The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, then and now.

[Tobywan]

1999


While there was a shadow of disappointment over the poor showing in the inaugural year there was still the hope of things getting better.

The buzz was on with the February 13-14 Tampa Bay Devil Rays FanFest, newly signed Jose Canseco would be the beast of the ball, with the longest line for autographs. ESPN's Peter Gammons was a special guest appearing at a round table baseball discussion. A clean slate once again, the excitement that comes with a new season, for the DRays faithful it begins at the dome. For most of the players and coaches there wasn't the awkwardness of the first season, especially for manager Larry Rothschild. He now had a home, his family had settled in and there were many familiar faces from the 1998 season. Just a few changes and some tweaks.

Wade Boggs had laser surgery on his eyes, no more contact lenses. Fred McGriff reported to camp early, unusual for such a long time vet. Wilson Alvarez had a pitching mound built at his home to work out on a daily basis. Some of the facilities had gotten upgrades as the usually spendthrift owner Vince Naimoli spent over $8 million for improvements on their workout camp at old Busch complex (former home of the St. Louis Cardinals), Al Lang Field and the minor-league camp at Huggins-Stengel Field.

When the first full squad workouts were held on February 23rd there were 75 players in camp. Like the first season the number was more daunting then helpful, two weeks in and Larry Rothschild was already tired, double workouts and what he felt was low energy during drills and games, he was vocal. The DRays were at the bottom of the spring standings, though in the majority of cases that doesn't reflect on the regular season, but it was the way they were losing, sloppy baseball was frustrating. Then there were the injuries again, at one point there were so many to the outfield contenders that Double-A kids were getting a legitimate look.

There were the murmurs of possible re-alignment, commissioner Bud Selig had been pushing it for years. The Devil Rays and Diamondbacks agreed to waive any rights to block being moved after the 1999 season, before their expansion drafts. Naimoli publicly invited the idea, though he sang a different tune years later. While Arizona managing general partner Jerry Colangelo opposed the idea. When Selig made his appearance in Tampa Bay he also spoke about the possible move of the Montreal Expos and though it didn't happen for several years it was clear that it was on his agenda. There was talk of changing the inter-league format as well as the issue of the NL adopting the designated hitter. The Expos did move becoming the Washington Nationals, there has been re-alignment with the Houston Astros to the AL and the inter-league format was shaken up, but the DH issue is still divided. Bud Selig is stepping down, Rob Manfred takes over as the new baseball commissioner on January 25, 2015.

The slogan for the 1999 season was "Off the Wall." Trying to keep the euphoria of the brand new team, they wanted to keep the tone of the season upbeat. They wanted to put more effort into the marketing and promotional side of the team by hiring a new director.




They made a couple changes to the minor league system. Returning were:
Hudson Valley Renegades-NYPL-Short-Season A
Princeton Devil Rays-APPY-RK
Durham Bulls-IL-AAA
Charleston River Dogs-SALL-A
St. Petersburg Devil Rays-FLOR-A+
DSL Devil Rays-DOSL-FRK

The Gulf Coast Devil Rays were no more and the Double-A Orlando Rays of the Southern League were added. 1999 was the first season that the Devil Rays fielded all levels at the minors and all affiliates were exclusive to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.


The 1999 Opening Day 25-man roster was announced just days before the first game of the season scheduled on April 5th against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.



Pitchers: Scott Aldred, Wilson Alvarez, Rolando Arrojo, Mike Duvall, Roberto Hernandez, Albie Lopez, Jim Mecir, Julio Santana, Tony Saunders, Rick White, Esteban Yan.

Catchers: DiFelice, Flaherty.

Infielders: Wade Boggs, Miguel Cairo, David Lamb, Fred McGriff, Bobby Smith, Kevin Stocker.

Outfielders: Jose Canseco, Danny Clyburn, Dave Martinez, Quinton McCracken, Paul Sorrento, Randy Winn.

[Tobywan]

Mike Veeck- Senior vice president of sales and marketing

Michael Veeck was born on March 5, 1951 in Tuscon, Arizona. He comes from a historical baseball family, not so much from the playing but the business side of the game. His grandfather, William Veeck, Sr was president of the Chicago Cubs from 1919-1933. Mike's father Bill was a Hall of Fame owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, and the Chicago White Sox. When he owned the Indians, Bill signed Larry Doby the first black man to play in the American League in 1947. He was also the master mind behind the infamous stunt of sending 3 foot, 6 inch Eddie Gaedel to the plate for the Browns in a 1951 game against Detroit. Mike was from Bill Veeck's second marriage to Mary Frances (nee Ackerman ) the eldest of six children, the elder Veeck had three children with his first wife, Eleanor (nee Raymond). Mary Frances was among the first female publicists, barnstorming the country with the popular Ice Capades after World War II. While he and his siblings didn't see their workaholic father very much in their youth Mike recalls the times they did spend as "quality".



Mike with his mother, Mary Frances on Opening Day at Comiskey Park on April 14, 1959.


He attended Loyola College and graduated with an English degree, he first wanted to pursue a career in music hopping from one band to another, but it never amounted to anything. In 1976 his father offered him a job with his White Sox. Working in promotions he was credited with helping to boost attendance as they broke team records in 1977 as the team finished sixth in the league standings. One of his most successful promotion was a Disco dance contest, though he hated the style of music. Just two years later he would be the brainchild behind one of the worst nights in baseball history over that same music.




Mike sports the same style glasses as his famous Dad.

In what would become one of the most infamous promotions by going completely wrong, Mike became an MLB pariah due to "Disco Demolition Night" on July 12, 1979 at Comisky Park in Chicago, Illinois. Disco music had briefly taken over the airwaves but it had its critics, a local Chicago DJ Steve Dahl had staged a campaign against Disco. Mike who was the Chicago White Sox promotions director enlisted Dahl's help with the event. The idea was anyone bringing in a Disco record got in the game for 98 cents, the records were collected to be placed in a crate that would be blown up on the field between games of a double-header against the Detroit Tigers. The first game had been rescheduled after a rain out on May 2nd. During a lackluster season the team was drawing about 20,000 per game, they were hoping the promo might being in about 5,000 more. Much to their surprise the place was packed as closer to 50, 000 showed up, even with the stadium already full, thousands jumped the turnstiles. Boxes provided for patrons to deposit the records filled up so many took them to their seats, later using them as projectiles during the first game. They also threw firecrackers, empty liquor bottles, and lighters which was very frightening and dangerous for the players. The game was stopped several times to warn the crowd and clear debris. White Sox announcers Harry Carey and Jimmy Piersall were commenting on air about the demeanor of the crowd and that there was a such a cloud of marijuana smoke that is had started permeating the press box. Bonfires were started outside the stadium where even more thousands were burning records. The first game ended at 8:16, the field was prepared for the demolition and at 8:40 Dahl had emerged onto the field for the show. The majority of security was at the gates trying to keep more people from entering. Very few were watching the stands or the field, White Sox pitcher Ken Kravec was warming up on the mound, players were in the dugouts wearing their batting helmets in fear of being hit with objects. After the detonation "fans" started shimming down the outfield wall, then hundreds followed by thousands swarmed the field. Kravec sprinted to the dugout, the players ran and barricaded themselves inside the clubhouse. It was estimated that up to 7,000 had taken the field, some climbed the foul poles, burned records, destroyed the batting cages, stole the bases and started a bonfire in center field. One 21 year old had been among the melee and gotten away with a bat from the dugout. That young man, Michael Clarke Duncan went on to become an actor best known for his role as John Coffey in "The Green Mile", he passed away in 2012.




At 9:08 police arrived in full riot gear to disperse the crowd who quickly ran when encountered, there were thirty nine arrests and six injuries including one vendor who broke a hip. After the crowds were gone and the groundskeepers cleared off the field, the umpiring crew chief Dave Phillips thought the field was too damaged to continue play. Tiger's manager Sparky Anderson hesitated to return his team to the field concerned for their safety. Phillips put a call in to American League president Lee MacPhail and he ordered the game postponed to the next day. Anderson wanted the game forfeited citing baseball rules for criteria of postponed games, he felt it was the White Sox fault the playing conditions were not acceptable, MacPhail agreed and awarded the game to Detroit by the score of 9-0.

That night remains the last American League game forfeited, the National League had a game forfeited to the St. Louis Cardinals on August 10, 1995 when a giveway at Dodger Stadium went bad. The team gave out baseballs that were hurled onto the field in the ninth inning when manager Tommy Lasorda and two players were ejected for arguing balls and strikes. The event made headlines and a lot of criticism from the mild to the extreme. Some viewed it as just a flaky idea that got out of hand while others viewed it as racist and homophobic as Disco music had become associated mostly with blacks, Latinos and the gay community. If his Daddy hadn't been the boss Mike likely would have been fired over the fiasco, but as it was Bill that took most of the heat in the beginning. With the controversy over the debacle still raging more than a year later Mike finally resigned near the end of 1980. In January 1981 Bill sold the White Sox to Jerry Reinsdorf citing his health and the difficulty to afford staying competitive with the mounting cost of free agency.

Following the Disco Demolition debacle no MLB team would hire Mike. He moved to Florida, became an alcoholic and worked outside of baseball mainly doing construction job. He wrote to a multitude of teams in the majors and minors never receiving an answer. His life spiraled downward drink and drugs led to the collapse of his first marriage, he lost custody of his son. In 1984 Bill Veeck went through two surgeries for lung cancer and in the middle of Mike's self destruction, he passed away of a heart attack after being admitted to a hospital for a chronic respiratory ailment in 1986. Bill was inducted into the HOF posthumously in 1991. Mike kept abusing, a heart attack, nights in jail and deep debts didn't seem to be enough reason to quit. Then, he was stopped for a DUI the officer sent him home in a cab instead of arresting him. He had to break into his house to scrounge for money to pay the fare. It did the trick, he slowly pulled himself up to start getting his life back together. He joined Alcoholics Anonymous, 150 meetings in 90 days. He started working at a Jai Alai fronton, which had reached the height of popularity in the 1980's. He did well, he got out of debt, he decided he would try his hand again in baseball. A struggling semi-pro team, the Miami Miracle would live up to their name and become his salvation. The team didn't even have a true home stadium or any full time staff. He joined an investment group with Marv Goldklang (a minority owner in the New York Yankees), Van Schley, film star Bill Murray, and musician Jimmy Buffet as part owners in 1989. They moved to Fort Myers and became an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins organization. His life turning around, back in the game he loved his personal life improved as well, he met his future wife who was the daughter of his new neighbor, Libby Matthews. She helped him in his work to make the Miracle a success, their daughter Rebecca was born in 1991.

