Hi Cansecoites,

Here we are, one day after the big announcement. Before I say anything
else, I want to tell you to go listen to Jose talking on today's Dan
Patrick Show: http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/0514/1382336.html

It is a "must-hear" interview. Jose talks about why he decided to retire
(he'd rather spend time with his daughter than play AAA ball, knowing he'll
probably never get back to the majors anyway), but that's just the tip of
the iceberg. He also discussed how he thinks he's being blackballed from
the game, and he says he's in the process of writing a tell-all book. It's
going to discuss the good and the bad of his career and the game of
baseball. He plans to talk about how steroids have changed the game, the
politics of baseball, the antics of well respected players, and more. And
he's planning on naming names.

Personally, I agree with Dan Patrick, who was cautioning Jose to take a
step back and not do anything he'll end up regretting. I really think this
is a bad idea. Don't get me wrong - I'd love to read about Jose's career
from his point of view, both the good and the bad, but I think making
accusations (even if they are true) about other players is only asking for
trouble. I just don't see what good can come of it.

I think Jose is upset that he's being kept out of baseball, knowing he
still has the ability to play, and I think he's justified in that, but I
don't see how making other people look bad is going to make him look any
better. If anything, I think it will make him look worse and will seal his
exile from the baseball community.

Maybe I'm being optimistic, but I don't think there is an organized
conspiracy against Jose, and I think he could get back to the majors
someday. Then again, maybe I'm just naive. Maybe he's right. Maybe he's
doomed.

Whatever he decides, I hope it turns out well. I just have a bad feeling
about this book.

There has been a LOT of news out there in the past 24 hours, including some
really great articles, both pro and anti-Jose... Enjoy.

-Mark

==========
Does Jose Canseco belong in the Hall of Fame? Go vote YES here:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/0513/1382016.html
http://www.sportingnews.com/baseball/

Also, you can vote for your favorite Jose moment/memory here:
http://foxsports.lycos.com/content/view?contentId=486032
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/

==========
This first article is a few days old - Kudos to Mike Watson (a subscriber
of this list) for getting quoted...

From the AP:
Canseco's finding his way and leaving mark in Charlotte
By PETE IACOBELLI

FORT MILL, S.C. (AP) The Triple-A Charlotte Knights have worked hard to
make Jose Canseco a star attraction.

Canseco knows the rest is up to him. He's hit 462 home runs in the major
leagues and would love a chance to reach 500.

The 37-year-old slugger made his debut for the Chicago White Sox's Triple-A
franchise last month, and the Knights and other International League teams
have taken advantage. The teams let fans in early for batting practice,
used his picture in full-page ads promoting games, and reminded everyone
over and over about his success in the big leagues.

Fans appeared to pay attention at the outset: Attendance at Knights' home
games jumped more than 50 percent from about 3,000 to about 4,600 on
average in his first week with the team.

``He's made no bones about his desire to get back to the big leagues and
get a shot at 500 home runs,'' Charlotte general manager Bill Blackwell
said this week.

``He's willing to work and do what it takes to get that done. ... He's been
good with the fans, with the media and made most of the outlandish requests
that we make of him every day.''

Canseco, released by the Montreal Expos after spring training, was hitting
.215 (11-of-51) with five homers and nine RBIs in 15 games through
Thursday, but the buzz that surrounded his return has slowed. Charlotte had
only 2,033 people at Tuesday's 7-3 loss to Scranton at the Knights Castle
in Fort Mill, which is about 10 miles south of Charlotte.

``He's still rounding into shape,'' Blackwell said. ``He had about a month
layoff. He's just now starting to get timing and things back. Hopefully,
he's going to break out and put up some monster numbers very shortly.''

Canseco's solo homer Thursday night helped Charlotte top Scranton 4-2 to
end a four-game losing streak.

Canseco never had trouble attracting notice. During his 17 years in the
majors, he made headlines as much for his colorful lifestyle as his
enormous baseball talent.

He would be on the news one day for hitting 42 homers and stealing 40 bases
for Oakland in 1988 to become the first to the 40-40 milestone, then on the
news the next day because he was dating Madonna or driving at 125 mph.

These days, he eases his rental car around the Charlotte area trying to
learn about his latest baseball stop.

``I'm no better than these guys,'' Canseco said. ``They're in Triple A,
too, trying to make it up. We're all teammates. We're all in this together.''

After signing a dozen baseballs that Blackwell gave him, Canseco smiled and
waved to a group of Little Leaguers.

