1,228. 2000 PACIFIC PARAMOUNT RUBY #228 In 2000, Paramount had almost as many parallels as modern Topps. Well, not quite. But there were 10 versions for some players. Jose was one of them. But I only have this and the base… so far. 1/2

1,227. 2000 PACIFIC OMEGA #93 There’s so much bright sun and white in this photo that it looks washed right out. I do like the inventive diagonal nameplate design, though, and Jose’s face in foil in the bottom right. 1/2

1,226. 2000 PACIFIC INVINCIBLE #138 Yet another gorgeously inventive design from Pacific! You’ve got the Wrigley-style ivy on the brick wall, but then it’s actually die cut around the V of the bats, while the photo and blue sky are on translucent plastic. A work of art! 1/2

1,224. 2000 PACIFIC CROWN COLLECTION TEAM CHECKLIST #280 This is weird. Yesterday we saw Jose’s base card from this set. On the front, this looks like a 2nd base card. But when you flip it over it’s really a team checklist. I feel like the front should communicate that, no? 1/2

1,224. 2000 PACIFIC CROWN COLLECTION #273 If anyone asks you if Jose had an open stance, this would be a good card to show them. Sometimes I wonder if he had more flexibility than muscle if he’d have been doing the splits up there. Seriously, it’s a pretty menacing look. 1/2

🌈BORDER RAINBOW COMPLETE!🌈 Yup, Donruss made 6 different borders for their ‘91 Grand Slammers! And I finally landed the last stripe on the rainbow. Is it as beautiful as the ‘89 Slammers rainbow, with colors blending into colors when placed side by side? Nope, but still cool.

1,223. 1991 DONRUSS GRAND SLAMMERS FACTORY SET BORDER #4 I don’t know if I’ve ever been as excited to welcome an inexpensive card to my collection than I am now! This completes the 6 different border variations of this card. I’ll follow up this post with a pic of the sextet. 1/2

1,222. 2000 PACIFIC AURURA PINSTRIPES #137 Yup, in Y2K, Pacific added a partial parallel set (50 of the set’s 150 cards) with a pinstripe background. Just a shame they weren’t able to picture Jose in Yankees pinstripes for this one. 1/2

1,221. 2000 FLEER ULTRA GOLD MEDALLION EDITION #150G I love that they added that die-cut arc to the top of the Gold Medallion parallel in 2000. And in this photo, the wording refracted some very Devil Rays colors! Watch it go, Jose! 💪 1/2

1,220. 2000 FLEER SHOWCASE #80 As we unnecessarily panicked our way into Y2K, Fleer decided to let the gorgeous Flair brand go bye-bye and brand Showcase with the broader brand name. Is it as gorgeous? No. But it’s nice, and the photo picked up some cool colors. 1/2

1,219. 2000 E-X E-XCITING #6XT Here’s another really cool card from that same Fleer E-X set I posted the base card from yesterday. The Rays did not wear a vest-style jersey during this era, but all the cards in the 10-card insert set featured a die-cut vest, regardless. 1/2

1,218. 2000 E-X #49 I think this gosh dang beautiful card has the shortest name of any card in my collection. How gorgeous are the team color swirls? And how awesome is the intensity bursting from Jose’s face? 1/2

1,217. 1999 UD CHOICE YARD WORK #Y29 In ‘99, Upper Deck tried to go “hip” and rename Collector’s Choice to UD Choice. They also decided not to include Jose in their base set, only giving him this insert. This was the final set in this line. Coincidence? 1/2

1,216. 1999 UPPER DECK POWERDECK AUXILIARY TIME CAPSULE #T5 PowerDeck was the set of “cards” that were actually CD-ROMS, but there were also traditional cards they called Auxiliary, and this, obviously, is one of those. I can’t say it’s particularly exciting, but here it is. 1/2

1,215. 1999 TOPPS GALLERY #62 I always love me a Topps Gallery card. They really live up to their name. Love the logo, love the fading blue in the inner frame and the circular pattern in the outer frame, love the way Jose’s wide stance fills the space. A work of art! 🖼️ 1/2

When I was a kid in the Toronto suburbs in the early ‘80s, Willie Upshaw emerged as the Jays top power hitter and he made me love to play first base. Now I’m trying to collect all his Blue Jays cards (this is just the first page of 79 cards).