In September that year the Goldklang Group purchased the Charleston Rainbows an affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The deal was finalized on the day that Hurricane Hugo hit South Carolina. The Rainbows had been somewhat successful, but ran into a long losing streak under the new ownership. In 1994, Marv Goldklang changed their name to the RiverDogs and put Veeck in charge of designing and getting together a proposal for a new stadium. They moved into Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in 1997 as a new affiliate of the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In 2000 the RiverDogs had their first winning season since 1988. During his stay in Charleston Veeck fell in love with the area and moved his family there.

The Goldklang Group bought the St. Paul Saints in 1992 putting them into newly built Midway Stadium in 1993.



Bill Murray helps Veeck with his costume during Wizard of Oz Night at Midway Stadium on Aug. 16, 1995.


On September 18, 1998 it had been announced that Charleston River Dogs/ Hudson Valley Renegades co-owner and president Mike Veeck would be joining the team to head the marketing department. From day one starting the home opener the reviews were mixed, there was the good where leading up to the home opener there was an "Olympic Torch" style relay using 2,500 people made up of local names and former players including those from the Negro Leagues. A baseball was carried from the Chamber of Commerce building in downtown St. Petersburg to the pitcher's mound at Tropicana Field. The last recipient of the ball was Larry Doby to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Then the not so good was pyrotechnics set off during the National Anthem inside a dome, smoke lingered for several innings. There was duct tape night and Lawyer Appreciation where they were charged double. The love affair didn't last long, by May he was already butting heads with his bosses and there was a medical issue with his daughter. His seven year old daughter Rebecca was suffering from a disease called cone rod dystrophy, a rare form of retinitis pigmentosa. She was slowly going blind, the job and the constant struggle with those accepting his ideas wasn't worth it, thus he resigned on May 25th. He still had his interests as part-owner of the Renegades, RiverDogs and other teams. One promotion that was being cloned by much of the league was "Turn Ahead the Clock", where teams would don futuristic style uniforms as opposed to "Turn Back the Clock" with vintage uniforms. It was pretty much a disaster throughout the league. The Royals and Mariners did it one night in 1998, somehow promotion departments around the majors didn't think it was bad enough to leave it alone. The DRays TATC game was after Veeck had left, but most of his scheduled promotions went ahead.





Though Veeck's presence was short many of his ideas have lingered, wacky themes, lots of giveaways and still an exchange night where transplants can turn in their Yankee or Red Sox cap for a Rays cap. During those early days there was a big push to try to make it fun, even with the losing night after night.

He spent a few years taking his daughter Rebecca to see sites all over the country so she would have memories before she would completely lose her sight.



Veeck with daughter Rebecca (age 11) in 2003.

After the end of the 2004 season, the RiverDogs became an affiliate of the New York Yankees. In 2005 he published a book titled "Fun Is Good: How to Create Joy and Passion in Your Workplace and Career,” about his philosophy on marketing. Eventually, he started a marketing company called Veeck Advertising Professionals (VAP), that would tie in to the Goldklang group. The company also handles clients of industries other than baseball. The book also opened up speaking engagements and consulting for other sports teams. In 2008 he got the opportunity to teach a marketing course at the Citadel, he loved it and hopes to have the opportunity to do more in the future. He gave the commencement address in 2010.






Veeck with his son William at Comisky Park.

On May 12, 2014 he was honored by the South Carolina Hall of Fame at their 54th Annual banquet and induction ceremony where he received the Willie Jeffries Ambassador for Sports Award.

In July 2014 Veeck was finally able to get his second chance with " Disco Demolition 2 " after a game between the Charleston RiverDogs, now a Class A affiliate of the New York Yankees and the Augusta GreenJackets. Fans were asked to bring CDs and memorabilia of Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus in exchange for admission of $1 and the game was sold out. "Celebrating" the 35th anniversary the RiverDogs won 9-7 and the explosion once again took place on the field, bt this time ample security was in place to keep fans in their seats. There was also a giveaway to honor his father, a Bill Veeck Bobble-Leg, Bill had lost his leg when it was crushed by a mortar shell in WWII and he had worn a wooden one for most of his life.




Veeck and the Goldklang Group is currently awaiting the finish of a new stadium for his beloved St. Paul Saints they will be starting the 2015 season at the new Lowertown Ballpark .



He also has gotten more opportunities to teach as a visiting Professor in The Citadel's Health, Exercise and Sport Science Department. The Goldklang Group still owns the RiverDogs, Renegades and Saints as well as the Fort Myers Miracle and Pittsfield Suns.



Marv Goldklang, Bill Murray and Veeck


Veeck and his wife Libby curently reside in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, they have a daughter Rebecca. Mike has a son William "Night Train" (currently works as "Manager of Fan Engagement" for the Chicago White Sox ) from his first marriage.

[Tobywan]

Leon Roberts #5 -Hitting Coach


Leon Kauffman Roberts was born on January 22, 1951 in Vicksburg, Michigan, he didn't start playing baseball until he was 10, his first dream was to be an NFL quarterback. He attended Portage Northern High School, playing three sports with the Huskies. In baseball he was a catcher and pitcher, his name is still visible on banners hanging in the gym. He was recruited heavily by several teams and could have signed to play in the majors out of high school but Bo Schembechler of the University of Michigan wanted him to play football for him. He was there from 1969-1972 on a football scholarship, but he was a tight end and the Wolverines were not a passing team, so Leon played basketball and baseball. He lettered in all three sports and made All-Big 10 as an outfielder while hitting .422 in 1972, but he was a very good pitcher as well.


Roberts' brother, Bill Roberts, was an outfielder in the Houston Astros organization and is a member of the Portage Northern High School Hall of Fame.

He was selected in the 10th round of the June 6, 1972 amateur draft by the Detroit Tigers. Though he was a Michigan boy his favorite team growing up was the Yankees, though Tigers Al Kaline and Rocky Colavito were among his favorite players.


He was first assigned to the Single A Lakeland Tigers of the Florida State League spending most of the season with them before being sent to the Single-A Rocky Mount Leafs in the Carolina League. Both teams finished fifth in their division, but he impressed the coaches by batting .304 with 40 runs, 15 doubles, 84 hits and 50 walks in 80 games. He spent all of 1973 with the Double A Montgomery Rebels of the SOUL, he collected 144 hits with 87 runs, 70 RBIs, 30 doubles, 22 stolen bases and 14 home runs with a .294 BA. He played a big role in getting the Rebels into the post season. They defeated of the Jacksonville Suns in the championship series. He was promoted to Triple A in 1974 playing for the Evansville Triplets in the American Association, they finished third just barely over .500.



Roberts is tagged out at second by Denver Bears Tom Ragland on June 1974.


Roberts finished with a .285 BA with 137 hits, 74 runs, 79 RBIs and 31 doubles good enough to earn a call up to make his major league debut on September 3rd. The Tigers were in last place, but were schedule to play a double header, they lost the first game 5-1, Roberts was put into the line up for game 2 as the starting right fielder taking the place of Al Kaline against the Cleveland Indians. He struck out in his first at bat facing Dick Bosman, he struck out two more times and grounded out twice, not the most spectacular offensive debut. The Tigers did win the game 5-4 with the help of an 8th inning two run homer from Gates Brown to tie and a single from Tom Veryzer to bring in Ben Oglivie for the win in the 11th. He would get his first hit and RBI in an 8-3 win on September 7th against the Yankees. He spent the month gleaming as much knowledge as he could from Al Kaline and witnessed Al's historic 3,000th hit on September 24th. Roberts finished batting .270 in 63 at bats.



Kaline retired at the end of the season, Roberts battled for the right field opening during the 1975 spring training season, he made the 25-man roster and then won the starting spot with an impressive April. He would collect his first homer with a bomb over the Green Monster at Fenway in a 12-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox on May 3rd. He was hitting .340 by the end of May but then started to struggle and the surge of Ron LeFlore and Ben Oglivie didn't help his standing with the team. He finished the season batting .257 with 17 doubles, 10 home runs and 38 RBIs as the Tigers once again fell to last place. Even though he was limited to 127 games in the field he was fourth in putouts (265) and Fielding % (.982) for an AL right fielder.





On December 6th he was playing winter ball when he got the news that he was part of a multi-player trade along with Terry Humphrey, Mark Lemongello and Gene Pentz being sent to the Houston Astros for Jim Crawford, Milt May and Dave Roberts.



He made the 1976 roster as a reserve and managed a .289 BA in just 87 games as the team finished 3rd.

A movie of the week titled "Murder at the World Series" premiered on March 20, 1977, Leon Roberts portrayed himself in the very low budget production that had quite a few celebrity names of the era.

He would start the 1977 season with the Astros but barely played and was sent to their Triple-A affiliate the Charleston Charlies of the International League in June after a horrible 2-for-27 start. He felt he didn't get to lay enough to develop any rhythm. He decided in the middle of the season to try out for the Houston Oilers and made the team as a punter. The plan was to just play Sundays then join the team full time in October after baseball was done. When the Astros GM Tal Smith found out, he told him he couldn't play football, but Roberts pointed out there was no exclusivity clause in his contract, so he gave him a raise to get him to forget the idea. He batted .299 for the Charlies and only gotten into 19 games for the Astros, so it was kind of a unclear why the GM was so adamant that he stay. During the winter meetings on December 5th he was traded to the Seattle Mariners for Jimmy Sexton. The Mariners had only been in the league for 2 seasons and were considered an undesirable team to play for at the time. Leon played winter ball that off season with the Leones del Caracas club of the Venezuelan League. He made the roster though he wasn't the starting right fielder on opening day, but that would change after his numbers started to soar beginning with his first hit on April 9th which was a grand slam off Geoff Zahn of the Minnesota Twins.



