The Unknown Soldier

A few days ago, another name on the initial anonymous testing list was leaked. Always looking for a way to earn money, Jose Canseco mentioned that baseball has already elected a steroid user to the Hall of Fame. Will this be the beginning of another book from Canseco?

Set aside the immoral character of Jose Canseco and his quest to make a quick buck at every turn. Whether you like to admit it or not, he's been right. When Jose was shunned and branded a liar for his outing of certain players, who were later named as steroid users, he was telling the truth. Every time that he's opened his mouth and named players, he has been right. Why shouldn't he be right? It's a subject that he knows about more than baseball.

Why should this time be any different? I'm not a fan of the way Jose spreads his gospel. It's the calling card of snake oil salesman and charlatans throughout history. Unlike those people, Jose (so far) has spoken the truth.

This new bit of information intrigued me. Could there actually be a steroid user already in the Hall of Fame? I had to find out. I spent the day pouring through information and I haven't come to a definitive conclusion. In fact, I really haven't come to any type of conclusion. Some numbers have surprised me and others look like normal decline.

I decided to start with any player who played in 1985, Jose's first year in the majors. Anyone whose career could have been in direct line with Jose's playing time has been included. I found 29 players who fit the criteria. My apologies to everyone on this list who is innocent. Unfortunately, these are the times baseball must exist in. In no way does inclusion on this list make any of these 29 players guilty of anything.

All I'm trying to do is present the facts based on this recent statement from Jose Canseco. I was hoping to find nothing that would cause a red flag, but that isn't the case. I can't pinpoint anyone based on this information, but I can't exonerate anyone either. That's the sad truth with so much deception.

Here's what I found.

Jim Palmer
Retired in 1984, before Canseco was in the Major Leagues, but attempted a comeback in 1991. Jim got no further than two innings in Spring Training.

Rod Carew
Retired in 1985. His numbers started to decline in his last two years. He was never a teammate of Canseco and never faced the Athletics when Jose was on the team.

Rollie Fingers
Retired in 1985. His ERA soared in his last year. He never played the A’s when Jose was on the team.

Tom Seaver
Retired in 1986. His numbers declined after his 300th win. Faced Jose’s team in 1985 with the White Sox and in 1986 with the Red Sox.

Reggie Jackson
Retired in 1987. His numbers were horrible during his last year, but still managed 15 home runs, when he was a teammate of Jose Canseco.

Steve Carlton
Retired in 1988. His numbers took a nosedive in his final years. He played against Canseco.

Mike Schmidt
Retired in 1989. He retired when his numbers started to slip. He had no contact, as a player, with Canseco.

Phil Niekro
Retired in 1987. Saw his numbers decline in the last few seasons. He played against Canseco.

Don Sutton
Retired in 1988. His numbers declined in his last few years. He was very briefly (a week or two) a teammate of Canseco in 1985.

George Brett
Retired in 1993. His numbers went up and down the last half of his career. He played against Canseco and was an All-Star teammate.

Nolan Ryan
Retired in 1993. He threw two no-hitters after 1985. One in 1990 and one in 1991. He was Canseco's teammate in Texas and was an All-Star teammate.

Robin Yount
Retired in 1993. His numbers declined in his last few years. He played against Canseco.

Carlton Fisk
Retired in 1993. His stats declined in his final years. He played against Canseco.

Tony Perez
Retired in 1986. He saw a dramatic spike in his average in 1985. He never played against Canseco.

Kirby Puckett
Retired in 1996. His numbers never declined, but he retired due to complications from glaucoma. He played against Canseco and was an All-Star teammate.

Dave Winfield
Retired in 1995. He played against Canseco and was an All-Star teammate.

Ozzie Smith
Retired in 1996, His numbers dipped in the second to final year and went back to normal in his last. He only played against Canseco in All-Star games.

Gary Carter
Retired in 1992. His numbers spiraled down in his final years. He only played against Canseco in All-Star games.

Eddie Murray
Retired in 1997. His numbers were pretty steady, except for spikes in average in 1990 and 1995. He played against Canseco.

Dennis Eckersley
Retired in 1998. His numbers turned around when becoming Canseco’s teammate in 1987. At that point he also went from being a starter to a closer.

Paul Molitor
Retired in 1998. Led the league in hits in 1996. He played against Canseco and was an All-Star teammate.

