Canseco Throws Book at Baseball

If by chance baseball missed him, or had forgotten him entirely, Jose Canseco has turned up again on its doorstep.

For the moment, it knows not whether he brings truth or spite, only that his reluctant retirement has wrought arrests, jail time, empty-the-trophy-case garage sales and, most notably, an autobiography he claims to be a work of nonfiction.

One of the extraordinary ballplayers of his generation, Canseco never was able to handle idle time, as the divorces, gun charge, speeding tickets, steroid use and random violence would imply.

He believes, though, that the game deserted him before he was through, that he was blackballed by authorities he so far has not identified, and that his book, “Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big” is something more than retribution for it all.

The tell-all-and-then-some is due out Monday, and he sat for Mike Wallace on “60 Minutes,” a first-strike interview airing tonight during which Canseco is expected to detail his steroid use and allege the same of several high-profile former teammates.

Canseco’s book accuses Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi, Juan Gonzalez, Rafael Palmeiro and Ivan Rodriguez of using illegal performance-enhancing drugs. As the self-proclaimed “godfather of the steroid revolution in baseball,” Canseco casts accusatory paragraphs at Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Miguel Tejada and Bret Boone, and claims to have personally injected Wilson Alvarez and Dave Martinez when they were teammates in Tampa Bay.

Since last weekend’s report, most of the players have denied taking steroids and questioned Canseco’s credibility. Agent Arn Tellem, who represents Giambi, issued a statement, observing that Canseco “has appeared on more police blotters than lineup cards in recent years.”

Giambi has his own steroid entanglements. He reportedly testified before a federal grand jury investigating the BALCO scandal that he’d used performance-enhancing drugs, reports he has not denied.

Canseco, who lives in the hills above the San Fernando Valley, and his agent, Doug Ames, have put off interviews, other than for “60 Minutes,” until after the book is released.

Ames, asked Friday if he would like to clarify or correct any of the news reports based on book manuscripts and interview transcripts, said, “There’s been so much written so far. Who cares? Who knows what’s right and what’s wrong anymore? They’ll have to find out next week when they read the book.”

For most of a decade, more than half of his major league career, few knew big as Canseco did. Everything about him was outsized, except for the shirts he stretched across muscles puffed, he says now, with steroid cocktails, which only made him appear ... bigger.

According to Canseco, there were others who lived just as disproportionately large, men such as McGwire, Giambi, Gonzalez, Palmeiro and Rodriguez, teammates in Oakland and Texas, All-Stars and MVPs and, some, certain Hall of Famers.

Not that Canseco considers any of this a great crime against society or baseball. In fact, the notoriety that accompanies his reputation for hard living and steroid use appears to please him. He once claimed to be outraged by the steroid accusations against him, notably after the Washington Post speculated in 1988 that Canseco’s mass had not been achieved naturally, but he had become an advocate by the time he attended a Dodger tryout last March.

“If you ask me, there’s been too much emphasis on [steroids] in a negative way,” he told reporters. “There’s a great difference between using steroids and abusing steroids.”

He added that steroids had “revolutionized” baseball, and his book jacket contains a passage that describes him as a pioneer: “Canseco mixed, matched and experimented to such a degree that he became known throughout the league as ‘the Chemist.’ He passed his knowledge on to trainers and fellow players, and before long, performance-enhancing drugs were running rampant through Major League Baseball.... Baseball as we know it was the result.”

As baseball and its players’ union ignore precedent and adopt a mid-agreement steroid policy, as Barry Bonds is linked to a federal steroid investigation while poised to overtake Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron in the all-time home run race, and Giambi and Gary Sheffield, among others, stand accused of steroid abuse as well, Canseco arrives with a book and an audience.

McGwire, who with Canseco formed the “Bash Brothers” in Oakland from 1986 to ‘92, would appear to have the most to lose. He hit 583 home runs, including a then-record 70 in 1998. His statistics over 16 seasons are first-ballot Hall of Fame-worthy, and yet there is speculation that Canseco’s accusations will diminish McGwire’s candidacy. He is eligible in 2007.

Tony La Russa, the A’s manager during the Bash Brothers era, speculated that Canseco, who hit 462 homers, was jealous of McGwire’s career and public standing. Sandy Alderson, the A’s general manager in the same time period, said Wednesday, “They were not terribly close.”

Indeed, a witness to their relationship in 1997 said there was “bad blood” between McGwire, whose career was flourishing, and Canseco, whose once-formidable game was fading.

La Russa said that at the time, he was “beyond angry” with Canseco. He said his former player had become emotionally soft and physically lazy after signing a five-year, $23.5-million contract in the early 1990s, and that Canseco resented McGwire’s work ethic and success.

As steroids became more popular, La Russa said, he suspected that four or five A’s players had experimented with performance-enhancing drugs, that Canseco was one of them, but McGwire was not.

“Jose knows when they both started, he had the better chance of the two to have the great career, and he mugged it,” La Russa said.

McGwire played for La Russa in Oakland and St. Louis. La Russa and McGwire’s former trainer, John Villarreal, said McGwire had gained size and strength slowly, reflecting a steady, long-term program. Canseco says McGwire took steroids orally and that he injected McGwire at least twice.

