Awesome Athletics #2: Jose Canseco

Love him... or hate him... Jose Canseco left his mark on our hobby. As a lifelong A's fan, I've been a fan since his 40/40 days during the late 80's. I'll be honest, I got rid of most of my collection when he was traded to the Rangers. But there's always been a part of me that's been a fan of his.

I know a lot of people consider him to be a snitch... a sell-out... a cheater... and just about every other name in the book. But before any of this happened he was a hero to a lot of A's fans. Don't worry... I've learned from this mistake. I remind my students that athletes are entertainers... and parents are role models.

So today, I'm not going to discuss his mistakes. Instead, I'm going to focus his accomplishments on the diamond.

Canseco will probably never have a plaque in Cooperstown and rightfully so. However his stats and accomplishments as an Athletic are impressive nonetheless. In 1986, he won the American League ROY award. Two years later, he won the AL MVP award after leading the league in slugging percentage (.569), home runs (42) and RBI's (124). That year he also became the first major leaguer to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season.

Then in 1989, he helped the A's win the World Series against the San Francisco Giants in the Battle of the Bay. He made the all-star team five times as an Athletic (6x in all) and was also the recipient of the Silver Slugger Award three times (4x in all).

As an Athletic, he hit 254 home runs (4th all-time), 793 RBI's (6th all-time), and 1,096 strikeouts (2nd all-time).

I know that many of you are saying to yourselves, "he only accomplished this because of PED's" and you're probably right. It's sad that so many players tarnished the game, but luckily some have been caught... and hopefully justice will prevail. Although... at this point... I'm not quite sure what that means.

Anyways... this post isn't honoring Jose "the user" Canseco... it's honoring Jose "the Oakland Athletic" Canseco.

Now it's time for today's question of the day: Have you ever stopped liking one of your favorite player's, because of an "on" or "off" the field decision they made? If so... who and why?

If you look at my PC... "drama" and my "favorite players" seem to go hand in hand.

Have a great week... Sayonara!

PC Spotlight #3: Run TMC

Before there was Miami Thrice... there was Run TMC.

I've been a Lakers fan since the days of Showtime. If you've followed me long enough... you've heard the story before. However, I grew up in the Bay Area. And everyone from around here who followed Warriors basketball in the late 80's/early 90's knows about Run TMC.

Run TMC was the core of the Golden State Warriors basketball team for only two seasons, but their legacy will last a lifetime.

The original piece of the puzzle was Chris Mullin who was drafted by the Warriors in the 1985 NBA draft with the #7 pick. He was a 5x NBA all-star forward who was also a part of the 1992 gold medal winning Dream Team. He averaged 18.2 ppg during his 16 year career. However during the Run TMC era, he averaged 25.3 ppg. I recently picked up this Mullin autograph off of eBay for $28. I love the fact that it's an on-card auto with a retro design. My only complaint is that he signed it sideways.

Then in 1988, the Warriors drafted Mitch Richmond with the 5th pick of the draft. He produced for them immediately averaging 22 ppg and taking home the ROY award. During his 14 year career, he was an all-star six times and made the all-NBA 2nd team three times. Last week, I picked this autograph up for $7 off of Beckett. I'm still searching for an autograph of Richmond in his Warriors uniform, but for now this autograph will do. It's from the late 90's, so it's before the sticker auto era, which is nice.

The final piece of the puzzle arrived in 1989 when the Warriors drafted Tim Hardaway with the 14th pick in the draft. Hardaway was a 5x all-star and is famous for his killer crossover. This is the second time I've discussed this autograph. I originally featured this card in my Birthday PC post last month. This is my favorite autograph out of the three. I love the autograph on the manufactured Warriors patch, plus Hardaway was the most exciting to watch.

Together... Tim, Mitch, and Chris made up Run TMC. They got their name for their fast pace style of play, which put fear into defenses around the league. All of them could run... all of them could pass... and all of them could score. But that's not all... if you scroll up and check out the cards again... notice that all three of them know how to sign autographs. You can tell that they all take pride in signing their name, which is impressive by today's standards.

Unfortunately, they only got to play together for two seasons. Right after the 1991/92 season started the Warriors shipped Richmond to Sacramento for Billy Owens (the #3 pick in that year's draft), because Owens was holding out on signing a contract. IMO, it was one of the most lopsided trades of the 90's. You have to wonder what Run TMC would have done had they been given a chance to play together a little longer.

So... here's today's question of the day: Outside of Lebron, Wade, and Bosh... what's the greatest trio you've had the privilege to witness on an NBA court?

By the way... although Owens never filled the void that Mitch Richmond left behind... Warrior fans should still be impressed with his autograph. Another player who takes pride in signing for his fans.

Hasta luego!

I love the 80's (Baseball Edition) #3 - Tim Raines

Tim "Rock" Raines played the first 12 seasons of his 23 year career with the Montreal Expos (now known as the Washington Nationals). His first tenure with the Expos lasted the entire 80's decade and during that time he made the all-star team seven times in a row.

There's no denying that Mr. Raines was a nightmare to pitchers. Sure he wasn't Rickey Henderson... but then again... not many will ever touch Rickey's numbers.

However... there are some things that Mr. Raines accomplished that even Henderson couldn't. He stole 70 or more bases during his first seven full seasons as a leadoff hitter. According to Baseball Almanac, he also has the second highest stolen base percentage (.857). Only Carlos Beltran has a higher percentage. During the 80's, he stole 583 bases which was second only to Henderson. He finished his career with 808 stolen bases and currently has the 5th most swipes in major league history.

In addition to stealing bases, the Rock could hit. During the 80's, he had the 8th highest batting average. His speed helped him rope 76 triples, which was the third most during the decade. Raines also had the 5th highest total in runs scored and the 5th highest on-base percentage during the 80's.

