Across the MLB landscape, Jose Canseco is mostly seen as a pariah. Not only did the former 17-year MLB veteran acknowledge to using steroids, but his book Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big practically blew the lid off the league's "Steroid Era."
Canseco has also been banned from baseball for life due to his ties to steroid users, and despite never having played in the organization, was named president of the Oakland Athletics after it was discovered that team owner John Fisher had used illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
Canseco has struggled with drug addiction and has been involved in several violent incidents over the years. In April 2010, he was arrested for threatening to kill then-Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL). In August 2011, he attacked a fellow inmate while incarcerated for violating his probation on a 2001 conviction for assaulting a police officer.
In November 2011, Canseco announced that he was running for mayor of Lacey Township, New Jersey as a write-in candidate. The candidacy drew criticism from many people who said that he didn't live in Lacey Township and that running for office while still being banned from baseball was a violation of league rules. Canseco ended up losing the election by a wide margin.
Currently, Jose Canseco lives in Florida and works as a security guard.
Canseco, along with Jorge Delgado, Damaso Moreno, and Manuel Collado, acknowledged to using anabolic steroids in a tell-all book called Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big in 2005. Canseco also claimed that up to 85% of big league players used steroids, a statistic that many in the game doubt.
According to Juiced, Jose Canseco used stanozolol during most of his career with the Oakland A's from 1987 to 1995 and methandrostenolone (Methandriol) after joining the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996. He said he also used trenbolone acetate (Trenadrol) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Canseco wrote that he acquired steroid use from other players when he was a batterymate with Oakland, and said that once he went into the locker room after a game with two vials in his back pocket.
He also wrote that drug dealers used to come to his house while he was playing in Baltimore so they could give him injections in his buttock. When asked by a reporter if he ever worked with any baseball players who used performance-enhancing drugs, Canseco replied: "Yes. Most notable would be Mark McGwire".
After leaving baseball, Canseco had surgery in 2007 for carpal tunnel syndrome that he said was caused by hitting too many balls in spring training.
The book described in detail the use of performance-enhancing drugs by major league players.
Canseco said that before he became famous, he used to take steroids to improve his batting average. The book also mentioned other players such as Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, and Mike Tyson who used them too.
In 2007, when asked if he still took steroids, Canseco answered "Yeah, I guess so." He went on to say that he started using them when he was a teenager in Venezuela and has never stopped since then.
Jose Canseco has been banned from baseball for testing positive for steroid usage.
His career statistics include:
Bats left -.272/.340/.471
Bats right -.275/.341/.457
Power -.920 OPS
Speed - 6%
Fielding -.975
Throw - 70 MPH
Canseco has one of the most convoluted legacies of any baseball player in history. He was one of the most exciting sluggers in the game during his early playing days in Oakland, and he appeared to be on track for a Hall of Fame career when he became the first member of the 40/40 club. But injuries derailed Canseco's career after only six seasons.
At first, it seemed like another case of big expectations leading to failure. After leaving Oakland following the 1993 season, Canseco had a terrible time hitting against left-handed pitchers. The problem was diagnosed as "posterior shoulder impingement" and surgery was performed on his throwing arm. Canseco never recovered from that injury and was never again able to throw out baserunners at a high rate of success.
As a hitter, Canseco used to crush left-handed pitching but not anymore. His batting average against lefties fell below.200 for the first time in 1994. By 1999, his batting average against them was below.250 for the first time in his career.
There were rumors that Canseco was using steroids during his earlier years in the league, but none of these allegations ever proved true. In 2004, he admitted that he had been drinking alcohol regularly during his time with Oakland in an attempt to combat pain in his injured shoulder.
Canseco is primarily known as a designated hitter and a power-hitting outfielder. He spent the most of his career (nine seasons; 1985-1992, 1997) with the Oakland Athletics, although he also played for a few other American League clubs over the years (Rangers, Devil Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, White Sox, and the Blue Jays). Finally...
Canseco was released by the Blue Jays on August 12, 2003, after hitting only.167 with no home runs this season. The 36-year-old outfielder had been working as a special assistant to the general manager before being let go.
He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers two days later, but was traded to the Chicago Cubs during spring training in 2004. Canseco finished his career with an incredible.293 average over 2,921 games played.
After retirement, Jose Canseco became famous again when it was discovered that during his time in the Major Leagues, he had used performance-enhancing drugs. In 2007, he was one of more than 100 former players who were named in an FBI drug ring that operated for several years throughout the 1990s. Canseco has not come forward about these allegations, but they have not stopped him from making money through sports marketing efforts.
In January 2008, Canseco filed a lawsuit against the A's alleging that they had sold him false information regarding his drug test results.
Jose Canseco Capas Jr. (born July 2, 1964) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and designated hitter of Cuban descent. During his tenure with the Oakland A's, he established himself as one of the game's elite power hitters. Canseco has two World Series rings, one with the Oakland A's (1989) and one with the New York Yankees (2000). In eight games played for the A's, he had four home runs and 10 RBIs.
Canseco made his MLB debut on April 17, 1987, at the age of 24. That season, he finished second in the American League in home runs with 42. He also led the league in hits (207), total bases (389), and extra-base hits (85). The Oakland Athletics drafted him with their first pick (ninth overall) in the 1983 amateur draft. He spent seven seasons with them, hitting over 100 homers each year from 1987 to 1993, when he was traded to the Yankees. In New York, he continued to be one of the most productive hitters in baseball, finishing among the top ten in MVP voting three times. He also helped the Yankees win two World Series titles in 2000 and 2001. After playing for several other teams, including a return to the A's, Canseco retired after the 2004 season at the age of 36.
He came out of retirement in 2005 to play for the Boston Red Sox, but was released before the start of the season. On April 4, 2006, Canseco signed with the Tampa Bay Rays.
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