Published January 13, 2026 | By Martina F, Collectors MD Community Member

The picture below includes all of the things that 10-year-old me wanted in 1989, save a bag of Hostess potato chips (classic BBQ flavor please) and a Dr. Pepper: two Jose Canseco rookie cards, a Jose Canseco autograph, a Jose Canseco 1989 Donruss, and for Jose Canseco to play for my beloved Toronto Blue Jays. That’s how I know I am a collector and not a successful card flipper/dealer: it’s about feelings.

You see, according to 10-year-old me, the summer of 1989 was quite possibly the best ever. It was my second year in the local girls’ softball league and the outfielders didn’t move in anymore when I went up to the plate, I had hours to work on my swing while spending the day at my grandparent’s house (which also included fabulous homemade Italian lunches daily, and trips to the park across the street), and the local convenience store kept re-stocking the boxes of 1989 Donruss.

A quick 5-minute walk meant a freezie, some bubble gum, and a pack of 1989 Donruss. Bubble gum went in my pocket, the freezie was devoured on the walk back, and the pack of baseball cards was kept in my right hand for security purposes. Once back at the house, it was time to open the wax package and rummage through it to find the grail of all 1989 Donruss cards for any kid who had just witnessed baseball’s first ever 40/40 man the summer prior: Jose Canseco. Alas, for most of the summer, I opened various packs of 1989 Donruss but the card had alluded me. I found all my other favorites, like Cal Ripken Jr., Fred McGriff, and the rest of the Blue Jays, but no Jose.

As I got more and more into collecting these pieces of cardboard, I’d always look for the Jose Canseco card. No matter what set, what year, or what scandal hit the papers. I watched as he broke the hearts of all Toronto Blue Jays fans by hitting the first ever home run into the upper deck of the SkyDome during the ALCS in 1989, and while part of me was devastated, the other half of me was in awe of the magnitude of that home run.

“I wish he played for us!” I’d say to my friends, while we crunched away on on a mini bag of potato chips procured from the same convenience store that sold us our baseball and hockey cards. At the card shows I’d drag my dad to, I would look through the glass showcases at the Jose Canseco card that the entire planet wanted: the 1986 Donruss Rated Rookies card. Featuring a young Jose with a knowing smirk, I wondered how many of my commons I’d have to trade to make that card mine. But at a pricetag of $150 in the early 1990’s, there was no way that was happening.

The years passed and once short prints, chase cards, $200 boxes of cards, and grown men in suits appeared at card shows, I walked away from the hobby that I had spent almost a decade of my life enjoying. Life had other priorities and money needed to be spent on the “needs” instead of “wants”. The cardboard dreams of a 1986 Jose Canseco faded away, and I had made my peace with the fact that I would likely never own one, nor would I ever be able to open a pack of 1989 Donruss and find that one either.

Just this past year, I rekindled my love for the hobby. Age affords you the wisdom to understand that collecting is not about anyone else but yourself. Serial numbered parallels that cost $2000? Don’t have to buy them. Hobby boxes that are $500 for the chance to score an autograph of a rookie that will be forgotten in 4 years time? Also not something I must do. Joining in the grading frenzy and only purchasing cards that are perfect 10’s? Not necessary to enjoy what I do. What I have done is procure all of the cards I wanted but could not afford in 1989, because junk wax has been deemed “worthless” by many. But not by me, and not by all of you reading this, either. And that’s a great thing!

You see, much has transpired since that summer of 1989. Hostess no longer makes potato chips, the steroid scandal tarnished the public image of Canseco and others (but not before he did finally suit up for the Blue Jays and hit a career-high 46 home runs!), little league girls softball has less participants, buying a pack of cards at a convenience store is next to impossible, and I really wish that I could have one of my grandmother’s homemade lunches just one last time.

I myself have bought and sold individual baseball cards and I too have purchased spots in breaks to try and feel the rush of finding a favorite player without spending a small fortune. I will be honest, it breaks my heart to see the way some breakers handle base cards – cast aside as if they are nothing just because they can’t fetch hundreds or thousands of dollars on eBay. For me, that doesn’t feel like collecting: it feels a lot like gambling.

But one thing has not changed: the feeling I get when I open a simple, pedestrian package of baseball cards on a beautiful summer afternoon, and get to add all of them to my collection. The 1989 Donruss cards I still have will not help me retire, nor will they put my child through university, but holding them teleports me to a world that no longer exists while also bringing me joy.

It’s like a flux capacitor-enabled DeLorean that allows just a brief visit to the past – it’s gone in the blink of an eye. That’s what baseball card collecting is all about: joy and dreams. That is why junk wax will always reign supreme in my books; it was about chasing a simple childhood dream and not a 5-figure price tag. That is why I still collect base card rookies and favourite players – the feeling I get is still the same.

As for Jose Canseco, I still collect his cards. And yes, I finally found myself his 1989 Donruss. Hope you find your joy in whatever pack you open next too.

#CollectorsMD
Because intentional collecting isn’t about what the market crowns as valuable – it’s about choosing what still makes your heart feel ten years old, and letting that reign supreme.

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