Jose Canseco

José Canseco Capas Jr. (born July 2, 1964), nicknamed Parkway Jose, Mr. 40-40 and El Cañonero Cubano (The Cuban Cannon), is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and designated hitter. During his time with the Oakland Athletics, he established himself as one of the premier power hitters in the game. He won the Rookie of the Year (1986), and Most Valuable Player award (1988), and was a six-time All-Star. Canseco is a two-time World Series champion with the Oakland A's (1989) and the New York Yankees (2000).

In 1988 Canseco became the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in one season. He won the Silver Slugger award four times: three as an AL outfielder (1988, 1990, 1991), and once as a designated hitter (1998). He ranks fourth all time in A's history with 254 home runs and is one of 14 players in MLB history with 400 home runs and 200 stolen bases. Despite many injuries during the later part of his career, Canseco averaged 40 home runs, 120 RBIs and 102 runs scored every 162 games, playing a total of 1887 games in 17 seasons with seven different teams.

Canseco admitted using performance-enhancing drugs during his major-league playing career, and in 2005 wrote a tell-all book, '' Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big'', in which he said that the vast majority of MLB players use steroids. After retiring from Major League Baseball, he also competed in boxing and mixed martial arts.

Early life

Canseco was born in Havana, Cuba, the son of Jose Sr. and Barbara Canseco. He has a twin brother, Ozzie Canseco, who is also a former major league player. When Fidel Castro came into power in 1959, Jose Sr., a territory manager for the oil and gasoline corporation Esso as well as a part-time English teacher, lost his job and eventually his home. The family was allowed to leave Cuba in 1965, when the twins were barely 1 year old, and settled in the Miami area, where Jose Sr. became a territory manager for another oil and gasoline concern, Amoco, and a part-time security guard.

The younger Jose Canseco played baseball at Miami Coral Park High School drafted Canseco in the 15th round of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft. He made his professional baseball debut with the Miami Marlins of the Florida State League and also played Minor League Baseball with the Medford A's, Madison Muskies, Idaho Falls A's, Modesto A's, and Tacoma Tigers. Canseco started the 1985 season with the Class-AA Huntsville Stars and became known as "Parkway Jose" for his long home runs (25 in half a season) that went close to the Memorial Parkway behind Joe Davis Stadium. Canseco was nicknamed "The Natural", with some analysts saying he was the best prospect since Willie Mays. Oakland A's hitting coach Bob Watson said that Canseco was a mixture of Roberto Clemente, Dale Murphy, and Reggie Jackson. Others touted Canseco as the next Mickey Mantle.

Major League Baseball (1985–2001)

Oakland Athletics (1985–1992)

In 1985, Canseco won the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award, and was a late "September call-up" for the Oakland Athletics. He made his Major League debut on September 2, striking out in his one at-bat against the Baltimore Orioles. His first hit was off Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees on September 7, and his first home run was off Jeff Russell of the Texas Rangers on September 9. He played in 29 games in the major leagues in 1985, batting .302 with 5 home runs and 13 RBIs in 96 at-bats. He was named Player of the Week from September 23 to 29 with a .481 BA (13 for 27), 3 HRs and 7 RBIs in 7 games. He played both left and right field in 26 games and made 3 errors in 61 chances, with 56 putouts, 2 assist and 1 double play. On September 26 he played 3 innings in center field, in his only career appearance in that position. For the entire 1985 year (AA, AAA and Major League level combined), Canseco had a .330 batting average with 41 home runs, 140 runs batted in, 73 extra base hits, 336 total bases and a .622 slugging percentage.

After being named Minor League Baseball Player of the Year and a good September call-up the prior year, Canseco was the favorite to win the American League's Rookie of the Year Award in 1986. He batted either fifth or third in the lineup and he established himself that year in his first full season as the starting left fielder for the Athletics. By the All-Star break he was leading the American League in home runs (23) and runs batted in (78) and was selected as a backup outfielder for the All-Star Game by manager Dick Howser, although he did not see any playing time in the game. An 0-for-34 batting slump in August prevented him from winning the RBI crown, finishing with 117, four fewer than league leader Joe Carter. He led the league in outfielder errors with 14 and was third with 175 strikeouts.
Nonetheless, his 33 home runs (4th in the AL), 117 RBIs, 29 doubles and 15 stolen bases helped him win the American League Rookie of the Year award, defeating California Angels first baseman Wally Joyner. He also finished 20th in the American League MVP ballot.

