Today’s installment brings us card #25 in the autograph set titled “Cano Can Do”. The card celebrates Cano being the sixth player to drive in runs in his first two postseason games during his rookie year in 2005. As a Yankees fan, this was a big card to acquire.
For those that don’t remember a time when Cano was a Yankees, I will remind you how great he was. During his 9 seasons in New York, he batted .309, 204 home runs, 822 RBIs, 1,649 hits, and played in 159+ games 7 straight years. He was 2nd in voting for ROY, 5x All-Star, was in the top 6 MVP voting his last 4 years, a home run derby champ, and a World Series Champion.
Then Cano signed his big contract in Seattle (10-year, $240 million) and the New York fan base forgot all about him. While with Seattle, Cano was a 3x All-Star and in the top 8 of MVP voting 2x. He did bat .296, but his home run and RBIs rate slipped a little. In total, Cano played 17 seasons (the last two are forgettable and assuming he will not play in 2023) earning him 8x All-Stars, 5x Silver Sluggers, and 2x Gold Gloves. Cano could have a strong case for the HOF, but his suspension both 2018 and 2020 for PEDs will probably hurt his chances.
Cali's Card Corner 