It's a simple question that has a simple answer: Who can outslug Jose Canseco?

Mike Piazza? Nope.
Mark McGwire? Sorry, Mac.
How about Chipper Jones? Not this time, kid.
Rafael Palmeiro? I don't think so.

So who CAN outslug Jose Canseco??? No one. That's right, NO ONE.

Jose did it! He beat them all, hitting a total of 55 homers in 24 innings
- 27 in three five inning games (two went to extra innings) and an amazing
28 in the nine inning final. Not only was he hitting a lot of homers, but
he was hitting LONG, TOWERING homers. He hit a ball high up on a the
scoreboard that's base is 474 feet from home plate. He hit a ball off of
the 185 foot high lights that were 330 feet from home. He hit balls to
center field, to left center, and down the line. He hit high flies, and he
hit line drives that just kept going up. He did it all, and with dramatic
fashion.

Jose hit four homers in his final at bat to beat Mike Piazza and came
through in extra innings against McGwire and Chipper Jones. At one point
in the final game against Palmeiro, en route to hitting EIGHT homers in one
inning (more than any other player), the entire crowd was on their feet
chanting "Jo-se, Jo-se" and bowing. That instant may have been my greatest
Jose moment ever, right up there with the hecklers and the bullseye in
Chicago story. I'm proud to say I shouted so much this weekend that my
throat hurt this morning. I can *guarantee* you'll be able to hear me on ESPN.

Speaking of ESPN, they will be airing 10 half hour segments (three
involving Jose) and a full hour show (with Jose at his best) later this
year. Don't worry, I'll remind you before they air. I was going to go
into every matchup and tell you all the details, but I think I've told you
enough already - it will be more fun for you if I don't, and let you see
for yourself on ESPN.

Let me just tell you this - no matter what you do, make sure you tape the
one hour final featuring Jose against Rafael Palmeiro. Palmeiro actually
put up a fight, but he still managed to lose with a respectable 15 homers
to Jose's 28. That, my friends, is a Home Run Derby record that will stand
for many years to come. Mark my words.

I went through four rolls of film, so I hope to have a lot of good photos
to scan and add to Canseconet.com soon. I also held up my Canseconet.com
sign, with the help of my friend Jeff, and Tera and Tom who I met in
Vegas. Hopefully we'll get a little air time on ESPN.

If this weekend was any sign of what's to come for Jose this year, well,
let's put it this way - I'm just glad I'm not an AL pitcher.

Below are a bunch of articles recapping this weekend's events.

Take it easy,
Mark

P.S. Hello to Tera, Lindsay, Tom, Theresa, Val, and Carol - it was great
meeting you all! See ya next year...

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From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Challenge loses 1-2 punch: McGwire eliminated, Sosa ill
By Mark Anderson
Big League Challenge will not have its top two headliners today.

Sammy Sosa withdrew from the event at Cashman Field after flu forced him to
go to Valley Hospital on Saturday morning, and later in the day Mark
McGwire was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Jose Canseco, 9-8.

Sosa began to feel ill late Friday night or early Saturday morning. He
awoke at 6 a.m. to exercise, and his condition worsened.

Sosa, who reportedly had a fever, was taken to the hospital, where he
underwent a chest X-ray, blood test and physical exam, said Domingo
Dauhajre, Sosa's business manager. All signs, Dauhajre said, indicated the
flu.

As for a rumor Sosa had a racing heart, Dauhajre said, "No, nothing like
that. It was completely the flu, and he's going to be completely OK."

Sosa, who was the No. 2 seed, hit 63 home runs last season for the Chicago
Cubs. That followed his breakout year in 1998, when he belted 66.

Andruw Jones, who hit 26 homers for the Atlanta Braves last season, took
Sosa's place.

"I really don't belong, but I'm just happy to be here with all the guys,"
Jones said before facing No. 7 seed Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"They're going to be out here embarrassing me when they hit those 400- and
500-foot home runs and you're hitting those line drives to the infield."
Jones actually beat Green, using a five-homer sixth to win, 11-7.

McGwire, the No. 1 seed, almost beat out Canseco to advance to today's
semifinals and final. They were 8-8 going into the sixth, an extra inning.
Then Canseco, the No. 9 seed who hit 34 homers for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
last season, won with a homer in the sixth.

McGwire, who hit 65 homers last season for the St. Louis Cardinals after
setting the major-league record the year before with 70, just missed tying
Canseco when his final attempt bounced high off the left-field wall.

