Hello fellow Jose Canseco fans...

I have some pretty big (and bad) news for you: Jose retired from the game
of baseball today. One of the most exciting players of our generation has
officially called it quits. He says it was for family reasons, but my
money is on it being because no one would give him a chance.

I'll send more information soon, but I wanted to get the news out
now. Sorry I didn't get this out earlier - I had a roller-hockey game
tonight, and I've been gone since the announcement was made.

And for those of you who have already asked, yes, Canseconet.com will
remain on the web, and I will continue to send updates via this email
list.... at least for the foreseeable future.

-Mark

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From the AP:
Jose Canseco announces retirement
May 13, 2002

CHICAGO (TICKER) -- Former American League Most Valuable Player Jose
Canseco announced his retirement Monday, abandoning his pursuit of 500 home
runs.

The announcement was made by the Chicago White Sox, who signed the former
AL Rookie of the Year to a minor league contract on April 18.

"Jose felt that because of personal reasons and a strong desire on his part
to spend more quality time with his young daughter, it was time to announce
his retirement," said Alan L. Nero, Canseco's agent.

Canseco, 37, retires with 462 home runs, placing him 22nd on the all-time
list and just three behind Hall of Famer Dave Winfield.

Canseco appeared a sure-fire Hall of Famer after breaking into the majors
with five spectacular seasons with the Oakland Athletics. Aside from an
injury-plagued year in 1989, the brawny slugger averaged 37 homers, 115 RBI
and 23 stolen bases from 1986-91.

In 1988, he became the first player to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in
the same season, winning MVP honors. Canseco and teammate Mark McGwire
became known as the "Bash Brothers" and helped lead the A's to three
American League pennants and the 1989 World Series championship.

During the 1989 American League Championship Series, Canseco hit a towering
home run into the fifth deck at Toronto's SkyDome.

But injuries limited Canseco's durability and reduced him to a largely
one-dimensional player over the rest of a 17-year career that included
stints with Texas, Boston, Tampa Bay, the New York Yankees and the White Sox.

Never known for his fielding, Canseco once had a ball carom off his head
and over the fence in right field for a home run. He stole more than 10
bases just twice after 1991 while racking up at least 102 strikeouts 11 times.

There were flashes of the old imposing Canseco. In 1994 with Texas, he won
AL Comeback Player of the Year honors after hitting 31 homers and driving
in 90 runs in just 111 games. Four years later with Toronto, the Cuban-born
Canseco slugged a career-best 46 homers and had 107 RBI and 29 steals.

He tailed off a little with Tampa Bay in 1999, hitting 34 homers and 95
RBI, then played only sparingly over the last two years -- a span that
included a stint in the lightly regarded Atlantic League. Canseco returned
to the majors with the White Sox last year and batted .258 with 16 homers
and 49 RBI in 76 games.

With Class AAA Charlotte this season, he hit just .172 with five homers and
nine RBI in 18 games.

Canseco is second all-time with 1,942 strikeouts and ranks among the top 60
with 1,407 RBI and a .515 slugging percentage. Along with Fred McGriff of
the Chicago Cubs, he is the only player to hit at least 30 homers with four
different teams and has the most home runs by anyone born outside the
United States.

One of only nine players with 400 career homers and 200 stolen bases,
Canseco retires with a .266 career batting average.

In 1993, Canseco was used in relief by the Rangers during a lopsided game
with the Red Sox at Fenway Park. He retired the side despite allowing three
runs, but suffered an elbow injury that eventually sidelined him for the
season.

His twin brother, Ozzie, played two seasons in the majors.

==========
From the AP:
Canseco announces retirement, 38 homers shy of 500
By NANCY ARMOUR
May 13, 2002

CHICAGO (AP) -- Former AL MVP Jose Canseco announced his retirement Monday,
38 home runs shy of the 500 mark he hoped to reach to bolster his Hall of
Fame chances.

Canseco, 37, was cut by Montreal in spring training and signed a minor
league contract with the Chicago White Sox on April 18. He was hitting .172
with five homers and nine RBIs in 18 games at Triple-A Charlotte.