In 1987, first baseman Mark McGwire joined Canseco on the Athletics. On that roster the A's also had slugger Reggie Jackson, Canseco's childhood hero, playing in his last season. McGwire hit 49 home runs that year and was also named the American League Rookie of the Year. Together, Canseco and McGwire formed a fearsome offensive tandem, later known as the " Bash Brothers". Canseco followed his rookie season with a similar offensive performance in 1987. He improved his batting average from .240 in 1986 to .257 in 1987, hitting 31 home runs, 113 runs batted in (6th in the AL), and 35 doubles (10th) in 691 at-bats (9th), while missing only 3 games the entire season. He was also 5th in the league in strikeouts, with 157. In the outfield, Canseco improved his performance compared to 1986. Playing left field the entire year, he was among the league leaders in this position with a .976 fielding average (3rd), 267 putouts (2nd), 12 assists (3rd) and 3 double plays (1st). He only committed 7 errors, half of what he made the previous year. He finished 23rd in the MVP ballot. Canseco combined with McGwire for a total of 80 home runs and 236 runs batted in, making the young pair (Canseco was 22 years old and McGwire 23) the most spectacular batting duo in the upcoming years, drawing comparisons to the likes of Mickey Mantle/Roger Maris, Willie Mays/Willie McCovey and Hank Aaron/Eddie Mathews.

During the preseason of 1988, Canseco guaranteed he would hit at least 40 home runs and steal at least 40 bases in the upcoming season. The Athletics lineup featured established players with a lot of experience like former MVPs Dave Parker and Don Baylor, as well as outfielder Dave Henderson, and third baseman Carney Lansford, that complemented McGwire and Canseco in the middle of the batting order. After alternating between batting second and third in the lineup for the first 10 games of the season, he was inserted in the number 3 spot for the rest of the season. He also moved from left to right field. Canseco hit a home run in opening day against the Seattle Mariners and had his first stolen base of the season. On the first 40 games of the season he hit for a .300 batting average with 10 home runs and 15 stolen bases. His first multi-home run game was on July 3 against the Toronto Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium during a 16-inning contest in which Canseco had a 3-for-7 performance, with 3 home runs and 6 runs batted in. By the All-Star break he had 24 home runs (1st in the American League), 22 stolen bases, and 67 RBIs (2nd in the AL). He was selected by fans to the All-Star Game as one of the starting outfielders, batting fourth in the lineup. On July 31 he had his second and last multi-home run game of the year against the Seattle Mariners, hitting 2 homers. On September 18, he hit his 40th home run of the year against the Kansas City Royals in front of the Oakland crowd. Five days later against the Milwaukee Brewers, Canseco stole 2 bases, the second one coming after his first bunt of the season, to become the first 40-40 player in Major League history. With a .393/.446/.753 slash line, 8 home runs and 24 RBIs in 24 games for the month, he was named the American League's Player of the Month for September. A well-rounded team with lots of power, great starting and relief pitching, and a sound defense, the Oakland Athletics finished the season with a major league-best 104 wins and swept the Boston Red Sox in 4 games in the ALCS. For the series Canseco had a .313 batting average and hit home runs in games one, two and three (The ALCS MVP Award went to reliver Dennis Eckersley who had 4 saves in 4 chances). The A's met the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, a matchup that featured the leading candidate to win the American League MVP Award facing the eventual National League Cy Young Award winner, Orel Hershiser. The Dodgers prevailed, upsetting the A's in five games. Canseco hit a grand slam in Game 1 during his first official World Series at-bat (though his second plate appearance, after he was hit by a pitch in the first inning) but it was his only hit in the Series. He was unanimously named the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1988 (making him the seventh player in league history to win the award unanimously) with a .307 batting average, 120 runs scored (second in the league), and 347 total bases (2nd), and leading the major leagues with 76 extra-base hits, 124 RBIs, 42 home runs, a .569 slugging percentage, and a 14.5 home run per at-bat ratio. His 40 stolen bases were the fourth highest in the league. 27 of his 42 home runs of the season either tied the game or gave the Athletics the lead. He also won his first Silver Slugger Award. He was exclusively a right fielder during the year, playing in 144 games on defense, committing 7 errors in 322 chances and had 304 putouts for a .978 fielding percentage. He was third in the league in outfielder assists with 11.

