MLB Rumors: Former AL MVP Jose Canseco, 48, Signs With North American Baseball League
If you happen to follow former Major League Baseball player Jose Canseco on Twitter, you’ll notice that the 48-year old spends a lot of his time tweeting about wanting to play baseball again.
Canseco frequently tweets that he would be a designated hitter for any American League team, and he would play for free.
It’s more or less a fact that he’ll never be given another opportunity in Major League Baseball. After all, he’s close to 50 years old, so the talent is obviously long gone, contrary to what he thinks. But he’s also an admitted steroid user, and he embarrassed the game of baseball with his book Juiced, in which he publicly announced dozens of current baseball players on steroids.
On Friday, he was given his opportunity to play baseball, just three days after declaring for bankruptcy protection in Nevada. (The filing lists less than $21,000 in assets and almost $1.7 million in liabilities, including more than $500,000 owed to the Internal Revenue Service, according to NBC Sports.)
Canseco signed with the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings of the North American Baseball League. This is his second stint in the NABL, as he played for the Yuma Scorpions last season. He was a player-manager, hitting .256 with eight home runs and 46 RBIs. (Now explain to me how Canseco thinks he’s going to make the major leagues if he is batting .256 in a baseball league that is probably about semi-pro caliber.)
Earlier this year, Canseco played in 20 games for the Worcester Tornadoes in the Canadian-American Association. He batted .194 with one home run in 72 at bats. But he was suspended for testing positive for a banned substance. (Shocker!)
I give props to Canseco for landing a spot with a baseball squad, although you have to wonder how much of the signing is for attendance purposes. I predict he’ll probably bat around .250.
In 18 major league seasons, Canseco collected 462 home runs and won the 1988 American League Most Valuable Player award, when he became the first baseball player ever to top 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in the same season.
This article was written by Bryn Swartz, the top writer for the Philadelphia Eagles and a featured NFL columnist on Rant Sports. Bryn has written more than 1000 articles in less than two years as a member of Rant Sports. His blog, Eagles Central, was named the 2010 Ballhyped Sports Blog of the Year. To read a portfolio of Bryn’s best work, click here.
