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Confessions of a Baseball Card Addict
Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy baseball cards. When Tanner Jones came back to the hobby as an adult, he instantly fell in love with baseball cards all over again. In his signature comedic tone, Tanner retells his adventures in acquiring millions of cards, how he became a custom card creator, and the day he spent with his childhood hero, Jose Canseco, landing both of them on the cover of Beckett Baseball magazine. By popular demand, he shares the strategies used to assemble his world-famous collection, and how he quickly sold it for profit, while managing to keep several of his favorite pieces. Confessions of a Baseball Card Addict is an entertaining and insightful read for collectors of all ages. Continue reading about his adventures in cardboard at www.TanManBaseballFan.com.
181 pages, Paperback
Published December 18, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 27, 2019
I’ve been following Tanner’s collecting odyssey for a number of years now through his website/blog and his custom card creations. I knew he had both a passion for the hobby as well as a creative mind in his approach to everything he does. When I saw that he had written a book, I was extremely excited - but not surprised. Of course he would write a book. And I’m so happy he did.
Don’t let the title fool you. While this might seem like a deep dive into the world of baseball card collecting, I saw it as much more than that. Yes, the story revolves around cards....and collecting....and Jose Canseco (alright, maybe it is about baseball card collecting) but the overall themes are what I saw as the bigger takeaway.
Passion for a hobby. The excitement of exploring what it is you want to get out of a hobby - and then pursuing it. One of my favourite lines in the book was “collecting is also about the thrill of the hunt, the camaraderie between collectors and the stories behind the cards”. That spoke loudly to me. It’s what I enjoy most about my sportscard collecting.
Tanner’s quests that he shares in this book are the upper echelon of extreme (actually meeting Jose Canseco at his house and having him sign dozens of custom items, or the quest to become the ultimate Canseco Supercollector). These topics to most will seem unbelievable - bordering on ridiculous, but as someone who has enjoyed the hobby in my adult years for over two decades....I get it.
The voice Tanner brings to the read is very conversational - with enthusiasm....much like his blog posts and website articles. I felt immediately comfortable as I immersed myself in this easy, quick read. He takes care and attention to the topics he laid out and there is a great flow from chapter to chapter. But the biggest takeaway for me is that he wrote this - his own words....by himself. To independently publish this book is both a fantastic feat and genuine inspiration to me. I feel like we all have a good book in us. This is proof that is can be a tangible goal. It added a huge amount of excitement to my reading experience and quite frankly....is worth five stars right there.
This is a must - A MUST for all sportscard enthusiasts and even to those who are maybe not deep into collecting but enjoy that hobby world. Baseball fans, Canseco fans and people who enjoy a book about pursuing a passion will find this a fun go. And be sure to check out the added chapter he posted to his blog. I guess to Tanner, the story never ends.
Don’t let the title fool you. While this might seem like a deep dive into the world of baseball card collecting, I saw it as much more than that. Yes, the story revolves around cards....and collecting....and Jose Canseco (alright, maybe it is about baseball card collecting) but the overall themes are what I saw as the bigger takeaway.
Passion for a hobby. The excitement of exploring what it is you want to get out of a hobby - and then pursuing it. One of my favourite lines in the book was “collecting is also about the thrill of the hunt, the camaraderie between collectors and the stories behind the cards”. That spoke loudly to me. It’s what I enjoy most about my sportscard collecting.
Tanner’s quests that he shares in this book are the upper echelon of extreme (actually meeting Jose Canseco at his house and having him sign dozens of custom items, or the quest to become the ultimate Canseco Supercollector). These topics to most will seem unbelievable - bordering on ridiculous, but as someone who has enjoyed the hobby in my adult years for over two decades....I get it.
The voice Tanner brings to the read is very conversational - with enthusiasm....much like his blog posts and website articles. I felt immediately comfortable as I immersed myself in this easy, quick read. He takes care and attention to the topics he laid out and there is a great flow from chapter to chapter. But the biggest takeaway for me is that he wrote this - his own words....by himself. To independently publish this book is both a fantastic feat and genuine inspiration to me. I feel like we all have a good book in us. This is proof that is can be a tangible goal. It added a huge amount of excitement to my reading experience and quite frankly....is worth five stars right there.
