1986 Donruss Canseco Rookie Card: Birth Of The Juice King
Written: Feb 18 '05 (Updated Mar 14 '05)
Product Rating:
Pros: Nice looking card, affordable
Cons: Card celebrating the rookie year of a backstabbing steroid user
The Bottom Line: I wouldn't invest in admitted steroid loser who could be potentially be stripped of all his records and will probably never be a Hall Of Famer.
LonghornMan's Full Review: Donruss 1986 Jose Canseco Rookie Card 879200
Jose Canseco’s 1986 Donruss rookie was once one of the most coveted cards in the hobby of baseball card collecting. It once represented the career of a promising young star who dazzled fans and seemed to be on pace to become one of the game’s most revered players. It now represents years of records, statistics and game outcomes that were, much like Canseco’s body, pumped up by steroids. Canseco’s reckless, self-serving behavior has not only called into question the accomplishments of numerous players, but has tarnished the reputation of Major League Baseball itself.
1986 Donruss
As with most baseball cards released by Donruss in the 1980’s the 1986 set presents a much more modern design than Topps. The 1986 Donruss are constructed of a slightly thinner stock than the Topps and Fleer cards produced the same year. If handled properly, this presents little if any potential for damage that might compromise the card’s condition. Unlike the mass produced 1988 Donruss cards, the 1986 set had far fewer incidents of cards that were cut off-center. The 1986 set also had fewer duplicate cards in wax boxes. In other words when opening wax packs in search of the once highly sought after Canseco rookie you weren’t likely to pull 3 or 4 out of one box. However, when you did get one, it was rarely cut off center. I obtained my Canseco rookie from a pack 17 years ago when it was worth $50.00. At the time it was the best pull I had ever gotten buying older packs. If I were to have it graded I think it would easily earn a BGS 9.
The Card
The front of the card features a head shot of Canseco from the neck up wearing the old school, yellow brimmed, Oakland A’s cap with his bushy black hair protruding from underneath. He’s wearing a yellow mesh A’s batting with green and yellow piping around the neck. Most would surmise from his sparsely sprouted moustache that he had not yet taken any growth enhancement hormones. However, the bushiness of his eyebrows still cast some doubt.
The photo is bordered in horizontal black and night sky blue stripes. Just above the top left hand corner of the photo there is a small, thin rectangular box that says “Donruss 㣺” in white lettering. Along the bottom of the photo there is a long thin red rectangular box that says “Jose Canseco” in white block letters and “OF” in thinner letters directly to the right.
The back of the card is primarily light blue card stock with black printing. It says “Jose Canseco” centered in capital block letters with his personal information centered below in smaller letters. The information presented is as follows: “Born: July 2, 1964, Home: Miami, Fla., Ht.: 6ַ” Wgt: 185, Bats: Right, Throws: Right.” Below his personal information are his 1985 statistics which consist of a batting average of .302, 29 games, 96 at bats, 29 hits, 16 runs, 3 doubles, no triples, 5 home runs, 13 RBI’s, 1 steal, 4 walks and 31 strikeouts. All this information is in rectangular white box with black print that is titled “Recent Major League Performance.” Below this box of statistics is his contract status, which at the time was thru 1986. Directly under that is how he was acquired, which was via the 1982 Amateur Draft by the A’s as a 15th round pick. Underneath the draft information there is a section of “Career Highlights.” These highlights are presented as follows: “Acclaimed as the No. 1 rated slugging prospect in baseball last year…Batted a combined .333 with 36 HR and 127 RBI at Huntsville and Tacoma last year, earning a late-season call up by A’s...On 9/22 vs. White Sox last year, became only the 27th player in history to hit a homer over the roof of 75-year old Comiskey Park…Batted .276 with 15 HR and 73 RBI in 116 games for A’s Modesto (Calif. Lg.) farm in 㥜…His twin brother, Osvaldo, is a pitcher in the Yankees organization.” These career highlights would be far surpassed by his future achievements.