In 1989, Canseco missed the first 88 games of the regular season because of a broken wrist during the preseason. Despite not playing a single game in the first half of the year, he was voted as one of the starting outfielders for the American League All-Star team. Unable to play he was replaced in the lineup by Rangers outfielder Rubén Sierra. Canseco returned immediately after the All-Star break, hitting an opposite-field home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in his first game of the season. He hit 5 home runs in his first 35 at bats (10 games), but only 2 in the following 20 games. After finding his rhythm at the plate, Canseco finished the season strong, hitting .286 with 10 home runs, 33 hits and 33 RBIs in his last 30 games of the year. He managed to hit 17 home runs with 57 RBIs in barely 65 games played for the entire season, a pace equal to 40+ home runs and 130+ RBIs had he played a full season. The Athletics won the AL West and their first World Series since 1974, beating the San Francisco Giants in four games. Canseco had a solid postseason, batting .323 and hitting 2 home runs including one in the ALCS against the Blue Jays that reached the upper deck of the SkyDome. Against the Giants, in the World Series, he hit for a .357 average with a home run in Game 3. The 1989 Series was interrupted before Game 3 by a major earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area.

As the reigning World Series Champs, the Oakland Athletics were favorites to repeat, and they were hopeful that Canseco would remain healthy throughout the 1990 season. In May he was named the American League's Player of the Month for the second time in his career, after hitting .353 in 27 games with 13 home runs and 35 runs batted in. Canseco started to have back problems, an issue that would become recurrent in his career. Despite missing over 20 games due to injury during the first part of the season, he received a then-record 5-year, $23.5-million dollar contract, making him the highest paid player in Major League history. On May 22, Canseco hit his first regular-season grand slam of his career against the Toronto Blue Jays. By the All-Star break, he had played in only 64 games, hitting .258 with 18 home runs (10 behind the American League leader Cecil Fielder). Despite a sub-par first half, Canseco was elected to start in the All-Star Game for the third consecutive year, this time with the most fan votes in the American League. On July 18 Jose's twin brother Ozzie Canseco made his major league debut. During a July 24 game against the California Angels, both Jose and Ozzie had line drive hits to left field off pitcher Jim Abbott and both were thrown out at second base by left fielder Max Venable, trying to extend a single in to a double. Although he hit 15 home runs in 69 games during the second half, Canseco wasn't as productive as the first part of the year. Canseco missed another 11 games of the season, and at times he was coming off the bench as a pinch hitter. From August 1 until the end of the regular season he hit .220 with 5 homers, 24 RBIs and 60 strikeouts in 47 games, while battling with a back injury. He finished 3rd in the league with 37 home runs, behind Fielder (51) and teammate Mark McGwire (39). In 131 games he had 101 runs batted in and 19 stolen bases. It was the fourth time in 5 years that he had 100+ RBIs. For the season he played in 43 games as the designated hitter and only 88 in right field, making only one error in 189 chances during the year. The Oakland A's won their division with a league-best 103 wins and were the favorites to win the World Series. Canseco had a discreet ALCS, hitting .182 (2-for-11) with 5 strikeouts, but the A's swept the Boston Red Sox 4 games to 0, and moved on to play in their third World Series in a row, this time against the Cincinnati Reds. Canseco struggled both at the plate and in the outfield, missing on two key plays in Game 2. In the same game, he had his only hit of the series, a 2-run home run against Danny Jackson. After going 0 for 4 in Game 3, and 1 for 11 in the series, Canseco was benched in Game 4. Manager Tony LaRussa cited Canseco's sore back and injured middle finger as the reasons for taking him out of the lineup, but there was speculation that his own teammates requested LaRussa to bench Canseco due to his poor outfield performance and struggles at the plate. Down 2 runs to 1 and facing elimination in Game 4, Canseco entered as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 9th, but he grounded out to third for the second out of the inning. One batter later, the Reds completed the sweep over a heavily favored Oakland team.
At the end of the year, Canseco won his second Silver Slugger Award and finished 12th in the AL MVP ballot.