He had a six RBI game in May and a 2 home run game in August. It would be the best season of his career batting .301 (6th in the AL) with 22 homers, 92 RBIs though the M's finished dead last in the division. He was 2nd in the AL in putouts as a RF with 289 and 4th in assists and named the team's MVP. He never tried to play football again and after seeing what happened to Bo Jackson, he never regretted the decision. He reached his 500th game on August 19th, he ended up batting .271 with 15 home runs in 1979 as the team finished 6th. His average and playing time dropped a bit in 1980 as he finished with a .251 BA, 10 homers and 33 RBIs. He was traded on December 12th along with Larry Cox, Rick Honeycutt, Willie Horton and Mario Mendoza to the Texas Rangers for Steve Finch (minors), Brian Allard, Rick Auerbach, Ken Clay, Jerry Don Gleaton and Richie Zisk.

He started the Rangers' 1981 season on the disabled list, he was activated on April 19th.



The season was in jeopardy when the MLBPA voted to strike on May 29th, play resumed on August 9th with the All-Star Game in Cleveland's Municipal Stadium and regular play a couple days later. Roberts split time between all three outfield positions, batting .279 in 72 games, of what ended up a 105 game season for the Rangers. Due to the strike the season was split, the team finished 2nd in the first half and 3rd in the second giving them a 2nd place finish overall in the AL West. He would make the 1982 roster as a reserve, he was batting .233 in just 31 games when on July 5th he was placed on waivers, he was sent to the Toronto Blue Jays on July 15th for cash.






..............................

[Tobywan]

...................................




He finished the 1982 season batting .229 with 24 hits and one home run in 40 games for the Blue Jays.

On February 5, 1983 he was traded to the Kansas City Royals for Cecil Fielder.

He was used sparingly until injuries mounted, by July he was getting more time and just happened to be the starting right fielder in one of the most infamous games in Royals history on July 24th. Playing the Yankees in New York in a close game, the Royals were down 4-3 heading into the 9th inning. Roberts had gone 2-for-3 before being lifted for pinch hitter Willie Aikens in the 8th and had a front row seat for what would unfold in the 9th. Reliever Dale Murray was on the mound for the Yanks and quickly retired Don Slaught and Pat Sheridan then gave up a single to U.L. Washington. With George Brett up next Yanks manager Billy Martin handed the ball to Rich "Goose" Gossage to save the game. Brett proceeded to hit a home run to give the Royals a 5-4 lead, but just as he sat back on bench, Billy Martin confronted the umpires asking for the bat to be inspected. Yankee third baseman Graig Nettles claims he informed Martin about the pine tar rule as he had an issue over his bat when he was a member of the Minnesota Twins. Home plate umpire Tim McClelland called Brett out ruling that the pine tar on his bat violated MLB Rule 1.10(c) and called him out ending the game. However, George flew out of the dugout like a raging bull as teammates including Roberts tried to catch him before he could reach the umpire, benches cleared, Gaylord Perry ran off with the bat towards the dugout handing it off to a bat boy as security pursue.





The Royals protested the game, AL President Lee MacPhail sided with the Royals and overturned the umpires ruling validating Brett's home run. He ordered the game be restarted from the point of the homer, the Yankees held it off as long as they could but it was played out on August 18th . Reportedly Brett was not even at Yankee Stadium for the restart. As sort of a protest of his own Yankees manager Billy Martin put pitcher Rod Guidry in center field and move Don Mattingly to second. The Yankees also tried to challenge that the batters in the original game didn't touch all the bases, but umpire Dave Phillips pulled out a notarized affidavit signed by all original umpires, they were prepared to counter any "tricks" the Yankees might use. The Royals would win 5-4. The Royals would finish 2nd in their division and Roberts had a .258 BA in 84 games.



In 1984 he was limited to just 29 games, he got a chance to pitch on July 3rd against the Cleveland Indians in a lopsided game, he gave up 4 hits 3 runs (a two-run homer to Chris Bando) in just one inning. He wound up on the DL in August, the Royals finished first in their division but Roberts would not be included in the post season roster. Kansas City was eliminated from the ALCS in a sweep at the hands of the Detroit Tigers. On October 10th he was released after being placed on unconditional waivers. It was later revealed that Roberts had actually played all those years with only one good eye, he had pierced his right eye with a knife when he was 5 years old. It wasn't until the end of the 1984 season that he was unable to fool doctors during an eye test and they wouldn't pass him to play.

He retired after the season, but the Detroit Tigers lured him back assigning him to their American Association affiliate the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Just as the season was to start manager Lee Walls had to step down due to an unexpected illness. Leon managed for seven games until he was replaced by Gordon Mackenzie on April 26th. He played 97 games finishing with a .267 BA, he injured his wrist cutting short his attempt at a comeback. He retired again after the season, but once again came back out in 1986 and was going to play again for the Sounds. That changed when manager Dave Bristol abruptly left just before spring training, Roberts was given the full time job.






He never made it back to the majors as a player making his last game September 30, 1984 with the Kansas City Royals at 33 years old.

In 11 MLB seasons with six different teams he finished with a .267 batting average with , 731 hits, 78 home runs, 328 RBIs in 901 games.

In his first full season of managing he led Nashville to a 68-74 record finishing 6th. He managed the Tiger's Triple-A affiliate Toledo Mudhens of the International League as they went 70-70 into 5th place in 1987. Next was the Single-A Fayetteville Generals in the South Atlantic League in 1988, they went 62-73 finishing in 10th place. He joined the Winter Haven Super Sox of the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989, eventually replacing Ed Nottle as manager. He hit .290 with 8 homers and 44 RBIs in 65 games. In 1990, he played for the San Bernardino Pride of the SPBA playing in 25 games with a .300 BA, 3 home runs and 22 RBI before the league folded.

In 1992 the Atlanta Braves named him the manager of the Durham Bulls in the Carolina League, which briefly had the presence of the then 20 year old Chipper Jones. The team went 70-70 finishing in 3rd place, then in 1993 they went 69-69 finishing in 5th. He managed the Single-A Macon Braves of the SALL as they went 73-64 finishing 6th. He then became the Braves minor league hitting instructor until 1998.



On November 4, 1998 the Tampa Bay Devil Rays named him as their new hitting coach replacing Steve Henderson. He was 48 years old when he got to the Devil Rays spring training camp in February of 1999. He startled guys with a new approach of using film during batting practises to show batters their strong points and flaws. He didn't believe in changing mechanics but trying to get players to maintain their natural swings that made them standouts in the first place. Roberts knew that for some reason the nerves and situations of major league at bats sometimes makes hitters forget their natural hitting patterns.



Roberts is flanked by manager Larry Rothschild and coach Frank Howard.

While he was working for the Devil Rays his son Brandon would begin his college career playing for Dad's alma mater. Brandon Roberts hit .365 with 10 homers to help lead the Martin High School Warriors (Arlington, Texas) to a third-place district finish in 2000. Two of his teammates were Jake Fox and Nate McClouth. The Devil Rays home run total and batting average improved in 1999, in 2000 the home run total increased significantly but the overall batting average of the team dipped and it was announced on October 2nd that he had been let go along with bench coach Bill Russell and bullpen coach Orlando Gomez. He then became a minor league hitting coordinator and coach for the Cincinnati Reds in 2001 until 2006. While Leon was with the Reds his son Brandon going by the nickname J.D. was drafted by the team in the 45th round of the 2004 June amateur draft. He played 3 seasons in their minor leagues.

On November 3, 2006 the Atlanta Braves announced that Roberts would return to their organization as the hitting coach for their Triple-A affiliate Richmond Braves of the IL for the 2007 season. He would help lead the team to the International League championship beating the Durham Bulls to take the Governor's Cup. they would lose the AAA Championship to the Sacramento River Cats of the PCL. His son J.D. spent 2007 with the Atlanta Braves High A team the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Carolina League, it was his last season of pro ball and he never played in the majors. On December 7th Leon was named the club's minor league hitting coordinator, holding that position until 2011.

One of his off the field passions is hunting, elk, deer, bear, sheep, antelope, and moose though n recent years he has really picked up on quail. He has also participated in the annual Chuck LaMar/Mercury Outboards Grand Slam celebrity fishing tournament.


Some of his fondest memories were getting a few hitting tips from Ted Williams, listening to manager Ralph Houk tell stories about some of his heroes like Je DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. Some of the horror stories were the usual about awful parks in the minor leagues, clubhouses with 2 showers but only one that worked, hanging clothes on nails and no hot water. Fields with dirt so hard they had constant bruises and welts from sliding, lighting so bad you could barely see the ball. He once had to fight a tarantula for a drink in the water fountain and of course the 14 hour bus rides with no air conditioning. The parks and amenities are far superior now.



In 2012 the Houston Astro's hired him to be the hitting coach for their Triple-A minor league team the Oklahoma City RedHawks of the Pacific Coast League.



Before Roberts, the RedHawks were last in average, runs and homers in his first season they were 6th in average, 5th in homers and 8th in runs in 2011. They were much improved in 2012 and then in 2013 the team finished the season with 82 wins, second most in club history as they won the American Southern Division with the best record in the PCL. However, they were swept in the first round of play-offs by the Omaha Storm Chasers who went on to become the PCL Champs. He began his 44th season in baseball in 2014, the RedHawks finished this season 74-70 in third place.








On September 17th it was announced that the Red Hawks had been sold and will become an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning in 2015. On the 18th the Astros confirmed their new Triple-A affiliate would be the Fresno Grizzlies in the American Northern division of the Pacific Coast League. Roberts is currently listed to be the hitting coach.


Leon and his wife, Pam reside in Arlington, Texas, they have a son Brandon Jason (J.D.), couldn't find a reference to any other children.

[Tobywan]

Jose Canseco #33-DH/OF

José Canseco Capas, Jr was born in Regla (near Havana) Cuba on July 2, 1964 along with twin Ozzie (Osvaldo), to José and Barbara (Capas) Canseco. The twins would have varied degrees of success and strife in their similar path. Father, Jose Sr. was a manager for Esso Standard Oil during the Juan Batista regime. He was free to study in the US as a teen, learned English well and taught part time when he returned. Fidel Castro took control in 1959, a few years later Sr. lost his job and the family home. Sr's brother, Osvaldo (Ozzie's namesake) was killed when a french ship, LaCoubre, exploded in the Havana Harbor March 4, 1960. Nearly a hundred killed, hundreds more wounded, it was debated if it was accident or if intentionally set by a dockworker. After years of requests the family was given permission to leave in 1965, Sr., Barbara, daughter Teresa and the year old twins were airlifted out of Varadero to Miami along with about 15 others stuffed in a small plane. It cased a rift in the family, members loyal to Castro felt that the Cansecos were traitors. Arriving with very little, they were greeted in Miami by Jose's aunt. Sr. got a job at Amoco Oil along with a part time job as a security guard. Jose recalls his father as strict, critical and hard to please. He drove the boys hard, though he never played baseball he was a huge fan and wanted both boys to learn the game. He was disappointed that his skinny son Jose didn't seem to be very good. At 15, Jose was too small to make the football team at Coral Park High School, he tried out for baseball though not good enough to make the varsity squad. His father told him he would never amount to anything. When Jose was named the MVP of the junior varsity team, he was placed on the varsity squad as a senior becoming the Rams 1982 MVP.



