José Canseco Biography

José Canseco Jr. was born on July 2, 1964, and played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and designated hitter. During his tenure with the Oakland Athletics, he emerged as one of the top power hitters in MLB. He earned the Rookie of the Year award in 1986 and won the Most Valuable Player honor in 1988, and he was selected as an All-Star six times. Canseco won the World Series with the Oakland Athletics in 1989 and later with the New York Yankees in 2000. In 1988, he became the first MLB player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a single season. From 1985 to 2001, he ranked third in MLB history for home runs, behind only Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds. In 2005, he published a book admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs and claimed most MLB players used steroids during his career.