==========
From the AP:
Flu knocks Sosa from ESPN's homer contest
BASEBALL NOTES: Canseco eliminates former teammate McGwire, 9-8, in Las Vegas.
February 13, 2000

Sammy Sosa was forced out of a home run hitting contest with flu-like
symptoms that sent him to a Las Vegas hospital Saturday, while Mark McGwire
was knocked out by his former Bash Brother.

Baseball's two biggest sluggers were eliminated from the made-for-TV
contest — similar to Home Run Derby — to be shown in March by ESPN.

Sosa never made it to Cashman Field, going to Valley Hospital for tests
after complaining of flu-like symptoms. He was treated and released.

McGwire, meanwhile, lost by one home run to Jose Canseco, his former
Oakland A's teammate in the quarterfinals, 9-8. Andruw Jones, substituting
for Sosa, beat Shawn Green of the Dodgers.

Jones made it into today's semifinals, where he will face Rafael Palmeiro.
The other semifinal features Chipper Jones against Canseco.

==========
From the AP:

...McGwire, meanwhile, lost by one home run to Jose Canseco, his former
Oakland A' s teammate in the quarterfinals.

Many in the capacity crowd left after Canseco hit nine home runs to eight
for McGwire. They didn' t get to see Andruw Jones, substituting for Sosa,
beat Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the final contest of the day.

Fans groaned when it was announced that Sosa would be replaced by Jones.
Sosa was the 1998 NL MVP when he hit 66 homers, and he hit 63 last season.

Sosa was the No. 2 seed in the contest behind McGwire. Ken Griffey Jr.,
originally scheduled to take part in the 12-man field, was replaced earlier
in the week by former Seattle teammate Alex Rodriguez.

Jones made it into Sunday' s semifinals, where he will face Rafael
Palmeiro. The other semifinal features Chipper Jones of the Braves against
Canseco.

==========
From CNN/SI:
Classic Canseco
Jose displays midseason form in home run contest
February 13, 2000 11:02 PM

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Jose Canseco warmed up for the start of spring training
with some mammoth shots Sunday to beat Rafael Palmeiro in the finals of a
home run hitting contest.

Canseco excited the crowd at Cashman Field by hitting 28 home runs -- most
clearing the fence by large margins -- in the final to 15 for Palmeiro.

Earlier in the day, Canseco beat Chipper Jones 7-6 to get to the finals,
while Palmeiro beat Andruw Jones 8-5.

Canseco had hit 27 home runs in three 5-inning games entering the
nine-inning final. He hit one more than his total to easily beat Palmeiro.
The made-for-TV contest featured 12 of baseball's top home run hitters. It
will be televised by ESPN in March.

On Saturday, Canseco eliminated his former Bash Brother Mark McGwire. Sammy
Sosa was to have competed, but fell ill and had to be treated at a local
hospital.

The players were guaranteed a $100,000 appearance fee for the contest
sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association. Other proceeds
went to charity.

==========
From the Arizona Daily Star:
Canseco bashes Palmeiro to win HR contest

LAS VEGAS - Jose Canseco warmed up for the start of spring training with
some mammoth shots yesterday to beat Rafael Palmeiro in the finals of a
home run hitting contest.

Canseco excited the crowd at Cashman Field by hitting 28 home runs - most
clearing the fence by large margins - in the final to 15 for Palmeiro.

Earlier in the day, Canseco beat Chipper Jones 7-6 to get to the finals,
while Palmeiro beat Andruw Jones 8-5.

Canseco had hit 27 home runs in three 5-inning games entering the
nine-inning final. He hit one more than his total to easily beat Palmeiro.
The made-for-TV contest featured 12 of baseball's top home run hitters. It
will be televised by ESPN in March.

On Saturday, Canseco eliminated his former Bash Brother Mark McGwire .
Sammy Sosa was to have competed, but fell ill and had to be treated at a
local hospital.

The players were guaranteed a $100,000 appearance fee for the contest
sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association. Other proceeds
went to charity.

==========
From the Las Vegas Sun:
Homerin' Jose
Canseco puts on awesome display with 28 bombs in finals
By Steve Guiremand
steveg@...

Even though he was almost 500 feet away from home plate, you could make a
pretty good argument that Christian Falter had one of the best seats in the
house for the finals of the Big League Challenge home run-hitting contest
Sunday afternoon at Cashman Field.

Falter and 24 of his Centennial High School baseball teammates were
enlisted to help shag balls. And it was Falter and several of his teammates
who were standing on top of the berm behind the left-field fence when Jose
Canseco put on an awesome home run-hitting display to defeat Rafael
Palmeiro 28-15 in Sunday's championship final.