``We couldn't ask for a better teammate,'' Charlotte reliever Clay Eason
said. ``He's been great.''

Another International League club, the Syracuse SkyChiefs, experienced a
small attendance surge last year when Deion Sanders joined it for a month,
assistant general manager Tom van Shaack said. But as the novelty wore off,
attendance slowed.

The SkyChiefs did what they could to showcase Canseco last week when the
Knights played at Syracuse. The park opened about 45 minutes early for
batting practice so people could watch Canseco, who also held a press
conference where he talked about an autobiography he says is in the works.

Canseco's personality and his ability to swat a baseball keep people
interested, said Mike Watson, one of about a dozen fans watching BP before
the Knights' game against Scranton on Wednesday.

Watson, visiting from Pittsburgh, jumped at the chance to see Canseco. ``He
was the best player in the game for a long time,'' Watson said. ``Look
what's he's done. It's incredible.''

Each time Canseco batted during Wednesday's game, fans broke out with
cheers of ``Go, go, go, Jose!'' He responded by driving in a run, albeit on
a first-inning groundout.

Canseco thinks he's got two or three good seasons left. If that means
spending all year with the Knights in hopes of proving himself again to
major league teams, he says, ``That's what I'm going to do. I want to play.
I know I can do it.''

==========
From the Charlotte Observer:
Canseco in major-league exile
By STAN OLSON
Staff Writer

FORT MILL - Jose Canseco has hit 462 major league home runs. He's in peak
physical condition, with cannonball biceps and a beer keg chest that tapers
to a sprinter's waist. Not quite 38, he's four years younger than Tim
Raines, five years younger than Rickey Henderson and seven years younger
than Jesse Orosco, all of whom are in the big leagues.

And yet Canseco is a Charlotte Knight.

If that surprises you, think of how Canseco feels. He says he has been told
by people in baseball -- players and team officials -- that he has been
blackballed from the game.

"I'm just repeating what other people have been telling me," Canseco said
before a recent game at Knights Stadium. "People have been telling me this
for a while, and I don't want to believe it.

"But I'm starting to believe it because they're saying it so much. Players
in general are starting to say, `We know what's going on, you're being
blackballed.' "

No one, though, can give him a reason why.

"I would understand if someone would say, `This is the reason why,' " he
said. "Maybe they're right, or maybe it's not reason enough, but I haven't
heard a reason yet."

Canseco went to spring training with the Montreal Expos. When they told him
he wouldn't make the team and offered him a minor-league assignment, he
declined. Then his agent called around, looking for a major league roster
spot. He would play for the minimum salary, he said. And yet no club seemed
to have a position available.

Which left Canseco incredulous.

"Are you going to tell me you have so many players you can pay minimum
salary to guys who are going to hit you 40 home runs and drive in 100 runs"
he said. "You must have a lot of those guys hanging around?"

Finally, three weeks into the season, the Chicago White Sox offered him a
spot with Charlotte. He had filled in ably for the injured Frank Thomas at
designated hitter in the second half of 2001, and Chicago general manager
Ken Williams appreciated his good work.

Chicago really doesn't have a position available since Thomas is healthy
again. But Williams likes Canseco enough to put him in Charlotte as an
injury insurance policy and to give him a chance to display his skills for
other teams.

"He was nothing but a quality guy for us," Williams said, and while he
knows of no concerted effort to keep Canseco out of the big leagues, he is
surprised Canseco can't find a job.

"The No. 1 thing is that he can still play; this is a guy that has
something to offer. And as far as other teams' interest or lack thereof, I
can't
explain it. I don't understand it."

There is a public perception of Canseco as something of a glamorous
goofball, a bit self-absorbed, perhaps. But his teammates tell another
story.

"I was actually kind of surprised; I didn't know what to expect with Jose
Canseco," said first baseman Chris Saunders. "But he's just one of the
guys, he fits in perfectly. He doesn't think he's any better than anyone
else. He's flying coach with the rest of us instead of first class. I
really respect that."

With Saunders enduring a slump on the last road trip, Canseco sat with him
on the bench, talked about hitting and being patient at the plate, and to
relax.

"He's got 17 years in the big leagues so he's got a lot of advice and he's
not afraid to share it with you," Saunders said. "He helped me so much,
telling me not to try to do too much and not to put so much pressure on
myself."

On a recent flight, Knights broadcaster Matt Swierad sat near Canseco and a
Knights player who has a fear of flying.

