Hometown baseball hero and retired Boston Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell lost out on the 1988 American League MVP Award to Jose Canseco, who, it turns out, would have better suited to playing the glockenspiel rather than the Great American Pastime but for that silo of steroids he kept in the backyard. Since Canseco was a big fat cheater, Mike figures it's only fair the record be amended.
Even though Canseco unrepentantly details his rampant steroid use in his new tell-all book, I don't think Mike will get his wish. He's going to have to be satisfied with being the unofficial winner and leave it at that. Baseball just doesn't clean house like that. Too bad.
Mike Piazza also lost out to a steroid user, with the 1996 National League MVP Award going to juicehead Ken Caminiti.
UPDATE:
Reuters has picked up the article. Still no feedback from Canseco about Greenwell.
He's spouting off about Cal Ripken, Jr, though:
"I can just throw up watching the total phonies go to work, guys like Cal Ripken or Alex Rodriguez; everything out of their mouths sounds like it was tested by some kind of focus group beforehand."
I defy even Mr. and Mrs. Cobb to produce a child as poisonous and unlikeable as Jose Canseco.
Posted by floridacracker at February 16, 2005 11:43 PMBaseball's ability to officially ignore all this was stunning, from the league offices to all the local reporters. I'm a Mariners fan. Back in 2001, Bret Boone shows up, after missing most of the previous year from injury, bulked up to the bejeezus. All the local reporters could say was, "Wow, 35lbs of muscle added during rehab. Must've been one heckuva routine!"
Posted by: fad at February 17, 2005 12:31 AMIt's just ridiculous. During the whole Maguire/Sosa thing, I was thinking "What a joke."
Last year during the Series, whenever Giambi would come out on the field here in Miami, the crowd would jeer him with the chant of "Steroids! Steroids!"
They need all that juice to try and beat a fat old cigar-smoking, boozer like the Babe.
Posted by: Donnah at February 17, 2005 12:38 AM