``Jose felt that because of personal reasons and a strong desire on his
part to spend more quality time with his young daughter, it was time to
announce his retirement,'' Alan Nero, Canseco's agent, said in a statement
released by the White Sox.

Messages for Nero and the White Sox were not immediately returned.

Canseco didn't come to the ballpark Monday, and Charlotte Knights manager
Nick Capra said he found out the slugger was retiring through a news release.

But it wasn't a total surprise, Capra said.

``I just saw some frustrations that Jose was having this year,'' Capra
said. ``He just didn't look comfortable at the plate.''

Canseco's decision leaves him with 462 home runs, 22nd on the career list,
three behind Dave Winfield. A career .266 hitter, Canseco finishes with
1,407 RBIs and 200 stolen bases in 1,887 games with Oakland, Texas, Boston,
Toronto, Tampa Bay, the New York Yankees and the White Sox.

He's one of only nine players in history with 400 homers and 200 stolen bases.

``He's one of the most knowledgeable hitters I've been around,'' the Mets'
Mo Vaughn said. ``He was the first 40-40 guy, MVP, rookie of the year, and
he's got a couple of rings under his belt. So he's had a tremendous career.''

His numbers would probably be even more gaudy if not for all of his
injuries. He spent time on the disabled list in seven of his last 10
seasons, mostly with back problems.

As one of the Oakland Athletics' ``Bash Brothers'' along with Mark McGwire,
Canseco was once one of the most colorful players in the game. Born in Cuba
and raised in Miami, he was called up by the A's on Sept. 2, 1985. One week
later, he hit his first major league home run.

He hit 33 homers and drove in 117 runs the following year, earning him
rookie of the year honors. In 1988, he led the majors with 42 home runs and
124 RBIs, and he was a unanimous choice as MVP. He became the first player
to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases, and he led the A's to the first of
three straight AL pennants.

Oakland won the World Series in 1989, but it was Canseco's homer in Game 4
of the AL championship series that stands out. He put Mike Flanagan's pitch
in the upper deck of Toronto's SkyDome, some 480 feet away, a place where
no ball had been hit before during a game.

But it wasn't just the way he crushed the ball that made him famous. He was
as entertaining off the field as he was on. He drove his cars fast, and was
cited several times for driving violations such as speeding. He was once
arrested for having a gun in his car at a hospital.

He bashed the car of his first wife, Esther, and had a rendezvous with
Madonna. He once brought a large land tortoise into the Oakland clubhouse,
and drew complaints from his neighbors because of his unusual collection of
pets.

Even his misfortunes were the stuff of tabloid fodder. When he blew out his
right elbow on May 29, 1993, he was pitching mop-up duty for the Rangers
late in a rout by Boston. The injury eventually cost him the last half of
that season.

He once let a ball bounce off his head and over the wall for a homer.

``Jose had done some things in his career that gave the impression that he
wasn't very smart -- but he was very smart,'' Vaughn said. ``To really get
to know him was great. He had a tremendous amount of knowledge on the
offensive side.''

He was still drawing crowds in Charlotte, with attendance at Knight's home
games jumping more than 50 percent in his first week with the team.

``He had a flair for the game. People were coming out of the woodwork to
see him,'' Capra said. ``He brought out a lot of people not just to the
ballpark here in Charlotte, but when we were on the road, too.''

He was good in the clubhouse, as well, Capra said.

``A very professional man,'' he said. ``He was nothing but a positive thing.''

Released by the Angels in spring training in 2001, Canseco did a stint with
Newark of the independent Atlantic League. He signed with the White Sox
last June as a replacement for the injured Frank Thomas, and hit .258 with
16 home runs and 49 RBIs. He played 76 games, almost all of them as a DH.

But with Thomas healthy again, the White Sox didn't have a place for
Canseco and he became a free agent. He went to spring training with
Montreal Expos but was released after being told he wouldn't be an everyday
player.

``I think he does,'' Vaughn said when asked if Canseco belongs in the Hall
of Fame. ``He's got tremendous stats. And if you just judge him on the
numbers and don't think about the (public's) perception, he has as much of
a chance as anybody else.''