The Player
Canseco had quite a spectacular beginning to his Major League career. In 1986 he was voted American League Rookie of the Year with an impressive 33 Home Runs, 117 Runs Batted In and 63 Extra Base Hits. In 1987 his achievements did not waiver. He was 6th in the American League in RBI’s with 113, 2nd in the league in Game Winning RBI’s with 17, hit 31 Home Runs and 35 Doubles with a batting average of .257. It was at the end of the 1988 season that Canseco secured his place in the annals of baseball history. That was the year he became the first unanimous Most Valuable Player selection since Reggie Jackson 15 years earlier. This was also the year he became the first player in major league history to hit 40 Home Runs and steal 40 bases in the same season. His tremendous feats did not end there. He led the Major Leagues in Homeruns with 43, RBI’s with 124 and Slugging Percentage with .569. He led the American League in Extra Base hits with 76 and ended the season with a batting average of .307. In 1989 he missed half the season with a broken wrist, but bounced back to hit .357 in the World Series and was an integral part in the A’s sweep of the Giants. In 1990 he was the leading vote getter in All-Star game balloting. He was the Homerun Champion in 1991. In 1992 he the A’s traded him.
This started him bouncing around the league playing for Texas, Boston, back to Oakland, Toronto and Tampa Bay. His last great achievement came in 1999 when he became the 28th member of the 400 Home Run Club. By the time his career drew to a close he had accomplished a great deal. He was the first Major Leaguer ever hit 40 Homeruns and steal 40 bases in one season. He was also the first player to hit a grand slam in his first World Series at bat. He was the second player in Major League history to hit more than 30 Homeruns and have more than 100 RBI’s in his first 3 seasons. He reached both the 300 and 400 Homerun marks in the third fewest career games. The only reason he was unable to break and tie more records was due to chronic injuries.
Investment Potential
If you had to buy one Jose Canseco rookie, this would be your best bet for a variety of reasons. One being that this is a card from one of the last product lines that was not grossly overproduced. It was distributed widely, but was primarily available only from dealers. I don’t find it to be as visually appealing as the 1986 Topps Traded card, but for those who seek a portrait style photo centered in a border that reflects the time frame from which it comes I can see why this card would be more desirable. With a Beckett Baseball Card Magazine price of between $4.00 and $10.00 it is an extremely affordable card. On Ebay, ungraded Near Mint to Mint cards are currently going for between $3.75 and $10.00. The last reported sale of a BGS 9.5 that I know of was $105. I’m shocked that these cards are retaining their value when considering the steroid controversy that Canseco has stirred up recently with the publication of his book Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big.
Canseco’s Other Rookies
Canseco’s 1986 Topps Traded card, number 20T is much cheaper going for between .60 and $1.50, but it is available in far greater numbers. An ungraded Topps card is tough to find in Gem Mint condition due to the fact it has a black border at the top that is extremely prone to showing signs of wear. His 1986 Fleer card, number 649 ungraded goes for between $3.00 and $8.00 and is also very difficult to find with a high grade because it has Navy blue edges.
Conclusion
All of Canseco’s statistics and accomplishments mean very little to me. As the old saying goes, “If ya ain’t cheatin’, ya ain’t tryin’.” According to this particular adage Canseco gave his all. The fact that he admitted his wrongdoing would be honorable if he did so in a remorseful fashion in which he took responsibility for his actions.
However, personal responsibility is not the road he chose to take. He chose to admit his transgression in book form naming other players as fellow cheaters. I have my own serious doubts as to the validity of his accusations about some of the players he names. I don’t think anyone will ever know if they are true unless more players choose to admit to any wrongdoing. As one can infer from excerpts from his book and his television appearances after it was released, he seems to have no remorse for his actions whatsoever. Not only was he a cheater, but he dimed out friends and teammates. He seems to be nothing more than a profiteer who seeks to fatten his wallet with no regard for those he might hurt in the process.
I personally, have little respect for the man and don’t plan to spend my hard-earned money purchasing his “so-called” autobiography. I think that everyone who loves the game of baseball would be wise to do the same.
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