(Note: I tried to send this 2 days ago, but apparently screwed up. Let's
try this again).

Hey Cansecoites...

I know this year has been pretty disappointing for us Jose fans, so I
wanted to send you something to help you remember the good times. What you
are about to read is being taken directly from an email I sent to this list
one year ago today.

As we all know, being a Canseco fan is like being on a roller coaster, full
of highs and lows. So far (and I stress "so far"), I would say this season
has been a low... So let us now take a few minutes to relive one of my
personal highs - quite possibly my all time favorite Jose Canseco story.

Have faith - there will be more "highs" ahead.

Enjoy!
Mark

P.S. Yes, Jose actually had 26 homers at this time last year. It's kind of
scary when you realize he's only hit 15 since then.

==========
From this email list:
[Canseconet.com] Are you ready for a REALLY good story?
Friday, June 18, 1999

Hey everyone,

As you know, I was in Chicago for all three of Jose's games this week, and
I had a GREAT time! I have a lot to tell you about, and I'm not sure
exactly where to begin, so let's just start at the beginning...

Monday:
After fighting traffic for about an hour, I arrived at the park Monday
night around 6:00. The Devil Rays were in the middle of Batting Practice,
and I immediately spotted Jose - he was hitting balls into a net behind
home plate. It was a GREAT photo opportunity, but stupid me left my camera
600 miles away. Ooops.

I headed out to the seats in left field in hopes of catching a Jose BP
homer. Soon enough, he started launching balls, one after another. It was
really cool to see everyone out there stand up, move back, and get ready
every time he stepped into the cage. The ooohs and ahhhs were pretty cool too.

I didn't end up with any home run balls, but it was still fun to watch. The
only player I MIGHT rather see take BP would be McGwire. After the Devil
Rays finished hitting, I went and got something to eat and was walking
casually around the stadium. I just so happened to glance down to
the field, and what do I see? You're not gonna believe this, but Jose was
signing autographs for the fans between the dugout and the screen behind
home plate. I couldn't believe it, because most of the emails I get from
people who've seen Jose at games say he doesn't sign during BP.

I headed down to the field, and leaned casually against the screen behind
home plate. As you know, I met Jose last year, so I was wondering if he'd
remember me. (If you don't know that story, it's at
http://www.canseconet.com/memories.htm - right above where this story is
going to go when I'm done typing it). I stood there patiently as Jose
signed a LOT of autographs and even had his picture taken with a couple of
people. Thinking Jose might not see me at all, I decided to get out my
Canseconet.com sign (it's probably 15 feet long) and toss it onto the field
to get his attention. I did, but the sign was so big, all you could read
was "Canse", give or take a letter.

When Jose was within 5 feet of me, I said "Hey Jose, do you remember me?"
He looked up, and to my surprise recognized me immediately. He said "Yeah,
how are you doing? I visit the site a lot." Needless to say, I was damn
impressed he remembered me. I asked, "Do you like the site?" and he said
"Yeah, it looks really good."

He continued to sign autographs while we talked. I told him he was having
a great year and asked if he was going to hit one that night. He sort of
nodded and mumbled "yeah." I was totally unprepared to get an autograph -
I was just happy to be talking to Jose. But then I realized no one would
believe I talked to him unless I got him to sign something (plus I really
wanted to rub it in to my friend Mark Saylor who was late for the game), so
I asked Jose if he would sign my sign. "Sure," he said. "Do you have a
sharpie?" DAMN. I was totally unprepared. hahaha... I started asking
around for a sharpie, and Jose said "Don't worry about it, I got it," and
he grabbed a pen from someone, put the sign on the padding below the
railing, and signed "Jose Canseco #33" between the 'a' and the 'n' in
Canseconet.com. You gotta love that. I patted Jose on the shoulder, said
"Thanks a lot, buddy (don't ask me where the "buddy" came from - it just
came out)... Have a good night tonight." And that was it.

If Jose went 0 for 12 with 10 strikeouts in Chicago, I still would have
considered the trip a success. He didn't. Actually, he was FAR from it.
Believe it or not, this story gets better...

So, I headed out to left field, where I told Mark (my friend from work) I'd
meet him. Mark didn't show up for Jose's first at bat, and the my signs
are too big for one person to hold, so I just had to sit there and watch as
Jose ripped a single into left. The third baseman got a glove on the ball,
but it was hit hard enough to get through.

1 for 1. Considering Jose was 0 for 5 when I saw him in Baltimore earlier
this year, we were already off to a good start.

Mark showed up before Jose's next at bat, and so did Karen McBride, a
member of this list. When Jose stepped up to the plate in the 3rd inning,
we held up the Jose bullseye and my Canseconet.com sign. We were booed a
little, but I'm used to it. Being heckled is half the fun. Jose walked.

