Canseco Makes Impact : Baseball: Power display by newest Red Sox leaves fans and teammates impressed.

It took Jose Canseco eight swings Friday morning to get Boston Red Sox fans excited.

After a swing-and-miss and six ground balls against batting practice pitching, Canseco hit a high fly over the left field fence. The 100 or so fans at City of Palms Park, many of whom laughed when Canseco missed the first pitch, stood and cheered.

Before he was finished, Canseco showed why he may be the most potent Red Sox hitter since Jim Rice. Canseco hit one off the base of the scoreboard in left-center field. A couple landed on the adjacent practice field behind the left field fence.

The crowd continued to clap, other players stood and watched. As Mo Vaughn stepped into the cage after Canseco, Mike Greenwell said, “Go follow that, Mo.”

Vaughn shook his head and mumbled, “Can’t follow that.”

He was about the only person in the park not following Canseco, who made his first appearance in a Red Sox uniform. From the moment he arrived at 7:30 a.m., everything he did was filmed and recorded.

Fans waited for autographs and Manager Kevin Kennedy was never far away.

At times, Roger Clemens stood alone on the field. Greenwell and Vaughn walked from the dugout to the batting cage without an autograph request.

In joining a team with few stars, Canseco, one of the biggest names in sports, was given rock-star treatment.

“We enjoy having a guy like that around,” Greenwell said. “Everybody is focusing on him, while we go off and do our work. It’s tough on guys like that, though. He’s a presence, that’s all there is to it.”

Canseco, 30, acquired from the Texas Rangers for Otis Nixon and Luis Ortiz, said he wasn’t expecting much from his first day.

He was rusty and his bat speed was off, he said, after not swinging for three months.

And he was tired, after about a three-hour drive from his home in the Fort Lauderdale area in the middle of the night. “But I was surprised I was able to do as well as I did,” Canseco said. “The whole day, I’ve been kind of disoriented. I got into my condo about 5 o’clock in the morning. Got into the condo, unpacked. By the time I finished everything, I got, I think, about 15 or 20 minutes of sleep. I woke up, went to breakfast over at Denny’s, came over here. . . . I’m just extremely tired.”

Even on 20 minutes of sleep and a Denny’s breakfast, Canseco had a celebrity aura -- or at least put up that front. When he hit against a pitching machine in the indoor cage, reporters and photographers lined the fence.

Canseco seemed to relish the attention and always seemed conscious of the fans. Between pitches, he glanced at the crowd, occasionally talking. When Rice, now the team’s hitting coach, rattled off a list of mechanical problems in his swing, Canseco grimaced, looked to the row of reporters and smiled.

“That’s what happens when you don’t pick up a bat for three months,” he said.

When Canseco looked at minor league outfielder Patrick Lennon, one of the biggest players in camp, he said, “Nice arms, huh? In my younger days, I used to have arms like that.”

As comfortable as Canseco seemed, he said he does not enjoy the spotlight.

“I think I’ve gotten so much experience, that I’m all right with it,” Canseco said. “But I’m not a guy who thrives for attention. I just try to be sociable.”

And he was, signing autographs and talking for about 20 minutes. Remember, Red Sox fans have a history with Jose -- during the 1988 playoffs, they chanted, “Steroids, Steroids,” while Canseco played right field for Oakland.

In response then, Canseco flexed his biceps.

“They just seemed to eat that up and love it,” Canseco said.

He said he has not been to Boston since the trade, so is unaware of the anticipation of his arrival.

“I think the fans are really intrigued by, ‘How far can I hit one there?’ or ‘Where will it land?’ or ‘What will I do there?”’ Canseco said. “The only thing I can guarantee is that they will see some balls go a long way there.”

The Red Sox expect Canseco (.282, 31 home runs, 90 RBI last season) to hit many out of Fenway Park. In the final year of his contract -- he will represent himself while negotiating a long-term deal with the Red Sox -- Canseco said he can’t think of a better park to play his home games.

“It’s very conducive to home runs; it’s very conducive to a right-handed power hitter,” Canseco said. “And I don’t consider myself a line-drive hitter. I consider myself more of a fly ball hitter.”

Canseco called Kennedy, his manager in Texas, a friend. But don’t expect Kennedy to send Canseco to the mound at Fenway, as he did in 1993. That pitching appearance led to elbow surgery and a half season on the disabled list.

That is one of the many follies in a nine-year career that has produced 276 home runs. Remember his tabloid romance with Madonna? The numerous speeding tickets? The ball that bounced off his head and landed over the fence?

Canseco does--and he almost seems proud. Is there any chance Boston will see a different Jose Canseco?

“None whatsoever,” he said. “I’m always colorful.’