He was selected in the 15th round of the June 7, 1982 amateur draft by the Oakland Athletics and signed on June 17. Ozzie went to Miami-Dade College, was taken by the Yankees in the 2nd round of the amateur draft on January 11, 1983 as a pitcher. Both would have long careers but one more lucrative than the other. Jose was assigned to the Rookie Idaho Falls A's in the Pioneer League then was loaned to the Single-A Miami Marlins of the FSL, batting .242 in 34 games. He made $600 a month while in Idaho, living with some teammates in a dump with no heat or even a bathroom. The Marlins had no ML affiliate in 1982, they
played with loan players from around the minors until it got a deal. Miami finished with a 53-84 record for 5th place. He spent most of the 1983 season with the Low-A Medford A's (Oregon) in the Northwest League, batting .269 with 40 RBIs and 11 homers becoming an All-Star. He was sent to Wisconsin, to the Madison Muskies (A) of the MIDW, in 34 games he batted just .159, finishing 2nd in their division with a 71-67 record.





1983 Madison Muskies

On March 4, 1984 he was arrested in Miami-Dade County, it is unclear exactly why, but some reports suspected street racing along with attempting to flee from police.



He reported to the new spring home for the A's at the Phoenix Municipal Stadium in Arizona . He went to the Single-A Modesto A's of the California League, but left soon after to be with his dying mother. She had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and deteriorated quickly. He promised her he would be the best ball player in the world. He was so devastated at her passing he didn't return to the team right away. When he got back he went on a tear, he batted .276/.388/.446 with 15 HR and 73 RBI in 116 games. He was key to their 2nd place finish in their division going 83-56 along with some help from teammate Mark McGwire as they led them to the CALL Championship.

He reported to camp in 1985 25 lbs heavier, he claimed the result of an intensive weightlifting program. It was later revealed that the intense workouts started near the end of the 1984 season were hastened and enhanced by PEDs, specifically anabolic steroids. He spent the first half of the season with the AA Huntsville Stars in the SOUL helping them get a head start toward a championship season, though he was out three weeks with a broken finger. He finished with the Tacoma Tigers (AAA) of the PCL, but the team went 66-76 finishing in 5th place. Jose batted .333/.424/.649 with 26 doubles, 36 HR, 127 RBI while striking out 127 times. He was named to the SOUL All-Star team, Baseball America's Double-A All-Star team ,won the Southern League MVP and was also a PCL All-Star. He was named Baseball America's and the Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year. This got him a call up to the A's making his ML debut on September 2, coming into the games as a pinch hitter. The A's were being blown out by the Orioles, Tommy John had been the starting pitcher for the A's. John let up 6 runs and was lifted by the middle of the 2nd. A's down 4-12 in the ninth, Canseco replaced catcher Mickey Tettleton after Dwayne Murphy led off the inning with a double, facing Ken Dixon, Jose struck out. A's didn't score ending the rout. His first hit came against the Yankees in NY on September 7 where he started in right during another Tommy John start. Striking out in his first at bat he led off the fourth with a single off Rod Guidry, he did reach on an error in the 8th, the Yanks won 3-2. He hit his first homer on September 9th at home against Texas, a solo shot leading off the third facing Jeff Russell. He also singled in the 7th, but a losing effort as the Rangers won 3-1. He was the AL Player of the Week on September 29th, he would earn that honor 7 more times in his career. In 29 games he batted .302 with 5 HR and 13 RBI. Canseco admitted he had started his steroid use with testosterone and Deca-Durabolin, using heavily before 1986 in hopes of remaining in the majors. Over the years he experimented with many combinations of PEDs, trying anything new to get better results. He made the 1986 roster, soon he wowed everyone with his power and made his first All-Star team, the game held at the Houston Astrodome. In those days starters went deeper in the game, AL manager Dick Howser never put him in, this didn't sit well with Jose.

As Jose was shining, Ozzie was released by the Yanks on July 4th after years of languishing in the minors, he never reached higher than Single-A. Oakland signed him on the 10th assigning him to the Muskies. Jose played 157 games, collecting 144 hits, 29 doubles, 33 HR , 117 RBIs and 15 SB even with 175 strike outs and a .240 BA. He was named the AL ROY, the first A's player to win it since Harry Byrd in 1952.

In 1987, A's owner Walter Haas restored the scripted "Athletics" to the uniforms. Former owner Charles O. Finley removed the full name from the jerseys to separate them from their history in Philly under Connie Mack. The A's fans would enjoy the fireworks when Mark McGwire joined the team, he and Canseco put on a show. Mac earned the AL ROY giving the A's back-to-back honors, they were dubbed the "Bash Brothers". Canseco swears Mac accomplished his breakout season steroid free. Jose finished with 162 hits, 31 HR, 113 RBI and 15 steals while batting .257. Despite the bashers hitting everything in sight the team fell third in the AL West going 81-81.



By 1988 he was a huge star and fan favorite, he had a 3 HR/6 RBI game against Toronto on July 3rd and was voted again to the All-Star team. At Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 12th, he started in left with Dave Winfield in right and Rickey Henderson in center. The AL won despite Jose going 0-for-4 with a strikeout, his A's teammates McGwire and Terry Steinbach (HR) also started. He was the first player in MLB history to have at least 40 home runs (42 league leading) and 40 stolen bases (40) in the same season, he won a Silver Slugger and the AL MVP award. He played his 500th game on September 29, was the AL SLG % leader (.569) and RBI leader (124), he was also Player of the Month. He was the first Oakland A to have three straight 100 RBI seasons. With 187 hits, 34 doubles, 78 walks adding to his other offensive totals and a .307 BA he played a pivotal role in Oakland's 104-58 season to win the AL West. He batted .313 in the ALCS with 5 hits, 3 HR and 4 RBI as the A's swept the Boston Red Sox. Didn't quite dazzle in the WS against the LA Dodgers. Starting off well with a grand slam in Game 1, but it would be overshadowed by the pinch hitting heroics of a beat up LA veteran. Oakland was up 4-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth at Dodger Stadium, Dennis Eckersley took over the mound from starter Dave Stewart. After retiring Mike Scioscia and Jeff Hamilton, he walked PH Mike Davis then Kirk Gibson came off the bench to pinch hit. With a left hamstring injury and a swollen right knee, he came to the plate swinging away. With a 2-2 count Davis stole second as Gibson took ball three. On the very next pitch Gibson hit the ball to right field over Cansco's head landing a few rows up as Gibson hobbled around the bases for one of the most iconic walk offs in baseball history and a 5-4 victory. Jose didn't get another hit in the series, batting .053 as the Dodgers took the series 4-1. On November 16th he was named the AL MVP in the first unanimous vote since Reggie Jackson in 1973. It was also the season that Jose claims he introduced Mac to the benefit of steroids, revealing tales of 2 very large men huddled in bathroom stalls of the Oakland Coliseum.

On November 5th he married Esther Haddad, they met in the off season of 1987 at a health spa. He followed her home to get her address then showed up at her door the next day convincing her to lunch with him. She accepted, not knowing his name, but seeing his Mercedes. Born to Cuban parents ( father of Lebanese decent), a former Miss Miami, studying at at Miami-Dade Community College to be a kindergarten teacher when they met. They were inseparable for almost a month when she asked what he did for money, he didn't seem to have a regular job, he informed her of his profession.





Jose and Esther at LAX, Oct. 13, 1988.

On February 10, 1989, Canseco was arrested for reckless driving after leading police on a high speed chase and fined $500. On April 1, he had an x-ray on his injured wrist at a hospital on the Laurel Heights campus of the University of California in San Francisco, Esther was with him. They left the the facility at around 2 pm heading to his car where university police were waiting. A school employee saw a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol on the floor of the driver's side in Canseco's Jaguar. Esther posted a $5,000 bail, with an arraignment set three weeks later. They were furious as the media made it sound like he was brandishing the weapon at people. The case was negotiated down to a misdemeanor, he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to three years of unsupervised probation along with community service. The incident also cost him a deal with the California Egg Commission for TV commercials. Canseco had surgery on his wrist to repair a ligament keeping him out of action the first half of the season. He did a 9 game rehab stint back at Huntsville in July. He hadn't played in a single game for the A's but was voted to the All-Star game and at odds with the front office as to whether he would play. Due to come off the disabled list he kept telling the press he would be in Anaheim on July 11th, but Oakland had the last word, "No." They refused to activate him until after the break. He played in just 65 games with 17 homers and a .269 BA as they won the AL West with a 99-63 record.

Few few would deny that Canseco has always had a very confident even arrogant sense of himself, but to a true test of self exploitation he created a 900 line in September. For $2 the first minute and a $1 for each additional one, you could listen to him speak about the last game, his run ins with the law (his version), the joys of driving fast cars and even his personal life. It didn't seem to take off well and wasn't in service for long. Jose Canseco was on his way to alienating his friends, teammates and the front office. Missed appearances, arrests, speeding tickets and his loose tongue to the media would have gotten him shipped out sooner if it hadn't been for his bat. As it was he would once again join them in another winning season and another postseason run.

In the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays he batted . 294 with 5 hits, including a HR in Game 4 at the Skydome with 3 RBIs as the Athletics would take the series 4-1. In a World Series match up billed as the "Battle of the Bay" the A's would face the SF Giants. Oakland took the first 2 games easily at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. On October 17th, Game 3 was to be played at Candlestick Park, ABC sports was just minutes into it's live pre-game broadcast when at 5:04 pm the feed suddenly got cut off, just as Al Michaels was in mid sentence saying they were being hit with an earthquake. When video was restored viewers saw the frightened crowds rushing out and players scrambling to find their families making their way out of the stadium.



Jose and Esther with other A's and families exit the field after an earthquake hits the 1989 WS.