His career numbers aren't up there with the greatest of all-time, but they're not shabby either. It's debatable whether or not he'll make it into baseball's HOF. Which leads us to today's question of the day: Will Tim Raines eventually make it into Cooperstown?

If you need to review his career stats, you can check them out here.

I hope you're enjoying your weekend. Goodnight!

I have a problem... and I need your help!

Attention readers... I need some serious help. I think I'm addicted to cards. It started out with base cards of my favorite players when I was around 8 years old. My favorite card for years was the 1982 Donruss San Diego Chicken card. I have no idea where it went, but one of these days I'll pick another one up.

Then in the early 80's my passion grew and I moved into the world of rookie cards. It was at this point in my life that I started collected in hopes of making money. I was buying everything from 1983 Fleer Ron Kittles to 1987 Topps Mike Greenwells. This trend continued into the early 90's, but soon things would change.

I switched over to insert cards. This emptied my pocket book and drove me into debt. I spent hundreds of dollars chasing inserts and parallels that are worth a fraction of what I paid. However, I don't have any regrets because it made me the collector I am today. Even though most of those inserts and parallels have been sold or traded, I still have a deep admiration for refractors, acetate inserts, and a variety of other 90's stuff.

I quit a few times in the mid 90's due to being broke, but the hobby always pulled me back in. I tried to collect autographs (Leaf Signature & BAP hockey), but I realized I couldn't afford them, so I went back to collecting rookies. This time I didn't focus on baseball. Instead, I focused on basketball and football. I was buying Vince Carter and Tim Couch rookies left and right.

Then in 2001 (after teaching a few years), I sold off the majority of my collection to pay off my credit cards. I kept a handful of cards that I wanted to pass down to my children (if I ever had any). This was one of the most difficult decisions of my life and I definitely regret giving up a few of the my old cards. But it is... what it is. I figured I was a grown man and this was a childhood hobby... one that I would never return to.

Then about three (maybe four) years ago, my students brought some of their card to class and I was hooked again. However... this time things would be different.

This time, I decided to focus on my favorite teams and players. Eventually... that led to creating a Japanese PC. Then... I even started a sports bust PC.

I know that my obsession with cardboard has been a problem... but I didn't realize that it was that big of a problem until tonight. Why tonight?

Because tonight, I spent just over $10 picking up inserts for one of the dumbest products I've ever purchased. It's the 2008 Inkworks Family Guy: A New Hope set.

I'm not embarrassed of collecting sports cards. I'm not ashamed of being a huge Star Wars fan. But after clicking the purchase button over at COMC and realizing I just bought Star Wars "parody" cards... It hit me.

I have a serious problem. More importantly... I need some serious help. The question is... Can you help me? Continue reading to see if you can...

I need the following cards to complete my master set of Family Guy: A New Hope set. Did any of you bust this product? If so... I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one with a problem.

Spaceships & Transports

ST-2 Tie Fighter

ST-3 X-Wing Fighter

Scenes From Space

S-3 Scenes From Space Card #3

Case Loader

CL-1 Evil Empire

Promotional Cards

P-1 General Distribution

P-i Free Card Offer from inkworks.com

Anyways... thanks for listening to me open up to the world about my addiction.

Actually... I have decided to do something about it. It's time to grab a hold of my collecting addiction. Starting this month, I'm going to cut my sports card budget in half.

I think this is a realistic amount... and I won't feel so guilty about throwing money away on cardboard... but at the same time I'm not quitting either. The fact is... I doubt I'll ever be able to quit.

I'm starting to understand what my mom goes through every time she tries to quit smoking.

So... while we're on the topic of collecting and quitting... here's today's question of the day: Have you ever thought about giving up your favorite hobby? If so... did you? Why or why not?

Wow... I've spent almost an hour writing this post... time for bed. G'nite everybody!

What are these? #1: Harlem Globetrotters cards

This weekend I walked around the flea market and picked up a few things for my collection. If you're interested, scroll down and read my previous post... where I wrote about my purchases.

However... there's one thing I left out (on accident of course). While browsing one of the antique dealers (you know the people who sell all of the old magazines from the 30's, rusty toy fire trucks, and old soda pop bottles), I stumbled upon a small stack of cards.

They're not your typical sports card with a picture on the front and stats on the back. Nope... these have a cartoon picture on the front and another one on the back. There seems to be a total of 11 different cards.

Dribbles

Granny

Bobby Joe

Gip

Pabs

Meadowlark

Geese

Curly

Bus

& 2 Balls (the version on the left has a little dust cloud on the ball)

All eleven cards have the same picture on the back. It's a team portrait with Dribbles & Granny:

Back

It may be a little difficult to see, because my scanner cropped the cards... but they have rounded edges like a deck of cards. It looks like they came from one of those cheap Dollar Tree "concentration" games, but a lot older.

If you look closely at the back of the card, you can see that the cards were printed in 1971 and says Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. So after a little research, I discovered that there was a Globetrotters cartoon on CBS from 1970 to 1972. Check out the intro:

However... that's about all that I could find on these cards. So my question of the day is: Have you ever seen these cards? If so, do you know if they're part of a game? Are there more than 11 cards?

Any information is appreciated.

Oh... and just in case you were wondering... I paid $5 for the lot. I was able to create two 11-card sets, with a 14 extra cards (6 characters & 8 balls). Unfortunately none of the cards are in mint condition, however they're pretty nice and most of them still have the original gloss.

I figure... $5 for a small piece of history. One of the sets will go into my PC and the other I'll pass down to my nephew. He loves watching them play every year when the come to San Jose.

Happy Monday everyone!