Canseco continued to be productive the following year; by the All-Star break of the 1991 season he was leading the league with 21 home runs (tied with Cecil Fielder) and had 63 RBIs, but inexplicably did not receive All-Star Game considerations by either the fans or as a reserve player, as his own A's skipper Tony LaRussa, managing the AL for the 3rd straight year, did not select José as a substitute. Fans instead voted Athletics outfielder Dave Henderson, who had far lesser offensive numbers than Canseco, and LaRussa selected Kirby Puckett, Joe Carter and Rubén Sierra as the reserve outfielders. Canseco not being selected by his own manager despite leading the league in home runs, led many to believe that the relationship between Canseco and LaRussa had started to deteriorate. His best month that season was July, hitting 10 home runs in 27 games (1 every 11.1 at-bats) with a .315 batting average. He finished the 1991 season batting .266 with 44 home runs, earning the second home run crown of his career (tied with Detroit's Cecil Fielder), 122 RBIs, 26 stolen bases, and a .556 slugging percentage. He led the AL with a home run every 13.0 at bats, while finishing 4th in the MVP ballot. He won his third Silver Slugger Award in four years. Towards the end of the season, there were mixed opinions from the Oakland fans in regards to Canseco; some would boo him but others showed support by cheering in games at the Oakland Coliseum. During a home game on September 20 and after rumors that he was on his way out from Oakland, he received a standing ovation by the fans. Canseco responded with his 42nd home run of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays, tying his career-best. The Athletics, however, missed the playoffs for the first time in three years, finishing 4th in the AL West.

The Athletics returned to contention in 1992, and with 18 home runs by the All-Star break, Canseco was voted to start his 4th All-Star Game in 5 years, though he was unable to play due to a sore right shoulder and was replaced with Joe Carter.

During his tenure with the A's from 1986 to 1992, and despite missing roughly 120 games between 1989 and 1990 and about 20 more during the first half of the 1992 season, Canseco averaged 32 home runs a year and hit 100+ RBIs five times. He also averaged 40 home runs, 125 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases per every 162 games played; captured AL Rookie of the Year honors, two home run titles, an MVP award, three Silver Slugger Awards, three American League Pennants, and a World Series ring. He was selected to five All-Star Games in his first 7 full Major League seasons. In the six years between 1986 and 1991, he finished in the top four in the American League home run leaderboard 4 times. He hit 231 home runs from 1985 to 1992 for the A's, putting him 2nd all-time behind Reggie Jackson since the Athletics moved to Oakland in 1968. His 7 career postseason home runs are the all-time record for the franchise (1901–2021).

Texas Rangers (1992–1994)

On August 31, 1992, in the bottom of the first inning of a game vs the Baltimore Orioles, and while Canseco was in the on-deck circle, the A's traded him to the Texas Rangers for Rubén Sierra, Jeff Russell, Bobby Witt, and cash. At the moment of the trade, Canseco was batting .243 with 22 home runs and 72 RBIs in 97 games, and the A's were leading the American League West Division by 6.5 games. The Oakland front office was looking to fortify their pitching down the stretch. A's general manager Sandy Alderson announced the trade while the Athletics were still playing the Orioles that night. The trade caught Canseco, the fans, the media, and people throughout Major League Baseball all by surprise, as Canseco was considered at the time the best player in baseball, but was also the most scrutinized. From 1986 until the date of the trade no other player had hit more home runs (226) in the major leagues. In Texas, Canseco joined Latino stars Rafael Palmeiro, Juan González, and Iván Rodríguez. He had a good start with the Rangers, hitting .367 (11-for-30) with 3 home runs and 11 RBIs in his first 8 games, but had only 6 hits and one home run in his last 43 at-bats, averaging .140. Despite injuries and the trade to the Rangers, Canseco managed to hit 26 home runs (9th in the AL) and had 87 runs batted in, playing 115 games in 1992 for the Athletics and the Rangers.
From 1986 until the end of 1992 Canseco's 230 home runs were the most by any major league player in that span.