"Any kind of turbulence and the guy gets scared," Swierad said. "And Jose
was talking to him in Spanish and saying that it was no big deal, really
helping him."

Canseco, Swierad said, also takes the team bus to the airport with the
majority of the players, even though it means getting there 90 minutes
before he's required to arrive.

Canseco seemed surprised that his being a good teammate was a big deal to
the other Knights.

"I'm no better than these guys," he said. "I'm in Triple-A too and these
guys are trying to make it back up just like I am. We're all on the same
team, and we're all in it together. If I can help them out in any way to
get where they want to go, that's fine."

That has carried over. When Canseco reaches his black Lincoln Navigator
after games, there are always fans waiting, wanting autographs. He always
signs.

"Just around the clubhouse, he's been great," said relief pitcher Clay
Eason. "Especially for the young guys, hitting-wise. And I was pretty
surprised; most of the time, you look at power hitters. ... I didn't
realize how knowledgeable he was about the pitching aspect, about defense,
and everything in general."

About that defense. Part of Canseco's problem could be that some see him as
strictly a designated hitter, and thus limited to a single role in the
American League.

But he still has great speed, and was once a competent outfielder. Knights
manager Nick Capra says Canseco will play in the outfield as soon as he
rounds into game shape, and adds, "We've even got him taking ground balls
at first base."

That leaves some teams skeptical.

"The guy can't play defense," said one National League general manager, who
could not comment for attribution on another organization's players. "His
blackballing reaction is sour grapes. He's competitive, and lots of time
guys in Jose's position don't want to deal with reality.

"But at the same time, you have to be open-minded and check these things
out. There's always a chance of another Ruben Sierra being out there."

Sierra, now with Seattle, had been out of the majors since 1995, only to
resurface last year with his batting stroke restored.

Canseco, who has struggled with the Knights Stadium lighting but has hit
five home runs, believes he can do the same. And for little cost to the
team that finally believes in him. Meanwhile, he lives out of a suitcase in
a hotel, vowing to stay in Charlotte as long as it takes to be noticed
again, all season if necessary.

While he's here, he is keeping a low profile, listening to techno and
classic rock ("I like songs that remind me of certain times of my life"),
watching movies (action and sci-fi thrillers, baseball flicks like "A
League of Their Own," and "The Natural"), lifting weights and hanging with
his girlfriend, who visits occasionally from Miami.

All the time, thinking about getting back to the big leagues, where he once
was the best player in the game.

Canseco was struggling with allergies, coughing and snorting but still
talking earnestly in the Knights clubhouse, his words coming in staccato
bursts.

"I don't want to believe that a guy who is 38 home runs from 500 -- if I
get a whole year, I hit that with my eyes closed -- who still has three or
four good years in him, who can still put fans in the seats, who still can
put excitement into the game and help a team win, is being blackballed," he
said. "If it's true I just don't want to believe it.

"Eventually, it'll all come out. I believe somewhere down the line, it will
all be plain and simple. Does it make sense for me to be here? It's kind of
scary to believe that no teams are looking at me."

And you wonder; if Canseco already had those 500 home runs, would he still
be here? The question brought a slight smile in reply.

"Probably," he said. "I just love the game in its simple form; just playing
the game. Just like when you were a little kid. When you were a kid, you
didn't stretch; you didn't have all that other stuff. You just picked up
and you played.

"I still can't wait until the game starts."

==========
From the Charlotte Observer:
Canseco retires short of HR goal
By DENNY SEITZ

FORT MILL - Charlotte Knights slugger and former AL Most Valuable Player
Jose Canseco announced his retirement Monday.

Canseco, 37, struggled through much of his brief stint with the Charlotte
Knights, batting .172 with five home runs and nine RBIs in 18 games. He was
trying to earn his way back onto a major-league roster in hopes of reaching
the 500-home run mark.

Canseco's 462 home runs rank 22nd in history.

He spoke about missing his young daughter, though, and questioning whether
he had been blackballed by major-league teams.

"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 Nero, Canseco's agent.

Knights manager Nick Capra said, unlike many, he was not surprised by the news.

"He'd been contemplating this for the last couple of days," said Capra, who
learned of the retirement after the Knights' parent team -- the Chicago
White Sox -- relayed the news Monday. "I'm sure it was a very tough
decision for him to make."