The series was credited for preventing a larger loss of life due to the Bay Bridge and Nimitz Freeway collapse as well as damage to many of the bay area highways. There were 62,000 at the stadium, many left work early or were already crowded into area bars for watch parties when the quake hit during rush hour. The decision to postpone the series by the new Commissioner of Baseball Fay Vincent who took over after the sudden death Bart Giamatti on September 1st, angered the umpires who protested. Originally, it was delayed 5 days, then it became 10 as there were problems fully restoring transmission links at the stadium. Game 3 was played on October 27th, there were a combined seven home runs setting a new MLB record for the WS. The A's also tied the record for most hit by a single team in a WS with five, joining the NY Yankees who won Game 4 of the 1928 WS against the St. Louis Cardinals. One of them was hit by Canseco with two by Dave Henderson as the A's won 13-7. Game 4 would be the latest end game of a World Series to that date as Oakland swept the Giants, the record would be tied in 1995 and surpassed due to the delay in 2001 after the 9-11 attack. It would also be the last WS ever played at Candlestick Park. Out of respect for the victims of the Loma Prieta earthquake (named for the epicenter near the Loma Prieta peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains) the A's decided not to engage in the common practice of a champagne celebration. Jose had made up for his lack luster performance in the last series, he batted .357 with 5 hits (one homer), 4 walks, 5 runs, and 3 RBIs.

For 3 seasons Jose and GM Sandy Alderson were at odds over contracts. It was arbitration time with a hearing set for February 14, 1990. These hearings can be nasty, reportedly if Jose didn't take their offer his legal problems would be raised at the proceeding. Canseco told Alderson he would be sorry, then 2 days before the hearing the sides came to terms on a one-year $2M deal. In April Jose told the media that racism was behind the team not offering him a multi-year contract, he later recanted. He was May's player of the month, but missed two weeks in June. In a stunning turn of events he was awarded a a five-year, $23.5 million deal on June 28th. it made him the highest paid player in the game surpassing Don Mattingly's five-year, $19.6 million deal with the Yankees signed in April. On July 10th he started the All-Star game in right at Wrigley Field along with many of the same players as in 1988. Jose went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout, but the AL won 2-0.



Jose w/Darryl Strawberry before the 1990 MLB All Star Game


A week after the All-Star break, Ozzie would make his debut with the A's on July 18th, he played just 9 games for the Athletics in the outfield and at DH.



AL West Champs once again with a 103-59 record led to a repeat of the '88 ALCS with Boston. Canseco batted .182 with 2 hits, 3 runs, an RBI, 5 walks and 5 Ks, but the A's swept again. They would defend their WS title against the the Cincinnati Reds "Big Red Machine". Canseco batted just .083 with one hit (a HR), 2 RBIs, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts as the A's were swept. After going 0-4 in Game 3, Tony La Russa didn't start him in Game 4, though he pinch hit in the 9th. The move prompted Esther to call the manager a "punk". He won another silver slugger as he batted .274 with 101 RBIs and 37 home runs during the season. Ozzie was released in December ending the brothers' tandem on the same major league roster.

Canseco filed for divorce in January of 1991 but later withdrew his petition hoping to fix his marriage. On May 9th during a road trip to New York he was photographed leaving the apartment building of pop singer Madonna. Following that middle of the night "business meeting", the media and fans had a field day, he was heckled constantly. He insisted they were just friends and that he and Esther were reconciling, though she was furious when she first found out about the incident. Later, he would tell US Weekly that while he and Esther were separated Madonna approached him about marrying her and having a child after he divorced. He told her he was trying to works things out with his wife, he worried about money he would lose in a divorce, Madonna told him she had plenty. He claims they were never intimate but he stopped seeing her when he tried to take a boat to her house with helicopters following, he turned around for home and informed her he'd had enough.


Mark McGwire, Ron Kittle, Tony La Russa, Walt Weiss, Ozzie Guillen, Jose Canseco. May 1991


A few months later during the A's next series at Yankee Stadium, Jose was greeted by an especially rowdy crowd. It was just a 2 night stand on July 29 and 30 where things got completely out of hand in the right-field bleachers during the first game. As Canseco took his position fans began to throw balls, coins, batteries, trash, vegetables, even some small portable radios onto the field, at one point a blow up doll was thrown. The verbal taunts were just as bad, not the common critiques of performance, but personal jibes about his wife and some racial slurs. There were several ejections and arrests after attendants trying to break up fights were attacked themselves. The next night fans turned their ire at Harold Baines as Jose was scheduled to DH, but the taunting was about Jose and it was worse when Jose was at bat. There were 2 dozen additional guards in right field so the fighting and arrests were at a minimum. Since becoming a big name in the A's line-up and the highest paid player in the game his off-field issues were getting much more publicized, though he was usually received well by most opposing fans. On August 19th he hit his 200th home run and would wind up batting .266 with 122 RBI, 44 homers, 32 doubles. Near the end of September he publicly stated he was unhappy with his reception by fans at home games, stating he was more welcomed by fans on the road. He asked his agent to talk to A's GM Sandy Alderson about a possible trade. He won another Silver Slugger and was 4th in the AL MVP voting as the Athletics went 84-78 finishing 4th.




-----------

[Tobywan]

--------------

On February 13, 1992 he was arrested in Miami on aggravated battery charges and later released on a $5,000 bond. Jose and Esther had been living apart but talking and trying once again to work it out. They were having a late supper together but drove in separate cars, after they both stopped at a 24-hour gas station for fuel. They argued at the pumps, he grabbed her purse and pager, then returned the purse but not the pager and she sped off. He pursued her as she got on the highway. His version was, they accidentally "bumped" each other. Her version was, he rammed his Porsche into her BMW twice, in the front panel and again in the back bumper. An officer arrived observing him spitting on her driver's side window and screaming, her car was inoperable with $10,000 in damages. After the arrest she changed her story and didn't want to press charges. They made up, his lawyer worked to get the charges vacated but the State Attorney`s Office wanted to pursue it as a domestic abuse case which wouldn't need her cooperation. Esther was hounded by talk shows for an exclusive, she was never shy about telling reporters about their life together, of impromptu visits to the team hotel at 3 am to surprise Jose on the road. How she would greet him at the airport wearing nothing but garters under a trench coat and sending flowers to herself with a love note from Jose to send him a hint that he should be doing it himself. Once more another spring camp in a buzz more about Canseco's personal issues and causing a distraction.


On February 20th an episode of The Simpsons titled "Homer at the Bat" aired featuring depictions of Jose, Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Ken Griffey, Jr., Steve Sax, Ozzie Smith, Don Mattingly, Darryl Strawberry and Mike Scioscia using their real voices.

On July 1st he went to the DL with a sore right shoulder, OF Troy Neel recalled from Tacoma to take his spot. He didn't rehab in the minors and was still injured when he was voted to the All-Star game and once again couldn't play.



On August 31st the A's were hosting the Orioles, as Canseco was on deck in the first, manager Tony LaRussa called him back to the dugout to inform him he had just been traded to the Texas Rangers. Even though they were in first place the A's decided to part ways with their injury prone, problem child focusing on pitching as they traded for Jeff Russell, Bobby Witt, Ruben Sierra and cash. It took almost a year but Jose finally got his wish to get out of Oakland. All players had to pass through waivers, somehow they did with no one even attempting to block the trade.

It was speculated that the final straw for LaRussa and Alderson came on August 10th when Jose took himself out of a game against the White Sox. He said his back was tight, he dressed and left the stadium before the game ended angering management and teammates. When the trade was finalized Texas also pulled their pitchers out of the dugout to inform them of the trade, Sierra was back home recovering from chicken pox. The Rangers were 15.5 games back at the time of the trade, Canseco hit just 4 homers in 22 games, missing time with soreness in his shoulder and back. Texas ended up 19 games back in 4th place to finish the season, between the two clubs he batted .244 with 87 RBI and 26 HR in 119 games. The A's would end up in first heading back to the post season, but were eliminated in the ALCS by the Blue Jays. They wouldn't get back to the play-offs again until 2000 and have not made a WS appearance since 1990.

Jose and Esther's divorce became final in late November and in December he was arrested again charged with battery for a fight at a nightclub, but was later acquitted.

New team, same antics, he arrived late to spring camp at the Rangers Park in Port Charlotte, FL about noon on the first day of full squad workouts on February 25, 1993. He was met with a throng of media, he felt healthy and spoke of psychological issues he was dealing with that stemmed from the previous year. His estrangement from Esther, the mid-season trade and terms of the divorce where he would be relinquishing $6M and two sports cars. On May 2nd Jose collected his 1,000th hit and on the 10th played his 1,000th game. He talked of how much he was enjoying his new digs but the hurt and resentment showed every time he bashed the A's organization whenever a reporter brought them up which was usually every time he played his former team. On May 26th Canseco would provide one of the most hilarious bloopers in baseball history. In a game against the Cleveland Indians, Carlos Martinez hit Canseco in the head and then went over the wall for a home run.



He incited even more ridicule after a 15-1 blowout on May 29th at the hands of the Red Sox when manager Kevin Kennedy allowed him to pitch an inning. He gave up 3 runs on 2 hits and walked 3, blowing out his elbow which required Tommy John surgery ending his season.






He had batted .255 in 60 games with 14 doubles, 10 HR, and 46 RBIs. The Rangers finished in 2nd place in the AL West behind the White Sox.

Brother Ozzie also had a trying year still struggling to make his mark in the game. After Oakland he went to Japan, playing a season with the Kintetsu Buffaloes. He then signed with the Cardinals in January 1992, he played in only 9 major leagues games. In spring of '93 he was leading in RBIs and homers while playing part time, but manager Joe Torre sent him back to the minors in Louisville. Called up in May he played 6 games before being optioned back to the minors. He abruptly left the Triple-A Redbirds in mid-June angry that he had not been given enough of a chance. The team placed him on the disqualified list for the rest of the season and then traded him on December 14th to Milwaukee for Tony Diggs (minors).


Jose came back strong in 1994, he had a 5 hit game on June 13th, 3 were homers bringing in 8 runs in a 17-9 romp of the Mariners. He was batting .282 with 31 home runs and 90 RBI in 111 games when the season ended due to the strike, the Rangers were in first despite being 10 games under .500. He was awarded the AL Comeback Player of the Year award. Meanwhile, Ozzie spent the season in New Orleans playing in Triple-A for the Brewers, it was his last season playing for a major league organization.