Wade Boggs
Retired in 1999. His numbers went slightly up after becoming Canseco’s teammate in Tampa Bay.

Ryne Sandberg
Retired in 1995 and in 1997. His home run total took a huge spike in 1990. His home runs after un-retiring were up for him. He only played against Canseco in All-Star games.

Bruce Sutter
Retired in 1988. The last few years of his career was marred by injury, missing all of 1987. He did not play against Canseco.

Tony Gwynn
Retired in 2001. He had a consistent batting average throughout his career. The last two years, he played limited games. He only played against Canseco in All-Star games.

Cal Ripken Jr.
Retired in 2001. He holds the consecutive games played streak, which took a toll on his body. His average dipped in his last two years. He played against Canseco and was his All-Star teammate several times.

Rich Gossage
Retired in 1994. He was a teammate of Canseco’s in Oakland in 1992, where his ERA lowered 0.73 points from the previous season. It skyrocketed 1.69 points, the next season, well after Canseco moved on to Texas.

Rickey Henderson
Retired in 2003. He was Canseco’s teammate in Oakland. Jose has publicly stated that Rickey was clean.

Jim Rice
Retired in 1989. His numbers went down his last few years. He played against Canseco during the last part of his career.

I'm not exactly sure what this means, but that is for someone else to decide. One of my favorite players is on this list, so I tried to be completely objective about everyone. No opinions. Just facts. I've done the research, now someone else can speculate and debate it.

Great Minds Think Alike

At the start of Spring Training, Carlos Quentin reminded me of someone. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it always bugged me a little. Then, around the beginning of May, it finally dawned on me. Carlos Quentin reminds me of a young Jose Canseco.

I kept this revelation to myself. Jose doesn't exactly elicit joyful comparisons to active baseball players. There is so much bad mojo orbiting around Jose Canseco these days, that even a compliment can be misconstrued. That's a real shame. Jose was an elite player, in his prime. So were many others accused or confirmed to have used steroids.

While making my daily rounds of baseball related blogs, I came across this article at Wax Heaven. If even one of the best Jose Canseco fans can see this as a healthy comparison, then maybe I'm not so nuts after all. The only question that remains is why I see Carlos as a Jose Canseco type of player.

That part I haven't quite figured out yet. It's not just the home runs, but that is part of it. I'm sure that one day it will slap me in the face and be so obvious that I'll wonder why I didn't think of it before. But until that eureka moment arrives, I'll have to settle for not being the only one who sees that similarity.

Chicago is abuzz about Carlos Quentin. It's not hard to see why. The Chicago papers are calling Carlos Quentin the steal of the off season. I just hope it stays that way. Sometimes the questionable moves by a team turn out to be the best acquisitions.

How To Silence Ozzie

It seems that no one wants to talk about Jose Canseco's new book. Especially the players that are "named" in it or the people around those players.

Most players are giving the famous "no comment" speech, with various tweaks. Alex Rodriguez included "absolutely" to spice up his no comment. Others have declined to say anything at all. Not a "no comment" comment to be found.

You can always count on Ozzie Guillen to break the taboos and say something off the cuff. Right? Well, Ozzie does hold claim to one of the longest comments on this latest round of steroid talk. It also boasts the most information of any comment.

"Magglio isn't a player on my team anymore," said Ozzie.

Well, that about sums it up. All of that is true and is a clever way of saying no comment. It appears that Jose Canseco's second book is being taken a little more seriously by baseball personnel. Why else would everyone be so quiet about it. People seem scared by the accusations brought about in this book.

It should be interesting to see what happens after the release of this book. If a book can silence Ozzie Guillen, it stands to reason that it is powerful. There may be a few grains of truth in this book too.

When Idols Attack

The blogging community is abuzz with the news from Florida last night. Mario of Wax Heaven finally met his idol, Jose Canseco.

After watching Jose's brother Ozzie play softball a few times, the unthinkable happened. Jose showed up to the game and played. Jose went 2 for 5 with an RBI double, according to Mario.

I can only hope that if I ever meet any of my childhood heroes, it can be under circumstances this cool. Jose even offered to take a picture. Maybe he reads Wax Heaven secretly.

Congratulations Mario! From the way you describe it, the meeting was everything you hoped it would be. I honestly don't know how I would react if I ever met Harold Baines or Carlton Fisk, not to mention the other heroes of my childhood. People sometimes have a funny way of reacting to people that they admire.