1 for 1, with a walk.

A few minutes after the walk, a guy named Blase (another subscriber to this
list) and his girlfriend Jill showed up. They had seen us holding up
the sign, and decided to join us for the rest of the game.

Mark wasn't too big on the heckling, so Blase took his place for Jose's
next at bat. The heckling was significantly worse... Some guy actually
tried to pull the sign out of Blase's hand, but Blase would have none of
that... the guy ended up standing in front of the sign and trying to block
it, but when Jose HOMERED on the next pitch, he disappeared immediately. It
was great! Justice was served... One of the Comisky security guards who
came over in case there was a fight even said he was glad to see Jose go
deep just to shut that guy up. I've never seen a homer like this one
before. Jose was off balance and had a really weird swing - he literally
hit the ball with only one hand on the bat, and it just carried and carried
and carried...

2-2, homer, walk - already the best Canseco game I've seen in person.

I headed over to the left-center field bleachers in hopes of getting the
ball. The seats were pretty full, and when people saw me in my Canseco
Devil Rays shirt, they all started yelling at me. It was really pretty
funny... It's amazing how much those Sox fans will HATE you if they think
you're not rooting for their team. I found the kid (17 or 18 years old if
I had to guess) who got the ball and got his attention from the aisle. I
made the money sign with my fingers, and pointed to behind the bleacher
seats. He and a bunch of his buddies met me up there. I asked if the ball
was for sale, and he said "Yeah, 300 bucks." I laughed and told him "I'll
give ya 20." He walked away.

I was prepared to go up to $100 or so, so I told one of his friends to tell
him $50. He did, and the guy with the ball turned around and said "100
bucks." I told him to forget it and walked away. I figured he's realize
the ball would be worth nothing as soon as he left the stadium, so I'd give
him some time to think it over and head back later. When I went back
later, he was firm about the $100. I finally agreed, and then wouldn't you
know it, but the ball wasn't for sale anymore. Punk. I guarantee he
regrets that decision already.

Jose singled in his next AB, and we were getting booed pretty badly. Blase
shouted a few choice words back at one guy... It was really funny,
but I try to keep these email rated PG, so I won't quote him :) It's
interesting when there are a good 100-200 people yelling at you, shouting
"Jose sucks" and things like that. Jose singled.

3-3, homer, walk. Yeah, he sucks. Sure he does...

When the ninth inning started, the Devil Rays were losing pretty badly, and
it didn't look like Jose would get another at bat. 3 guys would have to
get on base, and seeing how Jose had 3 of the Rays 7 total hits for the
night, it didn't look good. Well, wouldn't you know it, but Jose had
another trip to the plate. We held up the signs with pride, receiving the
most boos/heckling we'd had all night. And remember our friend who stood
in front of the sign during Jose's first homer? Well, he was back, and he
had a few of friends with him this time. And then it happened. With 2 men
on, BOOM, Jose launched his second homer of the night! It was GREAT!!! I
patted the sign-blocker on the back and said "Thanks for the luck - you can
stand in front of this target any day." He left without saying a word.

The ball was thrown back and handed to a little kid by a security guard. I
didn't even try to get it.

4-4, 2 homers, 2 runs scored, 4 RBIs, and a walk. A perfect night. The
Devil Rays lost, but really, who cares? Jose was now leading the league
with 25 homers and batting a very impressive .311.

Tuesday:
Tuesday was pretty uneventful compared to Monday. Mark and I showed up for
BP and hung out in left field. Jose hit a bunch of balls into the seats,
but we didn't get any.

There were a lot less people at the game Tuesday night, so we (Mark, Karen,
and I) weren't heckled nearly as much as Monday night. We held up the
signs during every at bat, but there were no significant incidents (don't
worry, I haven't told you about Wednesday night yet). Jose ended up 0 for
4. That's ok, he was still 4-8 with 2 homers for the series, and I got to
talk to him on Monday. No complaints from me!

The Rays won 3-2, by the way.

Wednesday:
Another day of BP... Mark caught a homer, but it wasn't from Jose. We
don't even know who hit it. I ALMOST had one - I thought it was coming
right for me - but it just kept carrying over my head. Jose hit one past
ALL the seats during BP on Wednesday... that was quite a shot. He also hit
a guy who wasn't paying attention in the leg with a homer. I'll bet that's
gonna leave a mark. hahaha...

Before the game, I spotted a cameraman behind home plate. I chatted with
him for a few minutes, and then mentioned the bullseye. He didn't
have the angle for it from where he was, but I told him if he happened to
talk to any of his other camera buddies to have them look for us. I didn't
think anything would come of it, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask,
right? I was wrong. More on that later.