On December 9th, two months after Doug Melvin was named GM for the Rangers, one of his first actions was to trade Jose Canseco to the the Boston Red Sox for OF Otis Nixon and Luis Ortiz (minors). He would suffer another injury in 1995, heading to the disabled list on May 18th with a bruised elbow, a pulled muscle in his rib cage and a groin strain. The Red Sox brought up a pitcher, Tim VanEgmond from Triple-A Pawtucket of the IL to take Jose's roster spot. Canseco spent 2 games rehabbing with the Pawsox before coming back on June 20th.



Jose with Mo Vaughn and Roger Clemens

He hit his 300th career HR on September 11th. Between the season starting late and being out a month he played in just 102 games batting .306 with 24 homers and 25 doubles. Under the new division format Boston won the AL East with an 86-58 record and faced the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS. Jose drew 2 walks and struck out twice as they were swept by the Tribe who won the AL Pennant but lost the World Series to the Atlanta Braves. He became a free agent on October 30th, but re-signed with Boston on December 6th.

1996 was another eventful year, he was out a couple weeks from April 24-May 10 with a hamstring injury. On June 16th he reached his 1,000th career RBI and did it in the fewest games (1,298) since Ted Williams in 1949. He had been playing well when his back became so painful at the end of July he had an MRI and found out he needed surgery for a herniated disc. After treatment he said it was the first time in 10 years that he felt no pain in his back, figured he could rehab quickly and come back to play. While recovering he decided to marry his fiance Jessica Sekely on August 26th, who was 2 months away from giving birth to their first child. They had met the previous season during a road trip to Cleveland, where Jessica worked waitressing at Hooters. Canseco played 2 rehab games with Pawtucket and returned to action on September 17th. He appeared in 96 games hitting 28 HR with 82 RBI while batting .289 but Boston didn't make it back to the postseason. The Cansecos became parents to Josiphene Marie in November.

On January 27, 1997 he returned to the A's in a trade for John Wasdin and cash. He managed to stay healthy through the end of July, but he started having back pain again placed on the DL on August 10th with spasms. He was activated on August 20th but after seven games was shut down for the season with a severe back strain. He batted .235 with 23 HR and 74 RBI in 108 games, the A's finished in 4th place. He was granted free agency on October 31st.

In the wee hours of November 6th he was arrested for domestic battery after an altercation with Jessica. The couple were estranged and living separately at the time, divorce proceedings had started in March. They had spent the previous day celebrating their daughter Josie's first birthday, had dinner and went out for an evening with a friend. As the friend was diving them home, the Cansecos got into an argument, Jose was in the back seat behind Jessica, he pulled her hair, slapped the back of her head and smack her in the left eye, where the investigating officer noted a large bruise. Jose posted a $2,000 bond instead of agreeing to community service and counseling citing he needed to be free to travel. He was ordered no contact with Jessica and supervised visits with Josie, before a judge in early 1998 he pleaded no contest, agreed to counseling and got a year probation.

On February 4, 1998 he signed a one year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, it would end up being his last full season in the majors. On May 29th he played his 1,500th game. He batted just .237 but hit 46 HR with 107 RBI in 151 games, won a third silver slugger even while suffering through months of back spasms.



Canseco jumps for a home run off Seattle Mariners' Alex Rodriguez in the first inning at Toronto's Skydome, May 16th. The Mariners beat the Jays 8-1.

Canseco claims the 46 bombs he hit with the Blue Jays in 1998 were sans juice. He was going through a divorce with Sekely and he didn’t want to use steroids while handling breakup-induced depression. He was taken aback when after the season he had, they offered him only a $1M for a one- year deal during contract negotiations. He was a free agent on October 22nd. On December 11th he signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for a guaranteed $2M with bonus incentives based on plate appearances. It was discussed that he would be used primarily as a DH, Jose was agreeable as he had been frustrated at being taken out of games by the Jays for defensive moves. The DRays were coming off a disappointing inaugural season where home run leader Fred McGriff had hit just 19. After the 1998 homer battle put on between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, they took a chance on Canseco to try to induce some extra pop into the line up. Due to his history of reporting late to spring camps over the years, there was a media camped out waiting for his arrival as the full squad report date of February 23, 1999 approached. When he finally showed up 2 days later he had put on 20 lbs, the security staff was also on alert for the woman from Miami that had been stalking him for a couple of seasons. She had caused quite a stir at the Trop the previous season when he visited with the Jays. Canseco cited working out final details on a home in the Tampa Bay area as the reason he was late. Jose had worn the number 33 throughout his career and Coach Frank Howard willingly gave up the number when the slugger was signed, Howard took #25.



He suffered back spasms and a strain in his right hip keeping him out of exhibition games the first couple weeks. He was fit enough to start on opening day batting third in the DH spot against the Baltimore Orioles. In his first at bat as a Devil Ray he went down swinging against Mike Mussina, he walked in the 3rd and hit a lead off HR in the 5th. With the score 6-4 in the Orioles favor in the 6th, he drew a walk off Ricky Bones with the bases loaded scoring Miguel Cairo, making it 6-5. He struck out in the 8th, the O's went on to win 10-7. On April 14th he hit his 400th home run against his former Blue Jays. He battled back pain and other injuries throughout the season. He was named to the All-Star team again, but the weekend before the game he had back surgery again. He attended the festivities (along with the other DRays rep Roberto Hernandez) at Fenway Park in Boston on July 13th but was replaced on the roster by Harold Baines of the Orioles. He was leading the AL with 31 HR when he went on the disabled list, he was activated on August 20th. He finished the season batting .279 with 34 homers and 95 RBIs in 113 games. He had boldly predicted he could hit at least forty homers when he arrived at spring camp, he was just 6 short, given he missed about 7 weeks in total with injuries, it was very realistic that he could have met that goal. Tampa Bay finished again in 5th place.

The DRays went on a spending spree in the off season, trying to get a couple more sluggers to compliment Canseco and McGriff. Unfortunately, injuries prevented the Greg Vaughn, Vinny Castila, Fred McGriff and Jose Canseco juggernaut from playing more than a fraction of games together in the line-up during the 2000 season.






Jose is congratulated by Ozzie Guillen




Jose himself went on the disabled list on May 25th with severe pain in his left foot. He finally returned on July 18th, but batting just .257 with 9 home runs, he was placed on waivers and claimed by the New York Yankees on August 7th. The DRays cut thier losses with the banged up slugger and decided to go younger as Jose Guillen had numbers close to Canseco and could play in the field. It was speculated that the Yanks got him simply to keep his big bat from facing them for the rest of the season, he was used sparingly, the Yanks won the AL East division 87-74.



Jose w/Derek Jeter

He was left off the roster in the first two rounds of play-offs as New York headed to the World Series. He was added to the roster and got one at bat against the Mets in Game 4, he struck out. The Yankees took the series 4-1, he batted .243 in 37 games and got a ring for his trouble. He was granted free agency on November 10th.


He signed a minor league deal with the LA Angels of Anaheim on January 16, 2001. He was out for over a week with back issues, hitting .231 in 39 at bats and no homers, he lost the job to Wally Joyner who was hitting .370 and was released on March 28th.

He signed with the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League on April 19th, he was batting .284 with 7 homers and 27 RBIs in 41 games when his contract was purchased by the Chicago White Sox on June 21st. They lost Frank Thomas when he ruptured his biceps tendon and needed a big bat.



July 21, 2001 at Comiskey Park

He hit .258 in 76 games with 75 strikeouts and 16 home runs. His .843 OPS slightly below his career average.

On Halloween the twins were involved in a brawl at a Miami Beach bar, they were arrested and charged with assault on two vacationers from California. Jose claimed he was protecting his date from one man, pushing him off giving him a broken nose, the other guy needed stitches in his mouth.

Canseco became a free agent on November 5th. On February 21, 2002 he signed a minor league deal with the Montreal Expos, he was vying for a spot at first base against a 40-year-old Andres Galarraga, but Jose balked when he lost an everyday spot and was granted release on March 27th. He re-signed with the White Sox to a minor league contract on April 24th assigned to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights of the IL. His first game was April 27th, he played in only 18 games hitting just .172. He complained about the lighting at the stadium and there is a debate on which came first, his release after not showing up for a game or his retirement, which was announced on May 13th.

His last major league game was with the Chicago White Sox on October 6, 2001.

In 17 seasons he played in 1,887 games with a career .266 BA (.867 OPS), with 1,877 hits, 462 HR, 1,407 RBI and 200 SB. His 462 career homers rank him 32nd on the MLB all-time list. Canseco was at one time the all-time leader in home runs among Latino player, he was later surpassed by Manny Ramirez, Carlos Delgado, Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez, and Sammy Sosa. He and Ozzie spent the rest of 2002 and most of 2003 dealing with legal problems, Jose was back in court with his ex over custody issues. The brothers bounced between court and jail due to probation violations stemming from the Halloween incident. Jose had tested positive for steroids, Ozzie got caught with them in his vehicle during a traffic stop.



The brothers at a Miami courtroom in August 2002






--------------------

[Tobywan]

---------------
In March 2004 he attempted to get back to the majors, he attended an open tryout for the Dodgers in Vero Beach, FL. He was given no special treatment receiving the number 521, waiting outside for his number to be called with the masses of hopefuls. He chatted a few moments with Tommy Lasorda, got six at bats in an intrasquad game and was sent on his way.



Jose w/ Tommy Lasorda

After the failed attempt he made a brief appearance in an indie film " Mail Order Wife" playing himself and started writing a book.




Jose and Jessica tried to stay friends for Josie's sake, together at an appearance in July 2004.

His book "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big," was coincidently released just days before the 2005 spring training season. Canseco admittedly wrote it for money as well as out of resentment and anger. He went into depth about his own steroid use while naming others like Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Juan Gonzalez, Ivan Rodriguez and Jason Giambi. He claimed to have introduced and even injected them with steroids. Detailing incidents like he and McGwire injecting in bathroom stalls, something Mac vehemently denies. Canseco says he struggled with outing other players but that the publisher wouldn't accept the manuscript without names. He also spoke of feeling that because he was Latino.. "dark" he was unfairly portrayed in the media who focused on his indiscretions more fervently than his "white" counterparts like McGwire, Cal Ripken Jr and Brady Anderson claiming they behaved just as deplorably as him but it was ignored. He also felt he was forced out of the game, blackballed and bitter that because of it he was never able to reach the 500 home run milestone.