Canseco, who needed extra innings to defeat Chipper Jones 7-6 in the
semifinals, hit 21 home runs over one four-inning span in the finals, many
of which sailed over the berm that Falter and company were patrolling about
475 feet away. At least one Canseco drive made it all the way across
Washington Avenue some 600 feet away.

"I just got into my groove," said Canseco, who finished with some badly
blistered hands as well as a nice crystal championship trophy.
"You'd be standing up there and see the ball get hit and the next thing you
knew it would be flying by you," Falter said. "There were a couple of those
drives that if it would have hit you, you might have continued sailing
along with it. One of my friends did get a glove on one, but the ball just
popped right out because it was hit so hard."

"It was unreal," added Brett Allen, a Centennial High assistant who also
was on the left-field berm. "It was just one after another (over the berm
by Canseco). If they weren't clearing the lights, they'd be going off of or
over the scoreboard. It was incredible to see."

Especially when you consider the scoreboard has been measured at 474 feet
away from home plate.

"The one that really blew me away was the one (Canseco) hit on Saturday
morning which hit the top of the light tower," Allen said. That light tower
measures 185 feet above the left-field fence.

Falter and his teammates didn't get to keep any of the balls they shagged.

"They took them away to be auctioned off at charity," he said.

Still, Falter and his teammates managed to snag autographs from Jones and
Palmeiro.

"Both were great guys, very down-to-earth," Falter said.

And the players will no doubt be celebrities around Centennial High when
the home run series airs on ESPN and ESPN2 in late March. Thanks to
Canseco's monster blasts, they seemed to get about as much air time as the
players.

* BIG LEAGUE CHALLENGE NOTES: About 300 fans stayed around afterward to
chant, "Jose, Jose" outside the locker room as Canseco made his way to his
limousine, signing about a dozen autographs along the way. ... Richard
White, general manager of licensing and marketing for the MLB Players
Association and the main man who organized the competition, said he was
"very pleased" with the way the weekend went and that another Big League
Challenge would be held at Cashman Field in 2001. "I can't say enough about
the Las Vegas Stars and the LVCVA and their help in putting this on," he
said. ... White said that Chicago Cubs star Sammy Sosa, who was forced to
withdraw from this year's competition after coming down with a bad case of
the flu early Saturday morning, "has already told me he wants to come back
next year and participate." ... Mark McGwire, owner of basebal l's
single-season home run record, was defeated by Canseco in Saturday's
quarterfinals. Ken Griffey Jr., who has the best shot among active players
to ecli pse Hank Aaron's career home run record, pulled out of the Big
League Challenge more than a week before the event amid talk that he would
be traded from Seattle to Cincinnati. That deal was completed Thursday. ...
ESPN2's coverage , which consists of 10 30-minute shows and one 60-minute
finale, will begin on Monday, March 20, at 2:30 p.m, and will run each
weekday at the same time. The final round will be shown on Friday, March
31, at 3 p.m. ESPN will also air the series on 11 consecutive Thursdays
beginning on April 6 at 4 p.m.

==========
From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Canseco's 28 homers win contest
By Mark Anderson

Even Jose Canseco was surprised.

He hit 21 home runs over a four-inning stretch Sunday to beat Texas Rangers
standout Rafael Palmeiro 28-15 and win the inaugural Big League Challenge
before a sold-out crowd estimated at about 8,500 in actual attendance at
Cashman Field.

"If somebody had told me Raffy would've lost after hitting 15 home runs, I
would've said, `No way,' " said Canseco, who hit 34 homers for the Tampa
Bay Devil Rays last season. "I thought 15 home runs would win it."

The home run-hitting contest went from five innings to nine for the final.
Canseco, who was seeded No. 9, rallied from an 11-7 deficit after four
innings with his tear over the next four innings.

Included was an eight-homer performance in the seventh inning that was the
weekend high from any competitor. The display brought the crowd to its feet
with chants of "Jose."

"He had a lot of great innings, not just that one," said Palmeiro, the No.
3 seed who hit 47 homers last season. "Every inning was incredible."

Canseco reached the final by beating No. 4 Chipper Jones of the Atlanta
Braves 7-6, and Palmeiro defeated alternate Andruw Jones of the Braves, 8-5.

Part of the proceeds from the event go to the Players Trust for Children,
which will contribute to a children's charity in Las Vegas.

=============
Mark Petrillo
mark@...
Canseconet.com - The Jose Canseco Site