Would I be shy meeting Bobby Thigpen? Would I ask endless questions about baseball and music if I met Jack McDowell? Would I get nervous around John Cangelosi? I really don't know. I'd like to think that my tongue wouldn't be tied. I'd like to think that I could have a normal conversation with them. They are all just human beings, after all. Why should it be any different than meeting any other person?

The truth is, it shouldn't be. These ballplayers are all normal people. They have just done something with their lives that garners a lot of attention. Some would say obsessive attention. Then again, it reaches nothing like the coverage of people like Britney Spears or Brad Pitt.

One For Wax Heaven

While doing my usual random searching this morning, I ran across a site devoted to Jose Canseco. There are pictures, video and audio for every phase of his career. There are even Expos photos!

The most interesting thing for me was a video of Jose hitting a home run with the White Sox. The image to the left is from that home run. It was off Charles Nagy on July 26, 2001. By the road uniform, it was obviously in Cleveland. It's only an ESPN highlight, but it works. You can't hear Hawk Harrelson's home run call because it's not a White Sox local broadcast. Still, you can put it on the board.

If you like any of the teams Jose has been on, or you yourself are a Jose Canseco fan, Canseconet.com is worth checking out. Even if you're just a baseball fan, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. It surprising to see the many different teammates that Jose has had over the course of his playing days. I think I spotted him stretching with Lance Johnson on the Expos! Lance, I never knew you sunk that low. At least it looked like Lance Johnson.

Is Magglio In The Clear?

I hear that Magglio Ordonez was unsuccessfully blackmailed by Jose Canseco. If Magglio helped finance a movie that Jose wanted to promote, then Jose would leave Magglio's name out of his latest book. I don't know what to believe, but it sounds like a plot out of a bad Saturday morning cartoon or a Z grade movie.

Maybe that's the movie Jose wanted to get out. I can see it now. "Blackmailed" starring Steven Seagal as Jose Canseco and Vin Diesel (with a Magglio wig) as Magglio Ordonez. John C. Reilly would play Chuck Knoblauch, the comical clown who forgot how to throw and is now hiding out from the feds in the tropical paradise of Kokomo, Indiana.

Actually, I think that's upgraded to B movie, based on John C. Reilly alone. Will Ferrell could make a cameo playing Bud "Lite" Selig and Vince Vaughn could play Senator George Mitchell. Throw in a couple of bumbling, yet capable, FBI agents played by Hank Azaria and John Cusack. You've got yourself a comedy classic.

Unfortunately, that's the movies and this is real life. Did Magglio use illegal substances? I'd like to think no, but in this day and age, you never know. Sometimes being accused is enough to create a downfall. Did Jose Canseco try to blackmail Magglio? I could see him doing something like that to create more sales for his second book. Does Jose have the goods on Magglio and others? So far, he's pretty much been vindicated, in most claims from his first book. It took a few years to weed it out, but most of the accusations have a shred of truth to them.

Right now, everything is just hearsay. Until more substantial facts are brought to light, we have to believe the best in people. We should be past the witch hunts, but we sadly aren't. Just one hint at wrong-doing is enough to sink a player's reputation. Even if that hint is completely off base. I'm choosing to not believe this until more facts are brought out. That doesn't mean that I think everyone is innocent. Far from it.

Jose Canseco isn't the only baseball player that cheated. He's just honest about his steroid use. Many players aren't. There is the real problem. Did Magglio develop his ability naturally or was he helped by a teammate who was there, just before his abilities went to the next level? Would he lie about his use, if he used? These are unanswered questions, at the moment. Everyone should be innocent until proven guilty, but that doesn't mean we can't keep a closer eye on them.

Mailbox Joys: A Sweet Canseco

I always appreciate a card that I was never aware of before I purchase it. I guess that goes with being out of serious card collecting for over a decade. There are millions of individual cards that I have no idea about. I may never know about every one. I'd like to though.

Jose Canseco White Sox cards are some of my secret favorites. He was such a superstar in his early career that it's almost ingrained in my brain that Canseco means hitting power and surprising speed.

He was on the White Sox for such a short time. That's why it's always a thrill to run across a card of him in a Chicago uniform. Players that were superstars in the late 80's and early 90's are always sentimental favorites, especially if they were ever in a White Sox uniform.