Canseco touched on some very poignant moments in his private life. The heartbreak when his second wife Jessica left him for Tony Gonzalez, a tight end for the KC Chiefs. How he was so distraught he went as far as to retrieve a shotgun out of the closet but before pulling the trigger he heard his little girl's voice in his head. The book was all anyone wanted to talk about at spring camps around the league. When news reached Rafael Palmeiro at the end of February of the accusations and Jose's "60 Minutes" interview where he claimed he injected Palmeiro himself, he emphatically denied it and threatened to sue Jose. Along with players he also pointed fingers at MLB and the Union for turning a blind eye to steroid use especially while the 1998 home run battle between Sosa and McGwire was in full swing as it was a huge boost in bringing back fans after the 1994 strike. The revelations prompted a Congressional hearing on the use of PEDs in baseball. Canseco, McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Palmeiro, Curt Schilling, Frank Thomas, and commissioner Bud Selig all testified.



Canseco, Sosa, McGwire and Palmeiro sit before a Congressional panel on March 17, 2005.

Canseco's request for immunity was denied but he didn't opt to invoke the Fifth Amendment before the House Governnment Reform Committee. McGwire refused to answer questions, Sosa and Palmeiro denied using steroids. Palmeiro, Schilling and McGwire accused Canseco of lying. About the only person on Jose's side was Don Hooton, whose son Taylor committed suicide, an act believed to be connected to his steroid use. He was grateful that Jose called out the league, he along with other parents who had lost their children also testified. However, Jose has publicly stated he does not believe steroids contributes to rage or suicide, this from a man that rammed his wife's car, broke a man's nose and almost blew his head off with a shotgun.

A short time later his ex-wife Jessica released a book, "Juicy: Confessions of a Former Baseball Wife" depicting his cheating, abuse, their break-ups and reconciliations. Her love affair with Tony Gonzalez didn't last and she married a plastic surgeon named Garth Fisher in June 2007, they divorced in 2011. In addition to her large settlement from Canseco she made millions in her own right as model.


Jose w/ Cubs fan Ben Slack (5 years-old) at a Borders in Chicago


In April the brothers were ordered to pay the men they injured in 2001 more than a $1M in punitive and compensatory damages. Canseco was desperate for money, he embarked on a signing tour, he sold much of his memorabilia online including his ROY and WS rings, his MVP plaque among other items. He also signed on as a cast member in the 5th season of "The Surreal Life" that ran from July 10-October 9, 2005. He was joined by Caprice Bourret, Sandy "Pepa" Denton, Janice Dickinson, Carey Hart, Omarosa Manigault, and Bronson Pinchot. As much drama that Jose can muster in his life he didn't create anywhere near the amount that Manigault and Dickinson brought to the season.




In 2006 he focused back on baseball signing with the San Diego Surf Dawgs of the independent Golden Baseball League, He went 0-for-4 in one game and requested a trade closer to his home in LA, he joined the Long Beach Armada and batted .176 in 21 games. The Armada filed a lawsuit against Jose, in March 2009 were awarded $258,750 for breach of contract. It was the teams contention that he blew off a road trip to play in a celebrity poker tournament in Las Vegas. He told the team he had a family emergency, missed several appearances and a game in Reno, NV claiming a sore back when he actually was gambling at the casinos. The team was given a default judgment when Canseco failed to show at the hearing.

He was placed on the HOF ballot in 2007 and got 6 votes, then dropped from future ballots. In 2008 he released a second book titled "Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars and the Battle to Save Baseball". This one named Alex Rodriguez and Albert Belle among others. He lost his Encino mansion in May to foreclosure, the next month he was in Atlantic City for a boxing match against former NFL running back/kicker Vai Sikahema. Jose was knocked out less then 2 minutes into the first round, Sikahema donated his winnings to the family of a fallen police officer in Philadelphia .

In September the Miami city commssion voted to remove Canseco's name from a stretch of road where his former high school is located. A section of SW 16th street had been renamed for him, but after so much bad publicity the students petitioned for the change.

On October 9, 2008 Jose was detained at the a San Diego Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility by border agents,they found him trying to bring human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) into the U.S. The drug is mainly used as a fertility drug but also helps the male body produce testosterone naturally while not taking steroids. He was with his then girlfriend Heidi Northcutt (and her daughter) when his BMW was searched. He had to sign a waiver for his LA home to be searched before he was released. The search took place a few days later under the supervision of Canseco's attorney Greg Emerson which yielded nothing, but he was convicted on a smuggling charge and given a year probation.



On January 25, 2009 Canseco went three rounds with former child actor and radio personality Danny Bonaduce (Partridge Family), the bout ended in a draw.



In May he went to Japan to compete in an MMA event, while there he made a guest appearance with the Yokahama BayStars

Canseco claims to hold black belts in karate and Taekwondo, he also practices Muay Thai and made his mixed martial arts debut at Dream 9 on May 26, 2009. He squared off against the 7 ft 2 in kickboxing /mixed martial artist Choi Hong-man as part of Dream's Super Hulk Tournament, he lost in the first round. A bout on July 9, 2010 against Gary Hogan, the 60-year-old assistant athletic trainer for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, this time he went 4 rounds but lost on a judges decision. On November 6, 2009, he defeated Todd Poulton in a Celebrity Boxing Federation bout in Springfield, MA. In December 2010, he launched a failed Twitter campaign in hopes of getting invited to Spring Training by now Mets GM Sandy Alderson.



Jose w/Pete Rose at the Steve Garvey Celebrity Softball Game for ALS Research at Pepperdine University's Eddy D. Field Stadium on July 10, 2010 in Malibu, CA.

In 2010, he lost a boxing match staged before a minor league game, then on August 16th he became a DH/pitcher/coach for the Laredo Broncos of the independent United Baseball League, it was already near the end of their season. He played in 11 games hitting 4 homers and 13 RBIs.

In January 2011, brother Ozzie was arrested in Tampa, Florida for a DUI. Jose and Ozzie lost their father in early March around the same time that Jose's stint on the fourth season of the Celebrity Apprentice was to air on NBC, he left the show early to be with his father, that episode was seen on April 3rd. Host Donald Trump gave Canseco's Baseball Assistance Team "B.A.T." charity $25,000 upon his departure.



Conseco, Gary Busey, David Cassidy, Mark McGrath and Meat Loaf on location for 'Celebrity Apprentice' on the streets of Manhattan on October 19, 2010 in NYC.


There have been times when Ozzie has impersonated Jose, at memorabilia shows, books signings, he even made an appearance on the "Surreal Life" as a Jose impersonator and there were rumors that the brothers even fooled one or both of Jose's ex-wives. On March 26, 2011 Jose was scheduled for a boxing match at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL. He had been paid $5,000 with another 5 grand due after the fight by promoter Damon Feldman. The problem was on the night of the fight Ozzie showed up trying to pass himself off as Jose, but soon Feldman and fans spotted the difference. The bout was canceled and Ozzie left with a police escort. Jose claims that Feldman knew of the switch as Jose was suffering from depression over his father's passing and an injured back. He asserted that Feldman was just trying to have an excuse to sue them. Feldman had reportedly been put on probation in in Pennsylvania for fixing fights.


For many years he has been on and off again with fitness model/actress and owner of a modeling and talent agency Leila Knight (formerly Leila Shannib), the two met in 2009 at the Playboy Mansion. Despite everyone warning her about his reputation she gave him a chance, they hit it off fast, she thought he was charming, sweet and funny. She stuck through them being evicted when his LA home was lost to foreclosure, living with him in a converted garage that belonged to the mother of one of his friends. She went with him to Laredo, TX, the the bad Jose started to rear it's ugly head, she got fed up with his mood swings, anger and ego, she broke up with him the first time in March 2011. For months he tried to win her back, he went from words of love to angry Facebook rants, from a Twitter proposal to an angry phone call to her mother and even a huge teddy bear holding a heart that said "From Jose, I love you". She ignored him for awhile, then told him to stop and stay out of her life. His response was to tweet her cell number and telling his followers some very private things about her. He claimed she forced him (3 times) to smoke weed with her, she was inundated with calls offering weed for sex. The one and only newspaper that Shennib gave an interview turned the tables on Jose and published his side along with his phone number, he was outraged. She said he was selfish and manipulative he said she was a pothead and a gold digger. She was granted a temporary restraining order.



In April the brothers signed with the Yuma Scorpions of the North American League. Jose would be a player/pitcher/manager and Ozzie a player/coach.












------

[Tobywan]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Scorpions went 15-28, worst in the league, no wonder with incidents like a catcher walking off the field and quitting in the middle of play, a bench clearing brawl on Little League Day or being served with legal papers by police in the dugout during a game. Then there were 2 stop over flights to Maui for games and the time Jose was the sole coach for a series in Canada when Ozzie and the rest of the staff didn't have their passports in order. He muffed the line-up card a couple times and couldn't use certain players when he wanted, but ML managers have done that a few times, the players loved him, the umps not so much. He hit .256 with eight home runs and 46 RBIs in 64 games. He had originally wanted a reality show about him managing a Las Vegas area team, but stadium funding fell through. Jose Melendez was the GM of the Laredo Broncos, he lured the brothers to his new team in Yuma and later became Canseco's agent. He even opened his home to them during the season in Arizona. During a game in June against the Edmonton Capitols, Jose was the starting pitcher, he allowed 6 runs in 3 innings. He got so frustrated he acted up which led to him and Ozzie being ejected, the Caps seemed to have been the Scorpions biggest nemesis during that summer, thumping them in most of their meetings. Jose Melendez later became Canseco's agent.



Canseco shakes hands with Capitols manager Orv Franchuk prior to a Scorpions 9-6 win.

On November 5, 2011 Jose faced off in a celebrity boxing match against Tareq Salahi at the Avalon in Hollywood, Fl. Others on the bill was another former major leaguer Lenny Dykstra, Kato Kaelin, Coolio, Joey Buttafuoco, “Octomom” and Michael Lohan. Reportedly, Dykstra approached Salahi wanting to take his place against Jose, he blames Canseo directly for his financial woes due to name being slung though the mud through lies told about him by Jose.



Jose and Leila got back together and attended the 29th annual Adult Video News Awards Show in early 2012.