A couple of dozen fans mulled around the locked doors of Knights Stadium
after the team's game against Toledo was postponed because of rain. They
were hoping to get one last glimpse of Canseco.

Meanwhile, Knights No. 33 jerseys with "Canseco" stitched on the back sat
on a chair in the teams' public relations office, instant collector's items.

Canseco retires as one of nine players with 400 home runs and 200 stolen
bases. A lifetime .266 hitter, he recorded 1,407 RBIs in 1,887 games with
Oakland (1985-92), Texas (1992-94), Boston (1995-96), Oakland (1997),
Toronto (1998), Tampa Bay (1999-2000), the Yankees (2000) and the White Sox
(2001).

In 1986, he earned AL Rookie of the Year honors, hitting 33 home runs with
117 RBIs. Two years later, he was a unanimous selection as MVP after
becoming the first player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases the same
season. His abilities and his off-the-field penchant for fast driving and
attention-grabbing behavior -- he had a fling with Madonna -- found him
frequently in the spotlight.

"Whether we were home or away, people came to see him play," Capra said.
"The aura he brought to the game was unbelievable."

==========
From the Miami Herald:
Canseco swings -- and misses Hall call
By Jeff Miller - jamiller@...

So his career is over now, and he ends up short, a most inappropriate
resting place for the final swing of José Canseco.

How could a man who hit baseballs to the tops of domed stadiums and into
the parking lots of open-air ones finish short? How could this burly
one-time ''Bash Brother'' turn out to be not quite strong enough?

There were injuries, way too many injuries, and distractions, way too many
of those, as well, and, Canseco wants us to believe, a conspiracy, too.
That's why he disappears in oblivion, his last uniform being issued by the
Charlotte Knights, a personality so major going out with a team so minor.

Two weeks ago, Canseco told this newspaper he was being blackballed by
baseball's executives. Why? That revelation would come later, he explained,
perhaps in one of those diss-and-tell books. But, he promised, he would not
quit.

On Monday, Canseco quit, saying goodbye in a statement released through a
team -- the White Sox, parent club of the Knights -- he wasn't playing for,
in words that belonged to someone else, his agent, Alan Nero.

This also was inappropriate, yet it somehow was strangely predictable for a
player who never seemed to find the smoothest path, the easiest way.
Canseco could run remarkably well for a man his size, but, unless he was
stealing second, he rarely took a straight line.

So he ends up short, his 462 home runs 38 swings from the number that would
have carried him into the Hall of Fame. As for his wild-card chances at
Cooperstown, sorry, but Canseco is short again.

He finishes with a career batting average of .266. Among the enshrined
power hitters, only Reggie Jackson (.262) and Harmon Killebrew (.256) had
lower averages. Both, of course, surpassed 500 home runs.

Canseco had 1,877 hits during his 17 seasons. There are 270 players with
more, including Ruben Sierra, Dante Bichette and Steve Finley.

Canseco's signature was the way he blended speed with power. He gave
baseball the term ''40-40,'' a reference to 40 home runs and 40 stolen
bases in the same season. Only eight other players have had 400 homers and
200 steals. Of that group, seven are in the Hall of Fame or headed there.

The eighth, Andre Dawson, was named on fewer than half of the most recent
ballots, and his career statistics -- in nearly 800 more games than the
too-fragile Canseco -- are superior in almost every category.

If not in bronze, then how are we to remember the career of this man? Some
might suggest Styrofoam, noting how Canseco's sculpted body so often
betrayed him, those muscles not nearly as imposing while on the disabled list.

Others will choose to dismiss all the home runs he hit with his bat in
favor of the one he hit with his head. They also will talk about the day he
pitched for the Texas Rangers, leaving a blown-out elbow and washed-out
season on the mound.

Funny? Yes. But unfair, as well. Compacting Canseco in such a way -- and
those last two incidents did occur on the same road trip -- is as effective
as describing a thunderstorm by the first few rain drops.

No, to appreciate Canseco we must remember all of him, from his violent
swing to his volatile relationships, from his days with McGwire to his
nights with Madonna, from his tape-measure highlights to his brain-lock
lowlights.

Because Canseco was much more than a baseball player, his persona always
seeping beyond the foul lines. From his rookie year, he was larger than
almost everyone around him. He was bigger physically, too.

Face it, even today, even as he was cast aside in Triple A, how many
players are genuinely more compelling? If Canseco came to the plate right
now, matched against, say, Curt Schilling, wouldn't you watch?

