Sport News Blog

Retired slugger and admitted steroid user Jose Canseco confirmed Thursday that Major League Baseball wants him to help with its investigation into steroid use.

Canseco, 43, spoke Wednesday for 15 minutes with two MLB employees, who approached him before a book signing at Manhattan's Barnes & Noble.

Retired slugger Jose Canseco might assist MLB with its steroid investigation.
(Louis Lanzano/Associated Press)

"You could have knocked us over with a feather," said Robert Saunooke, Canseco's lawyer. "Four years of denial, and treating him as a pariah, and now they want his help?

"We asked, 'Why didn't you come before?'" Saunooke continued," and they said, 'Those are good points. You're right and now we want your help. Anything you can do to help us, we would be very interested in.'"

Saunooke revealed that he or Canseco promised to call them next week.

Canseco's latest book, Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and the Battle to Save Baseball, sparked a controversy when it hit the shelves Tuesday because Canseco claimed in it that he introduced New York Yankees third baseman Alex (A-Rod) Rodriguez, baseball's biggest star, to a known steroid supplier.

Rodriguez refused to comment on the allegation.

Canseco's first book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, caused a similar ruckus when it was published in 2005 because Canseco wrote that he used performance-enhancing drugs and figured 85 per cent of major leaguers took steroids, including Jason Giambi, Juan Gonzalez, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Ivan (Pudge) Rodriguez.

Played for Blue Jays

Canseco was an outfielder with eight teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays, between 1985 and 2001.

A six-time all-star, he hit .266 lifetime with 462 home runs, 1,407 runs batted in, 1,186 runs scored and 200 stolen bases in 1,887 games for the Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox. 

Canseco was selected the American League's rookie of the year in 1986 and the league's most valuable player in 1988, when he became the first major leaguer to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in a season.

With files from the Associated Press Post a commentPeople have commented on this storyRecommend this storyPeople have recommended this storyStory Tools: E-MAIL | PRINT | Text Size: SMLXL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACKStory comments (0)Sort:Most recent | First to last

0Post your comment

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are pre-moderated/reviewed and published according to our submission guidelines.

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Sign upComment:Characters allowed: 2500PostSubmission policy