Karen, Mark and I held up the bullseye and the Canseconet.com sign again.
The crowd was a lot friendlier than they were on Monday night, but we still
had our share of hecklers. Jose walked in his first trip to the plate, and
then homered to lead off the fourth inning. It was a 408 foot blast to the
seats in left-center. We were jumping up and down and yelling... it was
great. 3 games, 3 homers. It couldn't get any better than this... or
could it?

I headed over to the bleachers prepared to blow 100 bucks or more if I had
to. I wanted that ball. I was disappointed to see a cute little girl
holding the ball, probably 3 or 4 years old - I figured it wasn't for
sale. I was right. It was actually pretty funny. No one booed me this
time, so I went and sat down with the people who got the ball and chatted
with them for a while. They were VERY nice people, and I'm glad they have
the ball - they'll give it a good home, I'm sure. James McElherne is the
name of the guy who actually caught it. He was a very nice guy, even
though he wouldn't sell that baseball to Jose's #1 fan. Oh well :)

As I stood up to head back to my seat, I hear "Mark?" I look up and see a
group of people looking at me. "Are you Mark Petrillo?" a woman asks. I
said, "Ummm, yeah. That's me." It turns out these were more people from
this email list - Jerry Wasik and his family. I sat down and chatted with
them for a few minutes... All us Canseco fans are very nice people, let me
tell you.

When we held up the signs during Jose's next at-bat, 3 punk kids stood in
front of us trying to block it. They were really annoying and it started
to piss me off. To top it off, they were taunting us from their seats down
the third base line later in the game. I ignored them for a while, but
then it got to me, so I headed over there. According to Mark, as soon as I
left, one of the security guys near us got on his walkie-talkie and said
there might be some trouble where I was heading. Apparently they were
watching me closely.

As I stormed over there expecting a lot of boos/heckling from everyone, to
my surprise people were actually supportive of me. People were shouting
things like "Kick their asses," and "Throw them over the fence!" I laughed
and said "No, I don't want any trouble." When I got there, I asked the
group of 6 or 7 high school punks what their problem was, but oddly enough
they didn't have much to say. After a few minutes, they agreed to mind
their own business during the game but warned me that if the target went up
again, they were going to come over to stand in front of it. I said, "I'll
be waiting," and walked away.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some tough guy or anything, and the last thing
I wanted was to get into a fight and get kicked out (or worse yet go to
jail), but these punks deserved it. On my way back to my seat, I walked
past a guy who said, "Don't worry buddy, I got your back." I assume he was
a Canseco fan.

In the 10th inning of a tie ballgame, Jose stepped up to the plate. Up
went the signs, and here came the punks. Before they made it though,
security stepped in. The guard said, "Hey! Are those your seats over
there?" and pointed to their seats. "Yeah," one of them said. "Well get
back to them!" hahahaha....

Jose struck out with 3 HUGE swings, reminding me again why I'm such a big
fan. Every eye in the place was on Jose, and he entertained us. He struck
out, but he could have just as easily homered. There's no one in baseball
I'd rather watch at the plate than Jose Canseco, and I'm sure you all agree
with me.

The Devil Rays lost the game in the bottom of the 11th when Norm Charlton
walked in the winning run.

When I got back to the hotel Wednesday night, I had a bunch of email from
people who saw us on tv. I stayed up until 2 in the morning watching the
sports shows, and I saw myself and the bullseye on ESPN and on CNN! The
clips were only a couple of seconds each, but from all the email I
received, I know we were on a LOT during the game. Apparently the game
broadcasts showed us during almost all of Jose's at bats Wednesday night,
and a bunch of local sports news recaps from across the country showed
longer video clips, including shots of the Canseconet.com sign. If anyone
out there happens to have a tape of the game (6/16/99), please let me
know. I'd love to see it! Thanks...

Before this week, I had seen Jose homer in person 3 times. I've now seen 6 :)

Well, that's my story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed
writing it. After going 5 for 12 with 3 homers during the games I was at,
Jose is now leading the majors with 26 homers (in only 61 games), and he's
batting a very impressive .305.

I'm not certain yet, but I'm 90% sure I'm going to be heading to Tampa the
weekend of July 23 to see a few games against the Rangers. If anyone would
like to join me for a few games (and probably get on tv), let me know.

I'll send you this week's news in a separate email in the next day or so...
One article even mentions the bullseye!

Take it easy,
Mark

==========

Great story, huh? Reading it now, one year later, really helped bring back
some memories for me... If you'd like to see a video clip of me and the
bullseye from that night, follow this link and pay close attention when
they get to homer #26:
http://www.tampabaylive.com/video/evergreen/sports/cansecohits.ram