Remember him that way, as a photo taken with a wide-angle lens. Remember
him as one of the most exciting players in the game. Remember him as one of
the most exciting players out of the game.

Hall of Famer?

No.

Entertainer?

Yes.

First ballot.

====================================
From the Miami Herald:
Canseco throws in the towel
1988 AL MVP from Miami retires 38 homers shy of 500
By JUAN C. RODRIGUEZ - jrodriguez@...

END OF THE ROAD: Jose Canseco was a unanimous choice for MVP with the
Oakland Athletics in 1988, when he became the first player with 40 home
runs and stolen bases in a season.

With neither a membership in the 500 home run club nor a reservation for
the Hall of Fame, Miami slugger José Canseco quietly retired from
professional baseball Monday.

Canseco, 37, renounced his bid to return to the majors and log the 38
homers he needed to reach 500. Most recently, he was toiling in the Chicago
White Sox organization, hitting .172 (11 for 64) with five homers and nine
RBI in 18 games with Charlotte (N.C.) of the Triple A International League.

In a prepared statement released by the White Sox, Canseco's agent, Alan
Nero, said, ``José 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.''

Nero did not return a phone message.

The Cuban-born Canseco spent 17 years in the majors with seven teams. In
1986, he won American League Rookie of the Year honors with Oakland. Two
years later, Canseco was the unanimous AL MVP after becoming the first
player to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in a season.

The ''Bash Brothers'' tandem of Canseco and Mark McGwire led Oakland to
three consecutive American League pennants and a World Series title in 1989.

This season began with Canseco at No. 22 on the career home run list with
462. Sammy Sosa (465) has since leapfrogged him, with Ken Griffey Jr.
(461), Rafael Palmeiro (455) and Fred McGriff (451) close behind. Though
he's one of nine players to total 400 homers and 200 steals, even Canseco
had acknowledged 500 homers was the way into Cooperstown.

Canseco's plate appearances produced ''oohs'' and ''aahs'' well before
McGwire started sending pitches into other zip codes. After his MVP season,
Canseco signed what was then the most lucrative deal in baseball: $23
million over five years.

Canseco never denied being worth every penny. He once said fans would
rather pay to watch him strike out than see Wade Boggs hit opposite-field
singles.

''I thought he was the most complete athlete I've ever managed,'' said Tony
La Russa, Canseco's manager in Oakland. ``This guy really could run and
when he was concentrating, play defense. . . . Injuries just took the
important part of his career from him.''

A product of Coral Park High, Canseco struck out plenty. His 1,942 whiffs
is second only to Reggie Jackson's 2,597.

Once among South Florida's most popular resident athletes, Canseco grew up
in Miami, where a street (Southwest 16th) bore his name from 1988-2000. He
ultimately moved to Weston and sold his mansion there two years ago before
buying a Brickell Avenue condominium.

Canseco's personal life was no less eventful than his on-field exploits.
Linked to late-night visits with Madonna and arrested for everything from
gun possession to domestic violence to nightclub brawls, Canseco is
divorced twice and the father of a 5-year-old daughter, Josie.

Canseco's last full season came in 2000, when he batted .252 with 15 homers
and 49 RBI in 98 games with Tampa Bay and the New York Yankees. He totaled
a career 1,407 RBI and 200 steals in 1,887 games.

Released by the Anaheim Angels during spring training last year, Canseco
played for the Newark (N.J.) Bears of the Atlantic League before joining
the White Sox midway through the season.

After hitting .258 with 16 homers and 49 RBI, Canseco never conceived of
not finding a big-league home in 2002. He agreed to a minor-league deal
with the Montreal Expos and was released in late March after hitting .200
with three homers and five RBI in 14 spring training games.

Deteriorating defensive skills made Canseco a liability in the outfield.
Despite all his accomplishments, he is probably best known for a fly ball
bouncing off his head and over an outfield wall at Cleveland's Municipal
Stadium in 1993.

Except for spot starts, he was exclusively a designated hitter in the final
years of his career.

During an interview with The Herald two weeks ago, Canseco speculated he
was being blackballed.

''This is very hurtful, very stressful, very depressing, very demeaning,''
Canseco said of his latest stint in the minors. ``If I don't play baseball
anymore it's because they've finally kicked me out of the game. . . . I
can't believe or understand why nobody will touch a guy who will give them
40 or 50 homers a year, guaranteed.

``It's shocking, terrifying, depressing.''

