Jose Canseco
At the age of 23, Cuban-born Canseco became the first player in big league history to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in the same season. For his historic effort, the right-handed slugger with the sculpted physique earned the American League Most Valuable Player Award. With Mark McGwire he formed the "Bash Brothers," a powerful home-run-hitting duo that helped the Oakland A's to three straight pennants. In his skin-tight uniform and with his often bizarre self-promoting behavior, Canseco managed to grab headlines in each of the four cities where he hit at least 30 homers in a season, as well as the four in which he didn't. In the end, he found himself out of the game at the age of 36, with 462 homers and more than 1,400 RBI to his credit. Unable to reconcile the fact that injuries, a high salary, and a bad attitude had sealed his fate, Canseco lashed out at baseball, penning a tell-all book that named players who he claimed used steroids. In March of 2005, he testified at a Congressional hearing that he had personally injected steroids into some of the biggest stars of the game during his career. As a result of his accusations, Canseco became a persona non grata in baseball circles.
Quotes About Canseco
"[He is] the most conspicuous example of a a player who has made himself great with steroids." — writer Thomas Boswell, in 1988
"Jose Canseco admitted he cheated his entire career. Everything he ever did should be wiped clean. I think his MVP should go back and should go to the runnerup." — Curt Schilling
Played For
Oakland Athletics (1985-1992)
Texas Rangers (1992-1994)
Boston Red Sox (1995-1996)
Oakland Athletics (1997)
Toronto Blue Jays (1998)
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1999-2000)
New York Yankees (2000)
Chicago White Sox (2001)
Best Season: 1988
Canseco led the American League with a .569 slugging percentage, 42 homers, 124 RBI, and 76 extra-base hits. He became the first player to sock 40 homers and swipe 40 bases in the same season, and helped the A's to their first pennant in 14 years.
Where He Played
Right field (679), left field (356), DH (837)
Born
Jose (Capas (Jr.)) Canseco was born on July 2, 1964, in Havana
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Primary Position: DH
Primary Team: OAK
Major League Debut
September 2, 1985
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1985
Andres Galarraga
Paul O'Neill
Ozzie Guillen
Devon White
Jose Canseco
Cecil Fielder
Teddy Higuera
Shawon Dunston
Todd Worrell
Uniform Numbers
#33 (1985-2000), #44 (1988 Blue Jays), #31 (2001)
Related Players
Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Ozzie Canseco
| Hall of Fame Voting |
| Year |
Election |
Votes |
Pct |
| 2007 |
BBWAA |
6 |
1.1% |
|
Post-Season Appearances
1988 American League Championship Series
1988 World Series
1989 American League Championship Series
1989 World Series
1990 American League Championship Series
1990 World Series
1995 American League Divisional Series
2000 World Series
Awards and Honors
1986 AL Rookie of the Year
1988 AL MVP
Feats
Canseco was the first player to hit 30 or more homers in each of his first three seasons... Became the first player to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in a single season, in 1988... In August of 1992, Canseco walked in seven straight plate appearances, tying a ML record.
Milestones
Hit his 400th career homer on April 14, 1999, off Kelvim Escobar of the Blue Jays.
Milestones
- April 14, 1999: 400th HR... Becomes first player born outside the U.S. to hit 400 homers.
Batting Feats
- July 3, 1988: 3 HR...
- July 3, 1988: 3 HR...
- June 13, 1994: 3 HR...
- June 13, 1994: 3 HR...
Transactions
June 7, 1982: Drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 15th round of the 1982 amateur draft; August 31, 1992: Traded by the Oakland Athletics to the Texas Rangers for Ruben Sierra, Jeff Russell, Bobby Witt, and cash; December 9, 1994: Traded by the Texas Rangers to the Boston Red Sox for Otis Nixon and Luis Ortiz; October 30, 1995: Granted Free Agency; December 6, 1995: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox; January 27, 1997: Traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Oakland Athletics for John Wasdin and cash; October 31, 1997: Granted Free Agency; February 4, 1998: Signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays; October 22, 1998: Granted Free Agency; December 11, 1998: Signed as a Free Agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays; August 7, 2000: Selected off waivers by the New York Yankees from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays; November 10, 2000: Granted Free Agency; January 16, 2001: Signed as a Free Agent with the Anaheim Angels; March 28, 2001: Released by the Anaheim Angels; June 20, 2001: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox; November 5, 2001: Granted Free Agency.
All-Star Selections
1986 AL
1988 AL
1989 AL
1990 AL
1992 AL
1999 AL
Replaced
With an on-base percentage under .300, left fielder Dave Collins was struggling in Oakland in 1985. Upon Canseco's call-up in September, Collins was relegated to pimch-hitting and pinch-running. Jose hit .302 with five homers and 13 RBI in 29 games.
Replaced By
Canseco's last full-time gig was as the ChiSox's DH in the second half of 2001. He hit .258 with decent power (16 homers and a .477 SLG percentage), but he was a short-term, fill-the-gap solution. In 2002, the Sox had a healthy Frank Thomas back as their DH.
Best Strength as a Player
Power (real or from the syringe).
Largest Weakness as a Player
Intelligence. Canseco was routinely making mental mistakes on the field, either on the basepaths or in the outfield. He was Manny Ramirez long before Manny was making a name for himself as an airhead.
Learn More about Jose Canseco
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