Canseco started the 1993 season relatively healthy, playing in all of the games of the first quarter of the season (45 games). Although hitting for a low average (.254) he had 17 RBIs in the first 17 games. On April 25 he became the first player since Ted Williams in 1947 to reach 750 RBIs in less than 1,000 games played. On May 26, 1993, during a game against the Cleveland Indians, Carlos Martínez hit a fly ball that Canseco lost sight of as he was crossing the warning track. The ball hit him in the head and bounced over the wall for a home run.The Ballplayers – Jose Canseco
The cap Canseco was wearing on that play, which '' This Week in Baseball'' rated in 1998 as the greatest blooper of the show's first 21 years, is in the collection of ESPN journalist Keith Olbermann. Three days later, on May 29, Canseco asked his manager, Kevin Kennedy, to let him pitch the eighth inning of a runaway loss to the Boston Red Sox. In his inning-long pitching appearance, he injured his arm. He was out of the lineup from May 31 until June 10. He played in another 15 games after pitching against the Red Sox but he was shutdown on June 23 due to arm discomfort, requiring Tommy John surgery and missing the remainder of the season. He finished the 1993 season hitting .256 with 10 home runs and 46 RBIs in 60 games.

In the 1994 strike-shortened season, Canseco again returned to his former status as a power hitter. Throughout the season, he was amongst the American League leaders in home runs, while playing exclusively as a designated hitter. On April 20, he hit the 250th home run of his career, making him the 16th player with that total before age 30. From June 3 to the 13th, he batted .559 (19-for-34) with 8 home runs and 20 runs batted in. In the last game of that span he set career-highs for a single game with 5 hits, 8 RBIs, and 3 home runs (tying a career-high), including a grand slam against the Seattle Mariners. During Kenny Rogers perfect game on July 28, Canseco went 2-for-4 with 2 solo home runs in the 4–0 victory over the California Angels. He finished the season with 31 home runs (4th in the AL) and 90 RBIs in 111 games. He also stole 15 bases, posted a .282 batting average and led the league with 20 GIDP (ground into double-play) and was second in strikeouts with 114. Canseco was on pace to set career highs in home runs (45) and runs batted in (130) and runs scored (127) when the players strike started on August 12. He was named ''The Sporting News'' Comeback Player of the Year and finished in 11th place in the AL MVP voting.

In total, Canseco played 193 games for the Texas Rangers hitting 45 home runs (averaging 37 per every 162 games played), had 151 runs batted in for a .269 batting average and 197 strike outs.

Boston Red Sox (1995–1996)

After playing with the Rangers for a little over two years, Canseco was traded on December 9 to the Boston Red Sox for Otis Nixon and Luis Ortiz, where he joined 1986 AL MVP Roger Clemens and eventual 1995 MVP Mo Vaughn. José once again battled injuries, missing 50 games during the first half of the year. However, from July 1 until the end of the season, he had a .387 batting average (122-for-315) with 21 home runs and 66 RBIs in 79 games. From August 27 to September 15 he had the longest hitting streak of his career, hitting safely in 17 games (he had a hit in 24 of his last 28 games of the year). At the end of the regular season, José had 24 home runs with a .306 batting average, his highest since 1988. His last home run of the 1995 season against Jesse Orosco was the 300th of his career. The Red Sox captured the AL East Division title to advance to the ALDS, making it Canseco's first postseason in five years. The Red Sox were swept by the Cleveland Indians in the American League Division Series 3 games to 0. In Game 2, Canseco once again faced pitcher Orel Hershiser, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Dating back to the 1988 World Series, Canseco was 0-for-11 lifetime with 3 strikeouts against Hershiser in 3 postseason matchups. After playing the entire 1994 season and all but one game in the 1995 season as a designated hitter, Canseco was the starting right fielder during Game 3 of American League Division Series. 1995 was the last year of the five-year contract he signed with the Athletics in 1990. According to the Baseball-Reference website, Canseco had the highest yearly salary of his career, making a total of $5.8 million for the 1995 season.