Arguably the game's best player in the late 1980s, Canseco garnered
rock-star popularity thanks to his violent swing and tape-measure home
runs. Former Athletics teammate Walt Weiss once likened road trips with
Canseco to traveling with Elvis Presley.

==========
From CBS Sporsline:
Canseco has no chance in Hall to reach Cooperstown
May 13, 2002
By Scott Miller

Had he hung around longer, finagled more playing time and finally joined
the 500-home run club like he hoped to, Jose Canseco still would not have
been a Hall of Famer.

At least, he wouldn't be listed on my ballot when the time came -- and I'm
pretty sure I'm not alone here.

Canseco, who broke into the majors with Oakland in 1985, was a terrific
player during his prime who hit home runs of epic proportions and often
created excitement on the bases. He retired Monday as one of only nine
players in history to have crossed the thresholds of both 400 homers (he
finishes with 462) and 200 thefts (he had 200 on the button).

Yet even at that, Canseco simply was not a Hall-caliber player.

One of Cooperstown's greatest assets is that, unlike halls of fame in other
sports, it is an extremely difficult destination that can only be reached
by meeting exceptionally high standards. And despite his credentials in
some areas, Canseco's iron glove will be weighed heavily against him when
he becomes eligible for the Hall in five years -- as it should.

The lasting image of Canseco in the field will be of the fly ball that
bounced off of his head and over the fence for a home run during a game in
Cleveland in 1992.

Still tilting at windmills this spring, Canseco came to camp with the
Montreal Expos before being released, then signed a minor-league deal with
the Chicago White Sox.

Just the other day, he said if he had to stick around and become the Crash
Davis of the minors -- the fictional character from the movie Bull Durham
who held the all-time minor-league homer record -- he'd do it.

Monday, he apparently changed his mind. Which, I think, is much better than
him extending his career indefinitely in search of that 500th homer under
the delusion that it would secure him a place in Cooperstown.

"I've always felt being inducted into the Hall of Fame is very special --
very, very special,'' Montreal manager Frank Robinson, a Hall of Famer
himself whose 586 home runs rank fourth all time in the majors, said Monday
after hearing news of Canseco's retirement. "When you use the term
'superstar,' to me you're talking about someone who stands above the pack,
an elite-type player.

"He had a very good career. He was a proficient long-ball hitter. But I
don't think you go into the Hall of Fame because of one number -- 500 home
runs, or 3,000 hits.

"I think the Hall of Fame means, 'You were outstanding.'"

==========
From Fox Sports:
Rome: Jose Canseco was a True Classic
BY JIM ROME
May. 14, 2002

It's a dark day here in the jungle. Jungle legend Jose Canseco is going
into his own personal operation shutdown, calling off his pursuit of 500
bombs and retiring at age 38.

Sadly, his 462 bombs probably won't be enough to get him into Cooperstown.

Now, while my man might not be a hall of famer in person, he certainly is
in personality. The guy was larger than life. There was nobody like Jose
Canseco.

We're talking about the sport's first 40-40 guy ... guys that big and that
strong are not supposed to run like that. And speaking of running, who will
ever forget Jose telling me on this show that he ran a 4.2 40. A 4.2 40!
Jesse Owens never ran a 4.2 40. Secretariat never ran a 4.2 40.

Jose also insisted that he had never been thrown out at the plate. Los
Angeles Dodger outfielder Shawn Green told me once he and his fellow
teammates in the outfield would always play in because they wanted to be
the one to hose him at the plate.

His bat speed was frightening. His power legendary. Time stood still when
this guy got into the box. And on top of that, he was part of two of the
most legendary plays in the history of the game. Once, when he bounced a
ball of his coconut over the outfield wall for a homerun; a feat that will
never be duplicated. And of course, there was the time he blew out his
elbow throwing 95 mile per hour knuckleballs in relief, an event which
would have been hilarious had it not cost him even more time on the shelf
and a possible shot at 500.

And as legendary as his exploits were between the lines, they were often
times even more impressive off the field: the fast cars, the fast women, a
few trips around the block with Madonna, the run-ins with the law, him
crashing his first wife's car, authorities coming down on him for having a
gun in his car, the fact that he may have been the first athlete ever with
a 900 number to chronicle his own exploits, the time he brought a land
tortoise into the A's clubhouse, stop me when you've heard enough.

Oh and one more thought about Jose: at times, he may have seemed like a
circus and possibly not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'm here to tell
you the guy is very bright, and always the most popular guy in any
clubhouse. Injuries probably will deprive him of a shot at Cooperstown, but
for my money this guy is a hall of fame personality.