1,214. UPPER DECK SPx FINITE TRADE WINDS #349 It always brings me joy to welcome a new Canseco Jays card into my collection! This card celebrates his signing and after years of pulverizing the Jays, especially in Toronto, he hit 25 HR at home and a career high 46 overall! 1/2

1,213. 1998 PINNACLE HOME STATS #59 Please do not adjust your social media app! This is not the same post as yesterday, even though the front of the card looks exactly the same. This time Jose is just on the run to tell us to turn the card over and see his home stats. 1/2

1,212. 1998 PINNACLE AWAY STATS #59 Pinnacle got a little silly in ‘98 and printed the first 157 cards of the set in 3 equally printed variations: full stats on the back, away and home stats. The fronts are exactly the same, but I’m always happy to see Jose on the run. 1/2

1,211. 1998 PACIFIC INVINCIBLE #57 This is one I’d never seen before it arrived in the mail, and it’s pretty cool. Not easy to tell from the pic, but the headshot area is cut out and the photo is on a translucent cel. Jose looks very clean cut in his return to Oakland here. 1/2

1,210. 1997 PINNACLE MUSEUM COLLECTION #25 You’ve just gotta love that Dufex printing technology. How can you not? I mean, yes, the Dufex “fan” is kind of radiating from Jose’s crotch here and maybe that was an “oopsie” by the designer. But still. 1/2

1,209. 1995 UPPER DECK COLLECTOR’S CHOICE YOU CRASH THE GAME GOLD SET #CR4 Here it is: if you held the June 30 Gold card back in ‘95, because Jose homered that day, you could redeem it for a 20-card Gold Set including this card. 1/2

1,207. 1995 UPPER DECK COLLECTOR’S CHOICE YOU CRASH THE GAME GOLD JUNE 30 #CG4 Are you as exhausted from reading that card name as I am from typing it? Anyway, I had the Silver version of this, so happy to welcome its Gold brother. 🥇1/2

1,206. 1995 UPPER DECK STEAL OF A DEAL #SD10 Love this newcomer to the collection! Cool green foil, strange skeptical look on Jose’s face, and what is he wearing under his jersey? A dress shirt? Is that a press conference photo? It would make sense for the card’s theme. 1/2

1,205. 1991 RBI MAGAZINE PROTOTYPE #6P Awesome photo of Jose barreling into home plate, as the catcher, who looks half the size of Jose, tries to tag him. This is from a 10-card prototype set. The actual set was released in ‘92 with completely different photos (he had 2 cards in the set). 1/2

1,204. 1990 STAR GOLD #27 For the “Personal Data” card, Star took it back to young Jose in that old green pullover jersey, wearing what’s likely a soccer shin guard. And it’s the classic “K pose” that I love so much, not at all because my name starts with K. 😬 1/2

1,203. 1990 STAR GOLD #26 I take back what I said yesterday. Maybe THIS is about as good as a Star card gets. It’s perfectly cropped, we see Jose’s full face, the 33 and a big swing. Plus, the card commemorates his crowning achievement: 40/40. Chef’s kiss, Star! 1/2

1,202. 1990 STAR GOLD #25 This is a classic-looking Canseco photo. In his prime, following through on a big swing, as Tony La Russa looks on approvingly from the dugout, hands on hips. This is about as good as a Star card gets, when combined with the green and gold design. 1/2

1,201. 1990 STAR GOLD #23 How beautiful is that crisp, new-looking yellow jersey? Looks fresh out of the sewing machine. Jose hasn’t even had a chance to rip apart the v-neck. And always fun to see him having a genuine chuckle. 1/2

1,200. 1990 STAR GOLD #22 Another strangely cropped Star card, with all that space up top. But it’s cool that they went way back to rookie Jose for this one. Is he checking his swing at that pitch at the knees? His eyes are still on where the ball was a split second before. 1/2

1,199. 1990 STAR GOLD #21 Star cards are fun, but one thing I’ve noticed is strange, off-center and distant cropping. This is a great sliding shot, but if anything it should have Jose towards the right border to suggest movement and maybe get the base in there. 1/2

1,198. 1990 STAR GOLD #20 In this set, Jose has cards 19-27 and I managed to score all but 19 and 24, so buckle up for a week of these, with their slick gold foil “GOLD” lettering. Cool shot of Jose crushing one at, likely, old Comiskey Park, with those yellow rails. 1/2

1,197. 1990 MSA ALL AMERICAN BASEBALL TEAM #15 I don’t think I’d ever seen this oddball before it arrived in the mail. It’s an unusual, grungy look for Jose, with what looks like the shadow of a goatee growing. We knew about Ozzie, but does he also have a goateed EVIL twin? 1/2