Canseco had a great first half to the 1996 season, hitting 26 home runs by the All-Star break (3rd in the league at that point). Between May 18 and June 29, he had a .306 BA with 19 homeruns and 44 RBIs in only 39 games. He was sidelined on July 25 once again due to injury, missing nearly 50 games. He returned to the lineup on September 17 but hit only 2 home runs the rest of the season. He finished the year with a .289/.400/.589 slash line with 28 home runs, 82 runs batted in, and 22 doubles in 96 games. He played in the outfield in 12 games. After the 1996 season the Red Sox fired manager Kevin Kennedy and Canseco requested a trade out of Boston.

Although productive when he was in the lineup, Canseco missed over 120 games during his 2-year tenure with Boston, playing in only 102 and 96 games in 1995 and 1996. He averaged 184 hits, 43 home runs, 134 RBIs, 108 runs, 39 doubles, and a .289 batting average and a slugging percentage of .571 per every 162 games played with the Red Sox.

Return to Oakland (1997)

In January 1997, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics for pitcher John Wasdin. The day after the news of his return to Oakland, the A's front office informed him that ticket sales for the day were the highest in over three years, mainly because of the Bash Brothers reunion. Regarding his health, Canseco had a promising first half of the season, playing in 83 games, with more than half of those as an outfielder. He had 18 home runs and 57 RBIs by the All-Star break, but he suffered a back injury yet again, keeping him on the disabled list and missing 15 games in July and August. He returned to action on August 20, but with the Athletics organization wanting to focus on developing young talent, and with the Bash Brothers reunion losing its appeal with the trade of Mark McGwire to the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline, Canseco ended his season on August 26, missing the last 30 games of the season. In Canseco's eyes, he was shut down by the front office to prevent him from getting the minimum plate appearances that would trigger the renewal of his contract for the following year. He finished the season with a .235 average, the lowest of his career, but with 23 home runs and 74 runs batted in in 388 at-bats. His home run against the Red Sox on August 8 gave him a career total of 254 in an Athletics uniform, placing him 4th all-time behind Reggie Jackson (269), Jimmie Foxx (302), and McGwire (363). After three seasons of playing exclusively as a DH, Canseco saw considerably more action in the outfield, playing 46 of his 108 games in left or right field.

Toronto Blue Jays (1998)

In 1998 Canseco signed a $2.1 million contract on February 4 with the Toronto Blue Jays. He continued to have more action in the outfield, playing a total of 76 games in both left and right field and finishing the season with a .960 fielding average, committing 5 errors in 126 chances. At the plate Canseco had a productive season again, finishing the first half of the season with 24 home runs, 21 stolen bases, and 48 RBIs. For the first time in his career he was issued a jersey number other than 33, wearing number 44 for the first part of the season. (After Ed Sprague was traded to Oakland, Canseco switched back to number 33). During the second half of the season, the Blue Jays instructed Canseco to reduce his attempts to steal bases, causing him to finish one steal shy of another 30–30 season. On July 19, he hit home runs number 25 and 26 against the Yankees and Andy Pettitte, including the sixth grand slam of his career. He finished the season having played 151 games, his highest in 6 years, with a career-high 46 home runs (third in the AL), 107 RBIs, 29 stolen bases, and 98 runs scored, but a .237 batting average. He also led the league with 159 strikeouts. He earned his fourth career Silver Slugger Award, his first as a designated hitter. The Blue Jays made a small effort to retain Canseco after the season, offering him a one-year contract worth just over a million dollars for the following season. Canseco declined the offer and became a free agent on October 22.

