Jose Canseco was one of MLB’s greatest home run hitters, with over 450 on his long career. He had a little help, though. Many regard him as the man who introduced steroids in the MLB. While he probably wasn’t the first, he was one of the first to be open about his PED use. That openness seems to be why he was excluded from the hall of fame despite his storied career. However, his steroid use is probably the least exciting part of his story. Jose’s life is full of fights (both legally and illegally), strange business decisions, and missing fingers. This is Jose Canseco’s wild story.
Jose Canseco Was a Natural
Jose Canseco played baseball since he was young but didn’t get a chance at the starting roster until his senior year of high school. But he played well enough that year to be selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 15th round of the draft. He played for the Athletics minor league team from 1982-1985. However, during that final season of his minor league career, something extraordinary happened, steroids.
Jose began using steroids in 1985. The difference it made in his gameplay was night and day. He was so good that season that he earned the nickname “the natural.” It was very ironic. He became a late-season call-up to the majors in September of the 1985 season. Over the next 29 games, he showed what he was made of and finished the season with five home runs and 13 RBI’s.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
Say Hello to the Bash Brothers
In 1987, Mark McGwire joined the Athletics, and then it was to the races for the A’s. Together the duo finished the season with 80 homers. They put on a home run derby week after week, and the marketing department for the team saw an opportunity. The duo was known as the Bash Brothers from that point forward, and they were all over the team’s marketing material. The Bash Bros even had a signature handshake and a rap song in their honor. The two were truly larger than life.
A Storied Steroid Career
In 1989, the Bash Brothers led the Oakland Athletics to a World Series title. It was the second year in a 3-year stint of World Series appearances. Over the next twelve years, Canseco won another World Series with the Yankees, won AL MVP, led the league in home runs twice, led the league in RBIs, and won the Silver Slugger Award four times. It was a career that deserved nothing less than the hall of fame. There was one problem, though. He was using steroids the entire time.
Canseco admitted to his PED use in his 2005 memoir Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big. He also outed all the players in the league that he knew were also using the drug, which was just about everyone. The claims ended up leading to a congressional hearing on steroids in sports in which many of the players that Jose Canseco called out were questioned. All of the other players denied the claims. Jose was denied an opportunity to see the hall of fame. He is confident that it is due to his steroid use. Canseco continues to fight the MLB since many other players who used PEDs are included in the hall of fame.
Madman on the Field and Off the Field
Jose Canseco’s steroid use and career are enough to make his memory last a long time. His actions off the field, though, make him even more enjoyable. Here’s a list of some of his exploits: he led police on a 15-mile chase at 100 mph speeds, shot his finger off while cleaning a gun, has a black belt and is a self-proclaimed nun chuck expert, owns a carwash where he does regular autographs, is a staunch believer in aliens claiming to be abducted on multiple occasions, and he started a small MMA and boxing career fighting a few professional fighters and celebrities. He’s a bizarre and fascinating guy.
Conclusion
The MLB was never the same after Jose Canseco landed with a bang. He may have exposed much of the league to steroids. He was known to share in the locker room and found himself on seven teams throughout his career. Even if he didn’t introduce the league to steroids, he was a huge part of spreading them. The show he put on while at-bat was nothing compared to the show he put on off the field. The man’s life is nothing short of ridiculous. Find out more about the crazy stories from Canseco’s life in this episode of Things I Learned Last Night. Watch or Listen right now!
Things I Learned Last Night is an educational comedy podcast where best friends Jaron Myers and Tim Stone talk about random topics and have fun all along the way. If you like learning, and laughing a whole lot while you do, then you’ll love TILLN. Watch or listen to this episode right now!
Sources
Related Episodes
Tell Us What You Think of This Content!
Don’t forget to share with your friends!