Jose Canseco

Baseball career

The Oakland Athletics selected Canseco in the 15th round of the 1982 draft. He debuted in the minor leagues with the Miami Marlins of the Florida State League and also played for the Medford A's, Madison Muskies, Idaho Falls A's, Modesto A's, and Tacoma Tigers. While with the Class-AA Huntsville Stars in 1985, he hit 25 home runs in half a season and earned the nickname "Parkway José" because his long drives landed near the Memorial Parkway behind Joe Davis Stadium.

Analysts called him "The Natural" and considered him the best prospect since Willie Mays; Oakland hitting coach Bob Watson described him as a blend of Roberto Clemente, Dale Murphy, and Reggie Jackson. Canseco won the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award in 1985 and was called up to the majors in September. He made his MLB debut on September 2, striking out in his only at-bat against the Baltimore Orioles. His first hit came off Ron Guidry on September 7, and his first home run off Jeff Russell on September 9.

In 29 major-league games that year, he batted .302 with 5 home runs and 13 RBIs. He played left and right field, and on September 26 he appeared in center field for his only career game at that position. Across all levels in 1985, Canseco posted a .330 average with 41 home runs, 140 RBIs, and a .622 slugging percentage.

Performance-enhancing drugs

In 2005 Canseco published Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, in which he admitted using anabolic steroids and claimed that up to 85% of major league players used them. He specifically named former teammates Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Jason Giambi, Iván Rodríguez, and Juan González as fellow users and stated that he had injected them. Most of those players initially denied the allegations, though Giambi later admitted steroid use in grand jury testimony, and McGwire publicly admitted using steroids in January 2010.

At a Congressional hearing, Palmeiro categorically denied using performance-enhancing drugs, while McGwire declined to answer questions about his own suspected use. Canseco's book became a New York Times bestseller. On August 1, 2005, Palmeiro was suspended for 10 days after testing positive for steroids. Canseco was cited in the Mitchell Report on December 13, 2007, and was also named in Jason Grimsley's unsealed affidavit as a steroid user.

In March 2008 Canseco released a sequel, Vindicated, which he described as a clarification of names that should have appeared in the Mitchell Report, including Alex Rodriguez and Albert Belle. By 2010 Canseco had changed his stance, speaking out against performance-enhancing drugs and urging young players not to use them. He argued that steroids were overemphasized and pointed to his identical twin brother Ozzie, who used the same chemicals and workouts but did not become a major league star.

Outside baseball

During his playing career Canseco appeared as a guest star on The Simpsons in the episode "Homer at the Bat" and on Nash Bridges. After retiring, he made appearances on Late Show with David Letterman, 60 Minutes, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, Boomer and Carton, The Howard Stern Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, CMI: The Chris Myers Interview, and Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. In 2003 he was featured in the reality-TV special Stripper's Ball: Jenna Jameson alongside Dennis Rodman and Magic Johnson.

He was a cast member in Season 5 of The Surreal Life. Canseco had a film cameo playing himself in the 2017 basketball drama Slamma Jamma. In 2007 he received 6 Hall of Fame votes, 1.1% of the ballots, falling short of the 5% threshold to remain on the ballot. He can still be elected by the Committee of Baseball Veterans.

Canseco also competed in boxing and mixed martial arts. In 2008 he fought former NFL player Vai Sikahema, who knocked him out in the first round; Canseco earned $35,000. In January 2009 he fought radio personality Danny Bonaduce in a three-round match that ended in a majority draw. Canseco claims black belts in karate and taekwondo and says he practices Muay Thai.

He made his MMA debut at Dream 9 on May 26, 2009, losing to Hong-man Choi after slipping and tapping out to ground and pound. In November 2009 he defeated Todd Poulton in a Celebrity Boxing Federation bout. In December 2010 he launched a Twitter campaign seeking a spring training invitation from the Mets. In 2011 he was a contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice but quit on April 3, citing his father's ailing health; his father died shortly afterward. Canseco earned $25,000 for his charity, the Baseball Assistance Team.

Legal issues and controversies

On February 10, 1989, Canseco was arrested in Florida for reckless driving after allegedly leading an officer on a 15-mile chase; he was found guilty and fined $500. On April 11, 1989, he was arrested in California for carrying a loaded semi-automatic pistol in his car, released on $2,500 bail, and pleaded no contest. On February 13, 1992, he was charged with aggravated battery for ramming his Porsche into a BMW driven by his then-wife Esther Canseco; he pleaded not guilty and later underwent counseling and community service.

In November 1997 he was arrested for beating his then-wife Jessica Canseco, pleaded no contest in January 1998, and received one year of probation and counseling. In October 2001 Canseco and his brother Ozzie fought two men at a Miami Beach nightclub, leaving one with a broken nose and another needing 20 stitches; both pleaded guilty to aggravated battery and received probation and community service. In March 2003 Canseco missed a court appearance while in California for a custody dispute; the judge revoked his probation and sentenced him to two years of house arrest followed by three years' probation.

In June 2003 he was arrested at home for probation violation after testing positive for steroids and spent a month in jail without bail. In May 2008 he revealed that his Encino, California house had been lost to foreclosure, saying his two divorces cost him $7 to $8 million each. On October 10, 2008, he was detained at a San Diego border crossing for trying to bring a fertility drug from Mexico, which he said was for hormone replacement therapy; he pleaded guilty and received 12 months' unsupervised probation.