The card just screams classic Canseco.The swing, the look... everything. It's a great photo on a nice looking card. That's always a plus. There's red foil, but unlike Topps products, the lettering part looks elegant. The only place it doesn't really work is on the Upper Deck logo. It looks like a little much there. All in all, I'm thrilled to have this card in my collection.

Blame Gandhi?

Contrary to popular belief, Ozzie Guillen didn't manage the White Sox until 2004. Ozzie was hired in the 2003 off-season, when he was a third base coach for the Florida Marlins. Before that, Ozzie had a bitter ending to his White Sox career in 1997 and wanted nothing to do with the team until enough time had passed. Jerry Manuel was the Sox manager before Ozzie Guillen from 1998 to 2003.

Jerry "Gandhi" Manuel couldn't control a clubhouse. He had too many players at the DH position. Frank Thomas, Jose Canseco and Harold Baines at various times. Frank Thomas was coming back into his early 90's form at this point. Not even Gandhi sits Frank. Harold Baines is a man whose uniform number was retired in 1989 by the White Sox. Although he didn't actually retire until 2001. There's not many places for Canseco to fit in.

There's no room for Frank Thomas at his natural position because Paul Konerko is there. There's no room for Jose Canseco in the outfield because Magglio Ordonez was in right, Carlos Lee was in left and the Aaron Rowand and Chris Singleton are in center. I don't even want to think about Jose pitching. Besides, if he's pitching, Jose is not going to bat. You'd have to get rid of the DH position for the game and no one in their right mind sits Frank Thomas when he's on fire.

But wait, what if Frank gets injured? What do you do then? Well, first you switch fan favorite Harold Baines from pinch hitter to full time DH. What happens when that fails to excite nothing but the fan base? You sign Jose Canseco from the Newark Bears.

Jose debuted in a White Sox uniform on June 21, 2001. Appropriately the first day of summer. He played all the way to the last game in October, mostly as a DH. He subbed for Maggs in right field for two games in July and pinch hit a few times. He played consistently after he arrived in Chicago. Ultimately, he ended up batting .258 with 16 home runs. Not bad, but not setting the world on fire either. It sure beats playing for a minor league team after being cut by the Angels in spring training that year.

Jose did his job for the time the Sox needed him. By 2002, Frank Thomas was back and healthy. Frank played 148 games in 2002. Jose chose to sign with the Montreal Expos in 2002 and was released in spring training. Canseco retired in May 2002.

It's my opinion that the stars aligned for Jose Canseco in 2001. He got consistent playing time for a team that needed him. I think that says a lot about the character of Jose Canseco and the organization of the White Sox.

Jose Can You See The 206

I've voiced strong opinions about *alleged steroid users in the past few days. I'll tell you this... I have no problem with Jose Canseco. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he's a saint. He's not. He made a mistake and he was man enough to own up to it.

I know what you're thinking. Canseco is alright in your book because he was with the White Sox. Sammy Sosa was with the Sox for many early years. I don't give Sosa a free pass. He never admitted it. Jose did. Even though he named names in his book, it was the last straw that forced MLB to finally look at the problem instead of pretending it would go away.

I've done everything from admire Jose to laugh at him during his first 15 years in the majors. I loved watching him hit homers. I cringed when he tried to pitch and ended up injuring himself in the process. I laughed when the fly ball hit his head and bounced over the wall for a home run. Yes, I've followed his career long before he ever considered putting a White Sox uniform on.

That being said, on to cards! I didn't really get back into baseball cards full time until this year. I picked up a few White Sox sets here and there the past few years, but never got into a lot of the releases that came out. To be honest, I never knew most of them existed. So, when I run across something I've never seen before, it's like a brand new release to me.

A few months ago, I came across Topps 206 while I was investigating White Sox tobacco cards on eBay. I thought I might be able to pick up one or two relatively cheap. I haven't found a good deal at the same time that I have money to spend... yet. But there these cards were. They intrigued me, so I picked up a full White Sox team set. The fact that Jose Canseco and Tom Seaver were part of the set instantly hooked me. I'm always looking for Canseco cards of his time with the White Sox. The only one I had really seen up to that point was a Donruss card.

When the set arrived, I was not disappointed. They are simply beautiful cards. They remind me a bit of the 2007 Bowman Heritage set. Very striking imagery. It seemed like slight overkill that Maggs had 3 cards, but that's OK. I can live with that. The cards remind me of artwork where markers are the medium. It sounds like it shouldn't work, but the results are beautiful.