Among La Russa’s motivations in defending McGwire, he said, was protecting the reputation of A’s teams that went to three consecutive World Series from 1988 to ‘90, winning in 1989. McGwire and Canseco helped drive those seasons.

“I honestly do not believe Mark ever cheated,” La Russa said. “I’ve seen the guy pay the price. I know he’s personally upset about it. He’s upset for his teammates, and he’s concerned about his legacy.”

Of Canseco, on the other hand, La Russa said, “This guy wasn’t with us. He was an embarrassment. He was an embarrassment from 1990 on. Now, I think part of it is money. Part of it is jealousy. And I’m fighting for a team I came to respect, admire and love.”

Commissioner Bud Selig, in Los Angeles on Wednesday night for an awards banquet, said he had not seen a copy of Canseco’s book and had no intention of reading it when one arrived. Asked about the consequences for baseball resulting from Canseco’s accusations, Selig instead praised the league’s new anti-drug policy, concluding, “With all the other stuff going on ... I’m not going to comment on that.”

Alderson, who left the A’s and became executive vice president of baseball operations for MLB, said, “It’s an unfortunate situation. A sad situation. Very regrettable. But it is what it is.”

Canseco retired, somewhat officially, three years ago, after three weeks with the Charlotte Knights of the International League.

He played 17 major league seasons, during which he was an All-Star six times, rookie of the year in 1986, MVP in 1988, when he was the first to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season, and earned nearly $50 million in salary alone.

True to his hit-or-miss lifestyle, Canseco also struck out 1,942 times. And, though his skills bordered on breathtaking, resulting in some of the longest home runs ever hit, his strikeouts -- on and off the field -- kept him in the news.

He married and divorced twice during his career, first Esther Haddad and then Jessica Sekely, with whom he had a daughter. In 1992, he repeatedly rammed his new Porsche into Esther’s new BMW. Six years later, he pleaded no-contest to a domestic violence charge after hitting Jessica.

He once was charged with illegal possession of a firearm, and was arrested in 2001 for his part in a brawl at a Miami Beach nightclub. Canseco said he pushed a man who’d groped his date. Police said Canseco had grabbed the man by the neck, punched him and broken his nose. Canseco was found guilty and sentenced to two years’ house arrest.

So confined, Canseco stayed busy selling off memorabilia -- on EBay, his MVP plaque brought $30,000 and his rookie-of-the-year ring fetched $5,100 -- and himself. Bids opened at $2,500 for “Spend a Day with Jose,” during which individual winners would be treated to lessons in power hitting, martial arts and weightlifting, or an afternoon by the pool, barbecue included.

Ames told the Miami Herald, “He needs the money, but is he doing it because he’s broke? No. He’s just capitalizing on his mistake. He’s sitting in house arrest. Why not do it?”

Freed from house arrest, Canseco was jailed for leaving Florida for more than 30 days, a probation term, and for failing to attend anger-management classes.

He also spent 67 days in jail in the summer of 2003 after testing positive for steroids, another violation of his probation. Canseco claimed his urine sample was misread, and he was released when experts could not agree if he had taken the steroids during or before his probation period.

By then, Canseco believed in the medicinal value of the illegal drugs, telling the Boston Globe that steroids “can add 30 years to your life” if properly managed.

“We’re supposed to be built to live 120 to 130 years,” he told the newspaper.

That, then, would make Jose Canseco bigger than ever.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Highs and Lows

For every career highlight on the baseball field, Jose Canseco matches it with a low point off the field.

THE GOOD

* Six-time All-Star (1986, 1988-90, 1992, 1999).

* American League rookie of the year in 1986.

* AL MVP in 1988 when he was the first player to hit 40 home runs (42) and steal 40 bases (40). Finished third in the AL MVP voting in 1991.

* Drove in more than 100 runs in five of his first six full seasons in the major leagues.

* Won a World Series title with the Oakland Athletics in 1989 and with the New York Yankees in 2000.

* Finished his career with 462 home runs.

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THE BAD

* Struck out 1,942 times in 17 seasons and played for seven teams (Oakland, Texas, Boston, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Yankees and Chicago White Sox).

* A broken wrist limited him to 65 games in 1989. Back and shoulder problems forced him to miss a majority of the 1990 and 1992 seasons, and he didn’t play more than 111 games from 1993 to ’97.

* In his book, “Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big,” Canseco accused Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi, Juan Gonzalez, Rafael Palmeiro and Ivan Rodriguez of using illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

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THE UGLY

* Spent 67 days in jail in the summer of 2003 after testing positive for steroids, a violation of his probation. Canseco claimed his urine sample was misread, and he was released when experts could not agree if he had taken the steroids during or before his probation period.

* He married and divorced twice during his career, first Esther Haddad and then Jessica Sekely, with whom he had a daughter. In 1992, he repeatedly rammed his new Porsche into Esther’s new BMW. Six years later, he pleaded no-contest to a domestic violence charge after hitting Jessica.

* Was charged with illegal possession of a firearm and was arrested in 2001 for his part in a brawl at a Miami Beach nightclub. Canseco was found guilty and sentenced to two years of house arrest.

Sources: JoseCanseco.com, Baseballreference.com, Los Angeles Times