Final seasons (1999–2001)

Despite hitting a career-high 46 home runs in 1998, Canseco drew minimal attention in the free agent market. In 1999, he signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays worth $3.3 million with incentives. According to Canseco, the contract included a clause that if he were to be elected to the Hall of Fame he would be depicted as a member of the Devil Rays. That year he came out of the gate swinging, hitting a home run on Opening Day and reaching a total of 10 home runs by the end of April. On April 14 he hit home run number 400 of his career against Toronto's Kelvim Escobar. From May 16 to 21, he hit a home run in five consecutive games, the second-longest streak in Tampa Bay history. In his first 60 games played he hit 25 home runs, batting .306 with a .690 slugging percentage. On pace for 60+ homers for the season, he was voted to the All-Star team as the starting DH for the American League (Tampa Bay's first position player ever to be selected to the All-Star Game), making it his first selection in seven years. By the All-Star break Canseco was leading the American League with 31 home runs, while playing in 82 games during the first half of the season, and became the 14th player in MLB history to hit 30+ home runs before the All-Star break. However, he injured his back days before the mid-summer classic and missed the game and was replaced by Rafael Palmeiro. He also missed the Home Run Derby at Boston's Fenway Park and the chance to compete against McGwire. He had back surgery and was expected to miss the rest of the season. With a remarkable recovery, he came back on August 20, less than a month and a half after his back operation. After his return, Canseco was hitting .315 with only 2 home runs, but had 18 RBIs and 23 hits in his first 20 games back. Although he only hit 3 more home runs in 115 at-bats after his injury, he had a .287 batting average with 26 RBIs and 33 hits in his last 31 games of the year. He finished the season with 34 home runs and 95 RBIs with a .276 batting average, and was ninth in the league with a .563 slugging percentage.

Despite missing around 350 games since 1990, mostly due to injuries, by the end of 1999 Canseco had a total of 303 home runs in 1,145 games, which placed him eighth in the majors during the 1990s.

In February 2000, before the start of spring training for the following MLB season, Canseco played in the MLBPA-organized ''Big League Challenge'' home run derby in Las Vegas at Cashman Field. He competed against a field of 12 that included notable sluggers such as Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mike Piazza. Canseco won the tournament, defeating Rafael Palmeiro in the final.

The Devil Rays re-signed Canseco for the 2000 season on a $3-million contract. The Devil Rays traded for third baseman Vinny Castilla and signed Greg Vaughn as a free agent to complement Fred McGriff and Canseco in the lineup. However, injuries caused the Tampa Bay front office to disband the quartet after the trade deadline. The first half of the season was one of the most difficult in Canseco's career. Bothered by a foot injury, he missed 41 of the team's 85 games up to the All-Star break. Canseco ended his Tampa Bay tenure on August 7 when he was claimed off waivers by the New York Yankees. In one and a half seasons with the Devil Rays, Canseco had a slash line of .272/.373/.525 with 43 home runs, 33 doubles, 125 runs batted in, and 176 hits on 174 games. At the time of the waivers claim, Canseco's 440 career home runs were the most ever for any player acquired by the Yankees. The move to the Yankees caught many, including Yankees manager Joe Torre, off guard, as the Yankees had other players at the time who fulfilled similar roles, such as Dave Justice and Glenallen Hill. Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman made the claim to prevent the Athletics, Red Sox, and Blue Jays, who were in a close race with the Yankees, from acquiring Canseco.

On August 10, during his first game in the starting lineup with the Yankees, batting fourth as the DH, Canseco went 2-for-2 with a walk, a home run, 2 sacrifice flies, and 3 RBIs. He hit .243 with 6 home runs and 19 RBIs in 37 games for the Yankees, splitting duties as a DH, outfielder, and pinch hitter. For the entire season, he had 15 home runs and 49 RBIs in 329 at-bats. The Yankees won the AL East, but Canseco was not on the team's roster for the Division Series or the ALCS. He was, however, included in the final roster for the World Series against the New York Mets. During the sixth inning of Game 4 of the World Series, manager Joe Torre noticed that no right-handed pitcher was warming up in the Mets bullpen, and with pitcher David Cone

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