of TMZ for some tragic event we all can see coming a mile away. Jose has battled his demons (it was in his book) and if this sport still bring him joy, more power to him. Let’s just not be unrealistic about it. He will never play in the MLB again.

Leaf’s National Pride featuring Jose Canseco

Check out the card below featuring a metal card stock and an on-card signature of Baseball Pariah, Jose Canseco. It’s a decent enough design featuring a good photograph and no sign of stickers anywhere … but it leaves so much to be desired. For starters, Upper Deck did the whole “national pride” thing way back in 1998 and even though it didn’t have any signatures on it, killed Leaf’s design all the way.

I commend Leaf for including such a disliked character like Jose in any set these days but I really want to see him in uniform with the addition of the right amount of Photoshop to keep MLB satisfied. Also, when a 13-year old design can beat out what your graphic artists are producing, it’s time to bring in a new crew. This is something that could be whipped up on a computer in five minutes … I expect a lot more from Leaf Trading Cards.

As for the cards, they are doing pretty good on the secondary market. Now that I have my money right I may even pick up a few of them through card shows and eBay if the price is right. Many of these are selling in the low-$50s and high-$40s, which is not bad for a guy that almost no card company wants to touch. Just imagine what an action shot featuring MLB logos and from Topps Company could fetch.

It’s time for Jose … to go away.

When it comes to fans of Jose Canseco, there’s not a lot more dedicated than myself. I joined the club when he was on top of the baseball (and pop culture) world in 1989 and have stayed on the ride during several arrests, embarrassing moments on and off the field … and through his latest troubles with money and Twitter. Jose’s fall from grace, stardom, and life is almost epic. From dating pop stars and living the good life all the way down to being homeless and working at a memorabilia shop full-time signing autographs.

Recently, Jose has been in the news again but not for anything negative. Simply put, he wants to play in the Majors again at the age of 47. While most news outlets are just poking fun at Jose’s delusions like always, some have picked up the story and have tried to get comments from the Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox, two teams Jose wants to tryout for. The problem is that Jose Canseco is a shell of his former self. Sure he may look good and his bulging muscles are for the most part still there but that’s all he’s got left.

In Jose’s final season in 2001 with the White Sox, he hit just .258. The prior year he hit .243 as he rode the bench with the Yankees. In fact, in the final six seasons of Jose’s career, he played on seven different teams. Three years after his last game, he tried out with the Dodgers, which went nowhere. It’s not just the blackballed claim, Jose is just not good enough to play anymore. If you need more proof, just look at last year’s independent league stats. In 60 games, he hit just .256 with 8 home runs and 55 strike outs.

If you can’t cut it with the Yuma Scorpions, there’s no hope for you against MLB pitchers.

I am not saying I would be opposed to seeing Jose Canseco wearing Oakland’s colors one more time. It would be a dream come true watching your childhood hero come back against all odds and show the world that he is still worth a damn. Unfortunately, this is not the movies and in baseball once your skills have eroded, they don’t just magically return after an 11 year layoff. Can you imagine Jose trying to hit off Tim Lincecum? He’d end up cross-eyed and on his back after striking out horribly. It’s just not gonna happen, at least I hope not.