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José Canseco Capas Jr. (born July 2, 1964) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). 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 Athletics (1989) and the New York Yankees (2000). In 1988, Canseco became the first player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in one season. He won the Silver Slugger Award four times: three as an American League (AL) outfielder (1988, 1990, 1991), and once as a designated hitter (1998). He ranks fourth all time in Athletics 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 runs batted in, and 102 runs scored every 162 games, playing a total of 1,887 games in 17 seasons with seven different teams. His 462 career home runs are the 12th-highest total in AL history and the 2nd most in MLB history for a player with less than 2000 games played. 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 MLB, he also competed in boxing and mixed martial arts. Early life Canseco was born in Havana, Cuba, the son of José 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, José 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 José Sr. became a territory manager for another oil and gasoline concern, Amoco, and a part-time security guard. Canseco played baseball at Miami Coral Park High School, where he failed to make the varsity team until his senior year. He was named Most Valuable Player of the junior varsity team in his junior year, and of the varsity team the following year. He graduated in 1982. Baseball career Minor League Baseball (1982–1985) The Oakland Athletics 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 José" 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, Cansec.... Discover the Jordan Minor Dan Ryckert popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Jordan Minor Dan Ryckert books.