1,196. 1989 TOPPS TIFFANY #500 I think there are still a couple Tiffany’s I need so I’m happy to have landed this glossy beauty. I’ve always loved this simple design and the all-blue sky that recalls Jose’s iconic ‘86 Topps Traded, and it all pops even more in Tiffany gloss. 1/2

1,195. 1987 WEIS WINNERS DISCS #17 I can’t find much info about this set. What/who is Weis? It’s not Walt Weiss, unless he dropped an S and released this set as a call-up who played 16 games with Jose and the A’s in 1987. But it’s still cool and very yellow. 1/2

1,194. 1987 FLEER BASEBALL ALL STARS #6 This super-vibrant new Fleer box set card is extra significant because I now have all 21 Canseco cards Fleer produced in ‘87! All the box sets, all the glossies, everything! Also: one glove, one wrist band. 🤔 1/2

1,193. 1987 DONRUSS FACTORY SET #97 Happy New Year! And happy to be ringing it in with the first of a stack of new cards! Look how crisp this card is. Must be a very recent set break. The only difference is the back, which is inverted from the retail version. 1/2

LET ‘ER RIP #61 This is it! This card put a wrap on Jose’s career as an Athletic, it puts a cap on this rippin’ series and it puts a cap on 2025. While it would’ve been cool and on point if he’d torn the sleeves off the jacket, in fact Jose is wearing ripped jeans. Happy New Year! 🥳

LET ‘ER RIP #60 We’ve all been there, right? You know, when your pecs are so massive that your tank top doesn’t fit, so you have to rip the neck to give those pecs room to breathe. I’ve been there so many times. 😬 (Also, this long series ends with a fun one tomorrow, on NYE!)

LET ‘ER RIP #59 Not only does this card include a piece of a ripped up jersey, but it depicts a ripped jersey! It’s Let ‘Er Rip inception! Check out the ripped up v-neck on that sweet yellow jersey. My new dream is to have a relic card with a ripped “V” in it. 🙏

LET ‘ER RIP #58 Coincidentally, this is the exact same photo we saw yesterday on a different card (which is also a hint for an upcoming series— more of a giveaway, really). For my money, this is a prettier card thanks to the ‘86 design. Check out the janky undershirt sleeves!

LET ‘ER RIP #57 Jose has cranked one right down the line here — fair or foul? What’s foul is that janky cut of his undershirt sleeve draped over his left forearm. Not to mention how the sleeve is flapping on the right side.

I know Boxing Day isn’t so much of a thing for my American friends, but here in Canada we’re chillin’ and shoppin’. I’m celebrating with a card from Jose’s Canadian era, just to say, while I’m still doing the “ripped clothes” theme, his unis were pristine as a Jay. No rips.

1,192. 2024 PANINI PRIZM RUBY WAVE #250 How fitting! A beautiful new red and green card steps to the plate to celebrate Christmas! It really is a gorgeous card, too, with the red border and wavy prism effect. Merry Christmas!🎄🎅🏼 1/2

1,191. 2000 TOPPS STADIUM CLUB BATS OF BRILLIANCE #BB3 As a Star Wars fan I really wish this was card no. BB8. Still, it’s a cool design, with those reversed diagonal pinstripes on the photo. Could’ve used a bit more of a color pop from that old Rays logo, but still: 👍. 1/2

1,190. 1992 SUPERSTARS MAGAZINE #92-8 Always fun to add a new unlicensed oddball to my collection. And this one is even odder because Jose has come out of his shell to wear a turtleneck! 🐢 Not sure I’ve noticed that on another card. 1/2

1,189. 2023 TOPPS CHROME PLATINUM ANNIVERSARY REFRACTOR #356 I always love how old school this looks, with that popped collar. This lovely refractor brings me up to four out of 7,000 variations of this card. Rainbow, here I come! 😆 1/2

1,188. 2022 TOPPS CHROME PLATINUM ANNIVERSARY PLATINUM TOILE CREAM/FUCHSIA ATOMIC REFRACTOR #416 I’m exhausted from writing the name of this card but super psyched to add this /100 beauty to my collection! That toile olde-timey baseball background is 🔥. A work of art. 1/2

1,187. 2014 TOPPS HIGH TEK #HT-JC How cool is this design? I love how the photo choice works with it, making it look like young Jose has smashed the ball into shards of glass. And then the beauty color match around his name in the bottom left. 💚💛1/2

1,186. 1997 UPPER DECK SPx SILVER #SPX37 I’ve always loved the die cutting and design of the base card and now I’ve finally got one of the variations. There were a ton of variations, in a time long before that was all too common. Look at that big ol’ smile in the hologram. 🙂1/2