Jose Canseco

Jose Canseco y Capas was born on July 2, 1964 in Havana, Cuba. He had a twin brother, Ozzie. His family left Cuba when he was nine months old to live near Miami, Florida. When his family finally was able to leave Cuba, they had less than fifty dollars, and Jose Senior had no job prospects. Jose played baseball at Coral Park High School in Miami, Florida with his older brother Ozzie. In his senior year he hit .400 and was named to the first team All-Greater Miami Athletic Conference. Ozzie seemed to have a more promising future in high school and was drafted in the second round by the New York Yankees as a pitcher. Camilo Pascual, a major league scout for the Oakland Athletics, signed Jose in the fifteenth round in 1982. In 1982, he played with the Miami of the Florida State League and Idaho Falls of the Pioneer League. Jose's career in the minor leagues did not seem very great at first. Some people accused him of being lazy. He was striking more than one third of his times at bat. In 1983, he played with the Class A team Madison and also with the Class A team Medford. He was the most powerful hitter in the Northwest League. He led the league with 78 strikeouts but still made the All-Star team as a designated hitter while with Medford. The death of his mother in the spring of 1984 marked a turning point in his career. He missed six weeks of the season and thought about his own future, realizing that he would have to work harder to become a major league player. That season he led Modesto of Class A with 15 home runs and 73 RBIs. He hit .276, had 21 doubles, 7 sacrifice flies, and 74 walks. He hit a two run homer to lead Modesto to the league title over Redwood. In 1985, Jose moved up to Huntsville of Class AA. He played at Huntsville for 58 games and hit .318, hit 25 home runs, and had 80 RBIs. He was promoted to Tacoma of Class AAA on July 2. In his 60 games with Tacoma he hit .348, hit 11 home runs, and had 47 RBIs. On September 2, when Jose moved up to Oakland of the major leagues, he was an impatient and aggressive hitter. He finished that season to have , a combined total from all three clubs, hit .328, hit 41 home runs, and have 140 RBIs and also he won the Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America. In his first full season with the Athletics in 1986, he hit 33 home runs, one short of Oakland's single season record. He also hit .240 and produced 117 RBIs, second in the American League, and was named Sporting News Rookie of the Year. He went to the All-Star Game but did not play. He also set an Oakland record with 175 strikeouts. In 1987, he led the team with 162 hits and was second to Mark McGwire with 31 home runs, 296 total bases, 45 multiple-hit games, and 113 RBIs. In 1988, he set an Oakland record with 124 RBIs and led the major leagues with 42 home runs, 124 RBIs, and a .569 slugging percentage. He was also named Sporting News and Associated Press Player of the Year. That season Jose accomplished what seemed to be an impossible goal. He announced at the beginning of the season that he would combine to have 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases, something that no major league player had ever accomplished. Jose started in the All-Star Game that year. He brought his team to the World Series. In 1989, although he missed 88 games that season with a fractued left hand, Jose signed the largest contract ever offered to a professional baseball player up to that time: a five-year contract worth $23.5 million, to go into effect in 1991. He led the Athletics with .542 slugging percentage. In 1990, he missed 31 games with a protruding disc in his back but gained the most All-Star votes in the major leagues and brought his team to the World Series. He finished the 1991 season with 44 home runs and 122 RBIs. In 1992, he was traded from Oakland to Texas for Jeff Russell, Bobby Witt, Ruben Sierra, and some cash. In his 97 games with Oakland he hit .246, hit 22 home runs, and had 72 RBIs. In 1993, playing in only 60 games he hit 10 home runs and 46 RBIs. Jose is a controversial figure. Although he is a powerful hitter, some of his exploits in his private life brought him a bad reputation. Currently Jose lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and has one daughter, Josie. His brother Ozzie has only played two seasons in the major leagues, one in 1990 with the Oakland Athletics and another in 1992 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Jose Canseco inspired baseball enthusiasts by having hit 42 home runs and having 40 stolen bases in the 1988 season. The contract Jose signed with the Oakland Athletics in 1990 indicates how important he is to them. His batting power has been his greatest asset. When Jose is motivated and in control of himself, he can hit as well as any hero of baseball history.

Jose Canseco's Career Stats
Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
1985	Oakland	29	96	16	29	3	0	5	13	4	31	1	1	.330	.490	.302
1986	Oakland	157	600	85	144	29	1	33	117	65	175	15	7	.318	.457	.240
1987	Oakland	159	630	81	162	35	3	31	113	50	157	15	3	.310	.470	.257
1988	Oakland	158	610	120	187	34	0	42	124	78	128	40	16	.391	.569	.307
1989	Oakland	65	227	40	61	9	1	17	57	23	69	6	3	.333	.542	.269
1990	Oakland	131	481	83	132	14	2	37	101	72	158	19	10	.371	.543	.274
1991	Oakland	154	572	115	152	32	1	44	122	78	152	26	6	.359	.556	.266
1992	Oakland	97	366	66	90	11	0	22	72	48	104	5	7	.335	.456	.246
	Texas	22	73	8	17	4	0	4	15	15	24	1	0	.385	.452	.233
1993	Texas	60	231	30	59	14	1	10	46	16	62	6	6	.308	.455	.255
1994	Texas	111	429	88	121	19	2	31	90	69	114	15	8	.386	.552	.282
1995	Boston	102	396	64	121	25	1	24	81	42	93	4	0	.378	.556	.306
1996	Boston	96	360	68	104	22	1	28	82	63	82	3	1	.400	.589	.289
1997	Oakland	108	388	56	91	19	0	23	74	51	122	8	2	.325	.461	.235
1998	Toronto	57	210	36	49	9	0	17	36	31	49	17	6	.329	.519	.233
Totals		1506	5669	956	1519	279	13	368	1143	705	1520	181	76	.352	.516	.268