There will never be another like Jose. Jose Canseco is a bonafide classic.

==========
From tuscaloosanews.com:
It was never difficult to be a Jose Canseco fan
By Chris Olds (another member of this email list)
May 14, 2002

Psst ... Let me tell you a little secret that most sports writers won’t
ever divulge. They’ll never admit it, at least in print, and they’ll
probably deny it after they say so.

Everybody has a favorite baseball player.

If you haven’t read the above headline yet, it’s not tough for me to admit
I’m a fan of the guy who brought biceps and half of the Bash Brothers to
baseball. I’m a fan of the guy who was the first to hit 40 home runs and
steal 40 bases in a season. I’m a fan of the guy who, until his retirement
Monday evening, was at Triple A just trying to make it back to the majors.

I’m a fan of Jose Canseco.

He’s the guy who never seemed to wear his hat unless he was on the field or
at the plate to hit a 500-foot home run. He’s the guy who, before a
powerful sweeping swing, would twitch his neck and blink his eyes at the
plate. He’s also the guy who, in his early days, had his share of bad
press. He’s also the guy who should eventually make it into the Hall of Fame.

He is my baseball hero.

Canseco, 37, hit 462 home runs during a 17-year career in the majors for
the A’s, Rangers, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Devil Rays, Yankees and White Sox.
(He signed with the Angels last spring and the Expos this spring, but did
not play for either team.)

In 1985, Canseco was named the Southern League MVP as a member of the
Huntsville Stars, hitting 25 homers and driving in 80 runs in only 58
games. He also hit .318. The next season, he was named the American League
Rookie of the Year.

By 1988, he was the best player in the world and was a unanimous pick as
the AL Most Valuable Player after one of the best seasons in history.
Canseco has two World Series rings, one as a superstar right fielder with
the A’s in 1989 and one as a backup designated hitter with the Yankees in
2000.

Before Sammy Sosa surpassed him this season, Canseco’s homers were the most
by a player born outside the United States. (He was born in Havana, Cuba,
and grew up in Miami, Fla.)

As a designated hitter for the Charlotte Knights in the White Sox
organization, Canseco wasn’t playing for the money that he once drew as the
game’s highest-paid player. He was just playing his way back to The Show so
he could get 38 more Canseco-sized hits to join the 500 home run club and
help his chances of making it to Cooperstown.

He hit .172 with five home runs and nine RBI in 18 minor league games this
season.

"I’m no better than these guys," Canseco told The Associated Press last
week. "They’re in Triple A, too, trying to make it up. We’re all teammates.
We’re all in this together."

As a kid, I remember my first card was Canseco’s 1987 Topps. It’s No. 620
-- a number that goes right there with 33 (his original uniform number),
.307 (his career-high batting average in 1988) and 46 (his career high in
home runs in 1998). That card is one that stands out today; his green
jersey and the Topps All-Star Rookie team trophy forever etched into my memory.

Just like when I saw him play.

I grew up a day’s drive from Denver, Colo., so I got the chance to see
Canseco play only once. (I had tickets for an A’s-Rockies interleague
series at Coors Field in 1997, but Canseco didn’t make the trip because of
an injury.) Seven years ago, I saw him play during a family trip to Cleveland.

He went 0-for-4 for the Red Sox, but hit a few homers in batting practice.
He didn’t sign any autographs because it was the day after a group of
autograph seekers got more than pushy in Pawtucket, R.I., during his
well-publicized injury rehab assignment.

Even then, I was lucky to see him play.

I haven’t met Canseco, and I don’t have a shrine or Web site dedicated to
him. But my personal collection has always centered around him. Nearly all
of my Ken Griffey Jr., Bo Jackson and Nolan Ryan cards were traded for what
were always just called "Joses" instead of cards.

Years ago, I received a signed baseball as a birthday present. After that,
I used my paycheck from a part-time job bagging groceries to buy a signed bat.

Forget all of the cards and autographs, my dream item (one that still
eludes me) is a bat that he actually used during a game. I guess now
there’s a limited number of those, too.

No one has ever heard this before -- consider it another one of those
sports writer secrets -- but one of those abstract, hyperidealized reasons
I got into journalism was so I could, somehow, cast just one Hall of Fame
vote for Canseco. Does admitting this hurt my chances of joining the
Baseball Writers’ Association of America? Maybe, but my first requirement
would probably be to write about baseball rather than baseball cards and
memorabilia.

