In his 2005 best-selling book, "Juiced," Jose Canseco exposed the rampant use of steroids in major league baseball. In it, he accuses several big names of using steroids, including Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi, Rafael Palmeiro, Juan Gonzalez, and Ivan Rodriguez. He went on to write a subsequent book, "Vindicated," where he shared his suspicions of other players' steroid use, most notably, Alex Rodriguez. At the time, many labeled him a rat, a snitch, a bitter ex-ballplayer, and a liar. They said he did it for the money. Well, he may have been a rat, a snitch, and a bitter ex-ballplayer, but one thing he was not, is a liar.
Jose Canseco is Blackballed
First, it is important to understand why Canseco wrote these books. In recent years, Canseco seemingly will do anything for a buck. So, obviously money was a factor. However, the biggest reason he wrote the books is because he feels he was blackballed from the game. The evidence seems to support his theory. In 2002, Canseco was not the great all-around player he was in his prime, but when healthy, he was still a feared slugger. Yet, for some reason, not a single team would offer him a contract, not even a minimum-based, incentive-laden one. Baseball wanted to make an example out of him, keep him from 500 home runs, and out of the Hall of Fame. Naturally, this made him bitter and he vowed revenge.
