Why the blog name?

Just thought I'd explain that as well.

Willie Canate, the 25th man of our 1993 World Series winning team. A rule 5 player who played in 38 games for us with this statline: 213/309/277/586. He hit one homerun. For whatever reason the Jays found him intriguing enough to keep on the roster all year rather than risk losing him to his old team. He never surfaced in the majors again.

Why is Willie Canate important to me? Two reasons.

#1: My mother who passed away the year I graduated highschool was an avid Jays and baseball fan. I collected baseball cards and she from time to time would pick up certain cards she knew I wanted. On one trip to Seattle she picked me up a Ken Griffey Jr Minor League rare card. It was quite valuable at the time.

My mom who was a joker right to the end and always told me she had a safe deposit box at the bank with some of the best cards I ever wanted. But they were hers, not mine. In that box she had 1989 Griffey Upper Deck, Bonds rookie card, and basically every card I ever hoped I would get but didn't. She also claimed to have a Willie Canate rookie card in there. Which leads to #2

#2: My mom as much as she loved it really never knew baseball like I know baseball now. I adored Willie Canate. Couldn't understand why he didn't play more. He had all the tools, a cannon, was fast, a ferocious swing and looked like he was made to play. I was convinced he was going to be a star. So was my mom. That's why the card was in her fictional vault.

So in a sense Willie Canate is a symbol for the way I used to think about the game vs the way I do now.

I wonder if such a rookie card was even made?