So, does Canseco have a shot at Cooperstown? I believe so, even without 500
homers. He was part of a dynasty (Oakland, 1988-1990). He brought more
power to the majors and about half of his home runs came before the power
explosion sparked by expansion.

Even after his MVP glory had passed and injuries really caught up with him,
he put up surprisingly solid power numbers during the 1990s.

Among active players at the time of his retirement, only Barry Bonds and
Sosa have more home runs. He’s 22nd on the career list and has the
eighth-highest home run total in American League history.

He is also one of only nine players to steal 200 bases and hit 400 home runs.

Canseco’s 1,407 RBI trailed only Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro and Fred McGriff
among active players.

As a whole, his statistics compare favorably with Reggie Jackson, McGriff,
Willie Stargell, Harmon Killebrew, Griffey Jr. and Sosa -- all Hall of Fame
material.

Let me also put an end to one myth, too. Although he was the active career
leader in strikeouts (1,942), he led the majors in strikeouts only one
time. With Canseco’s retirement, Andres Galarraga is now the active leader
(1,867).

Canseco knows his injuries have derailed a sure shot at the Hall. Perhaps a
comeback may be in the works sometime if a team needs a designated hitter?

I can only dream -- I’ll be there if it happens. After all, he was set on
joining the 500 home run club long ago.

"Before I die, I am going to hit those 500 home runs," Canseco told ESPN’s
"Up Close" in 1999 after back surgery that prevented him from playing in
his sixth All-Star game.

"I’ve probably gone through more ups and downs than any player in the
history of the game," he said. "I’ve been the worst player in the world
with injuries."

At that time, Canseco was projected to hit his 500th home run in June of
this season.

Next month, he’ll be enjoying the start of a new game -- retirement -- and
I’ll have to figure out how to watch baseball without him.

So long, Jose. It’s been a bash.

Chris Olds has collected sports cards and memorabilia since 1987. Have a
question or idea? Send e-mail to chris.olds@.... His column
appears each Tuesday in The Tuscaloosa News.

==========
From www.-billy-ball.com (another subscriber of this list, actually)
May 14, 2002

Top of the 3rd
NO WAY JOSE
Well, it looks like he’s gone. Jose Canseco yesterday announced his
retirement (I say “looks like” because you have to figure with a mercurial
personality like Jose, if he gets another offer he’ll jump back into the
pool). Alan Nero, Canseco's agent said, "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." Billy-Ball says,
in 17 games with the Knights, Canseco has hit five homers, tying him for
the team lead but he drove in just nine runs, and was batting a weak .186
(11-for-59) with 19 strikeouts. Canseco retirement leaves him with 38
homers short of 500, 22nd on the career list, three behind Dave Winfield.
He's one of only nine players in history with 400 homers and 200 stolen
bases. He played for Oakland, Texas, Boston, Toronto, Tampa Bay, the New
York Yankees and the White Sox and ends his career with a .266 batting
average and five years from now he’ll watch fellow “Bash Brother” Mark
McGwire get inducted into the Hall of Fame from the audience just like the
rest of us schlubs.

==========
From ESPN.com:
Retired slugger says he plans to write tell-all book

A day after announcing his retirement from baseball, Jose Canseco told ESPN
Radio's Dan Patrick that he plans to write a tell-all book that will "name
names" about Major League Baseball regarding women, steroids and more.

Canseco did not say whether or not he took steroids. He did acknowledge,
however, that it's fair to say that steroids revolutionized baseball during
his era.

Hampered by injuries in recent years, the former AL MVP retired 38 homers
shy of the 500 mark he'd hoped to reach to bolster his Hall of Fame chances.

The 37-year-old Canseco finished 22nd on the career list with 462 home
runs. He was the first to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in a season, and
he's one of only nine players in history with 400 home runs and 200 stolen
bases.

"I know he wanted to get to 500 home runs, but that's not important. He
should still be proud of himself," Mets catcher Mike Piazza said. "He
really did a lot to further the game and raise the bar for all the players
today."

A career .266 hitter, he finishes with 1,407 RBI and 200 stolen bases in
1,887 games with Oakland, Texas, Boston, Toronto, Tampa Bay, the New York
Yankees and the White Sox.

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

Most recently, he'd been playing at Triple-A Charlotte. He was hitting .172
with five home runs and nine RBI in 18 games.