This is a must - A MUST for all sportscard enthusiasts and even to those who are maybe not deep into collecting but enjoy that hobby world. Baseball fans, Canseco fans and people who enjoy a book about pursuing a passion will find this a fun go. And be sure to check out the added chapter he posted to his blog. I guess to Tanner, the story never ends.
April 20, 2021
If you're looking for a good book about the struggles of hunting and finding those hard to find cards or interesting stories of great card deals, find another book. This waste of time was 1/3 I met a guy who had thousands of mostly common cards that i bought for X and then sold them for X times, 1/3 on how he made custom cards and met his idol Jose Canseco, and 1/3 about becoming a Canseco super collector. Mix in a brief segment on comic book buying and a sprinkling of religious nonsense and you come away feeling empty and upset at wasting time. Rarely were specific cards mentioned unless they were Canseco related and almost all the cards were from the junk wax era throughout his transactions. I've read a book on stamps that was more interesting and I had zero knowledge of the stamp world.
May 8, 2022
It was ok
This book started out great, but got really boring when he talked about making his own custom cards and his obsession of Jose Canseco.
This book started out great, but got really boring when he talked about making his own custom cards and his obsession of Jose Canseco.
April 9, 2020
(April 2020) - A very easy page turner of a book. Written in a very conversational manner the author shares stories about collecting cards from his youth through adulthood. Collections purchased and sold. Any card collector will relate and the themes are broad enough that even non-collectors would enjoy the journey taken.
August 8, 2022
I absolutely loved this book. Tanner is funny, but has a heart for other people. And that's all in addition to his love of baseball and collecting. There is some valuable info here if you're a collector (of any sort), along with a clear focus on being a good human being. I appreciate his honesty, heart for Christ, and his humor.
March 27, 2023
Being a collector of several different sports worth of sports cards, this was an incredible find at a local used bookstore. If you have the time, it's a fairly short read. I very much enjoyed this book from the onset, to the very end. I honestly hope that Mr. Jones would put out another book, or even a couple more. This is definitely a 10/10 for this genre.
August 27, 2020
If you are a baseball card collector and wondered what it was like to be the biggest Super Collector of any single player or just want a good read about the hobby—this is for you. Tanner really puts the hobby and the obsession in perspective. Fantastic and nostalgic read!
May 2, 2019
Author shares his childhood of wheeling and dealing cards. He grows up and gets back into wheeling and dealing. Then he starts creating his own cards and aspires to have a bromance with a player.
May 6, 2019
Fun read.
Very fun read. For any collector, this is a book to be read and enjoyed, even if you do not collect baseball cards.
Very fun read. For any collector, this is a book to be read and enjoyed, even if you do not collect baseball cards.
May 17, 2020
Great Book
Lots of shared memories from collecting junk wax era made this especially enjoyable. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Lots of shared memories from collecting junk wax era made this especially enjoyable. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
January 1, 2021
Really was a good read. Reminded me of what this hobby is all about. Easy to read and brought back many great memories! Thank you Tanner!
January 22, 2022
Interesting baseball card collecting stories.
This is a book for collectors only. The best part of it though was the amazing story of actually going to Jose Canseco's house.
This is a book for collectors only. The best part of it though was the amazing story of actually going to Jose Canseco's house.
March 3, 2023
For all baseball card fans.
September 12, 2023
A fun read for any baseball (or any sports) card collector. Helps put the hobby of card collecting into perspective.
March 26, 2024
Pretty good story. My interest in baseball cards is pretty well limited to 1950-1960’s. The author’s interest is 1980-1990’s.
May 10, 2023
I gave this book one star because I could not give it anything lower. It is poorly written and contains way too much of the authors opinions on matters of faith. The writer clearly needs help, he promotes a hobby and industry for 100+ pages only to paint it as evil at the end.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews