For several days, former Oakland A’s BashBrother Jose Canseco has been apologizing for his controversial book “Juiced” as well as begging for a second chance. In several Tweets, Jose has given special attention to Sandy Alderson, GM for the NY Mets and is simply asking for another chance to play ball.
In several of Canseco’s Tweets the past few days he has stated he is more than ready to play ball and is in fantastic shape. Jose has gone as far to say that any team that signs him to be their DH, that he will hit more home runs than anyone else in the league and wait for it…”steroids are overrated.”
There’s no question Canseco is grasping for straws. A 47 year old man who hasn’t played in the majors since 2001, that’s not a long-shot, that a virtual impossibility. Completely impossible? Of course not, stranger things have happened. Canseco has posted several videos of him crushing 94mph fastballs with the same bat he used to use in his days of glory. So sure, he can still hit in the cage but real life is another story.
There’s no two ways about it, Canseco has lived a rollercoaster of a life. From fame and fortune, loved by every man to down at the bottom, hated and despised; can anyone really blame him for trying to climb out of the whole? It takes guts, I’ll give him that.
In many ways Canseco has been a victim of self and that’s the worst kind of victim of all. He was stripped of everything and much of this beat down was by his own hand, his own anger and desire to be simply Jose Canseco, a name that at one time echoed “Bad Ass.” In Canseco’s recent apology he said, “I guess I wrote the book juiced out of blind anger cause baseball was taken away from me. I am truly sorry for that.” How true is that statement? Who knows and who cares; how genuine and from the heart really doesn’t matter. Wherever the sorrow comes from, you can rest assured Jose Canseco regrets every page of that book.
It’s hard to argue a case for Canseco’s book that spins a positive light but years later it’s still talked about and that says something. The manner in-which Canseco promoted the book, the manner in-which he bashed his counter bashers, no question, it was misguided and construed and Canseco realizes his mistakes; no one can deny that. But there is a gleaming hope, no matter how unlikely; indulge me if you will. Putting “Impossibility” aside, let’s say Jose makes it back to the Big’s and does so steroid free and actually plays well. Can you begin to imagine what this will do to not only to the baseball world but the sports world in general? Suddenly, steroids would seem little more than a random supplement, at least that’s the question that would arise. Here would be a man of 47 years of age crushing homeruns and suddenly the idea of God given talent takes the front seat and steroids are left at the interstate rest-stop.
Although unlikely Canseco’s new found dream will come to fruition, a few things remain constant; Canseco never ceases to entertain, he never leaves our infatuation rather good or bad and here is a man busting his tail to make something happen. For that, Jose we salute you!