After not getting a response from Billy Beane to his Twitter plea of a tryout with the Oakland A's, in February 2012 he signed with the Quintana Roo Liga in the Mexican League. He went 2-5 in the first pre-season game, he was asked to submit to a drug test. He claims he admitted to Mexican League president Plinio Escalante that he was taking doctor prescribed testosterone. He refused the tes as he didn't think his treatment would be taken into account. He was suspended and later banned from play in the Mexican League.



February 14, 2012 in Cancun, Mexico.



In 2012, he campaigned to become the Mayor of Toronto, Canada. His slogan was "Yes We Canseco" a play on Barack Obama's "Yes We Can" slogan from the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election. The fact that Canseco was not a Canadian citizen which is the main criteria to be a Mayor in Canada kind of put a monkey wrench in that idea.

By May he and Leila were fighting again, he accused her of stealing from him and changing her name to hide from him. During this time it appears he and Ozzie were on the outs as well. He signed with the Worcester Tornadoes of the Can-Am League in April and was placed on the disabled list on June 18th. He batted .194 with one homer before the injury.

On June 27th a reality show called Hollywood Exes debuted on VH1 with a cast that included Canseco's ex-wife Jessica and is now in it's third season. Jose made regular appearances in the first season. On the show Jose made a proposal to Jessica for him to move in with her, she actually considered it for a few nano seconds. While she pondered she went on a tangent telling the cast mates about Jose and his tiny testicles. In July, Canseco's attorney Mark Segal filed bankruptcy on his behalf in the state of Nevada claiming just $21,000 in assets and $1.7 million in liabilities, including more than $500,000 owed to the IRS.

While technically still on the Tornadoes roster he suddenly signed on August 3rd with the Rio Grande Valley White Wings of the North American Baseball League. He failed to give Worcester a heads up that he was leaving. Later he filed a lawsuit against the team and owner, Todd Breighner accusing them of breach of contract, defamation, unjust enrichment, failure to pay wages and misrepresentation. He was seeking damages of over $360, 000, he claimed that some checks he received bounced. A cleaning company and an apparel were also suing the team for money they claim they were owed for services, the cleaning service was later paid by the Can-Am League.


Mark McGwire hadn't made any appearances since the Congressional hearings trying to keep a low profile after a tearful soul cleansing admission to all his PED sins.That is probably why Mac has been embraced back into the fold and the game, getting the opportunity to coach with the St Louis Cardinals. During a Cardinals series at Dodger Stadium in September 2012, Jose attended brandishing a black t-shirt stating his apology.




Sometime in late 2012, Jose reconciled with both Ozzie and Leila.

In February 2013 he played winter ball in the Texas League for the McAllen Thunder, during the last week of the season he played for all four teams in the league the Thunder, WhiteWings, Brownsville All-Stars and the Edinburg Roadrunners.


Canseco smiles at an umpire during a game between the McAllen Thunder and the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings.

By March he and Leila were off again, he says she was seeing an MMA fighter, she says he needs therapy, by May she was defending him against sexual assault allegations. On May 22nd a woman filed the charges against him in Las Vegas and he was investigated. Some reports claimed the accuser was Leila, but it was a different woman. He took to Twitter to rage against his accuser after police had come to his LV home to question him. He caused a scial media storm when he posted her name, phone number, address, workplace and a photo. Some of the posts were later deleted. He proclaimed he would take a polygraph test and challenged the woman to do the same. After his test, Skip Ensley of Dallas Polygraph Services stated that Canseco's chart was one of the cleanest he had ever seen since he started doing test in 1982. Canseco did acknowledge he had met the woman a year earlier in a gym, but knew she had a boyfriend and speculated the accusations were about money.

All this went on as he was traveling to join the Fort Worth Cats of the UBL for their opening series as a guest player. During a phone interview with 105.3 The Fan’s New School radio program on May 23rd he was eager to discuss baseball and his new team, but hung up when the focus turned to the allegations. He would end up staying on with the Cats in a player/coach role even playing against brother Ozzie's Edinburg Roadrunners where he was now managing. Despite a historic past with many big names in the game the Fort Worth Cats had run on hard times even filing for bankruptcy protection in 2012. During this time Jose Canseco provided the foreword to the novel Air Force Gator 2: Scales of Justice by Dan Ryckert. Jose claims the book about the alcoholic alligator pilot is a "weakly veiled" metaphor for his own life.




The twins together again.

On June 7th the Las Vegas Metro Police Department announced there would be no charges brought against Canseco and the case was closed. By July, love was in the air again as he and Leila were hobnobbing at several awards shows and charity events, including a celebrity Halloween appearance with his daughter Josie.



Halloween 2013 Leila and Josie


In April 2014 Leila went on a rant about rappers using Jose's name in their songs, that she was fed up after hearing Drake's lastest song "Draft Day." This caused a tweet war between the couple, rappers and fans. In June 2014 he set off for a 10 week tour in 17 cities in the US and Canada billed as the "Home Run Tour", where he attempted to break records for longest baseball and softball home runs, by Babe Ruth and Bruce Meade. He packed up an RV, the Canseco Mobile with four dogs, three tortoises and baseball equipment. Many of the events are for charity including one of his pet organizations for Autism. Throughout the years Canseco has made several attempts of offering an olive branch to Mark McGwire only to be rebuffed time after time, neither attended the 20th anniversary of their World Series with the 1989 Oakland Athletics. Jose claimed that he was being barred by MLB from attending and therefore wasn't invited, The A's say no one was left off the invitation list and that Jose never RSVP'd. A few of the players had nothing good to say, Carney Lansford stated that others probably would have boycotted if Jose had shown up due to the lives he ruined because of the book. Dave Stewart expressed relief stating, "He was a bad teammate." Canseco countered saying the only life ruined was his own, the others have gone on with careers in the majors.


When it was time for the 25th anniversary of the 1989 World Series Champions at the Oakland Coliseum on July 19th, Jose committed to attend this time. He was a little apprehensive not sure how his presence would be received, overall he got a nice reception. He was visibly contrite as he publicly apologized again. Mark McGwire did not attend, as the new hitting coach for the LA Dodgers he was with the team in St Louis. Dave Stewart who was hard on him the previous time, now flip flopped and said he was pleased to see him.



Rickey Henderson, Dennis Eckersley, Dave Stewart, Dave Parker, Dave Henderson and former A’s skipper Tony LaRussa


He claims to feel regret that even though what he made public was true, that he should have gone about it a different way, it haunts him that he betrayed friendships so publicly. It seems, that is also what Mac can't get passed as he has stated the apologies are too late and he never wants to speak to Canseco again. Mac once again didn't attend the ceremonies, he is now the hitting coach for the Dodgers and they were in St. Louis that week, he did tape a video tribute. When it comes to regrets it can difficult to know for sure if one truly regrets what they did or just that they ended up paying so dearly for it. Dennis Eckersley has been a little kinder stating. it was a long time ago and time heals. Canseco earned over $45 million during his major league career. However, he somehow managed to piss away his personal fortune and was so desperate for money leading to sell his 1988 AL MVP for $30,000 and his ROY ring for $1,500 on EBay during some low points.

He squandered the bulk of his fortune from baseball (over $45 M from the majors), mainly on women, steroids,fast cars and lawyers. He does outlandish appearances like the boxing matches still trying to live the life and continues to amuse fans and detractors alike with his outspoken misspelled rants on his Twitter account. Baseball has been his greatest love and his most vicious nemesis, but his true weakness has been his drive to make money to keep him in the lifestyle he craves. He will do anything from the ridiculous to the most cruel things to obtain it, though one thing he did turn down was a million to do a porn movie, instead he wrote his book. Canseco’s still on a steroid today, but it’s prescribed. After more than two decades of abuse, (he claims he quit juicing in 2008) but now needs a testosterone boost since his body no longer produces enough naturally. There seems to be two different personalities in Jose Canseco and always has been, the arrogant, self absorbed, greedy, playboy baseball player and the guy that lets friends, relatives even those of exes stay at his house rent free, adores his only child and takes batting practice with a kid that has autism. He swears his "bad boy" image, is just that... an image, a persona that makes him money and gives him attention. He has no friends left from the game he loves, hasn't talked to most of his baseball buddies in over a decade. Love him, hate him or indifferent to him, if anything good has come out of his downfall it is that MLB has cleaned up a lot even if it was done by betrayal. It could be one small consolation for all that he has lost, but even Jose admits it was by his own hand.


Jose didn't quite get the hang of the Hunter Pence in August 2014.

On October 28th he accidentally shot himself while cleaning his gun, the bullet went through his middle finger, to save the digit doctors used a piece of his hip bone to surgically repair it.



Leila was taking care of him through it but by Thanksgiving they were off again. She claimed he had threatened to kill her and her mother, in January they were in love again. The saga of these two toxic relationship junkies continues.

Jose currently resides in Las Vegas (he loves poker) with his on/off fiance, model Leila Knight. His ex Jessica is currently running her own cosmetics and medical tattoo business while still a member of the Hollywood Exes cast, daughter Josie is also modeling and Ozzie is still hanging around.

[Buckcheeks]

I'm only on the front office people, but this thread is already awesome.


KBSL Houston Rockets

[Tobywan]

Thanks Buck. It has been very interesting delving in deeper to some of the stories behind players, coaches and the personnel that have
passed through the Devil Rays/Rays system. There have been some real characters.

[Buckcheeks]

You passed through the system literally or through research? Haha

I'm catching up in blocks. Such a good read.


KBSL Houston Rockets

[Tobywan]

You passed through the system literally or through research? Haha

Hah, I see what you did there!

[Tobywan]

Danny Clyburn-#41-OF



Danny Clyburn Jr. was born on April 6, 1974 in Lancaster, South Carolina to Danny and Debra (Johnson) Clyburn. He had a sister named Alisha. His mother passed away when he was young, his father worked a lot to support the family by working long laborious type jobs.Things were tough growing up, Danny spent a lot time on the streets playing ball with his friends and cousins. He attended Lancaster High School and was selected All-Region in 1992 , leading the Lancaster Bruins in batting average, stolen bases and RBIs, he was also a linebacker on the football team.

He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second round (47th overall) of the June 1,1992 amateur draft, signing just two days later. Three others from Lancaster went on to play pro ball, John Barnes and Mark Anthony, and Pep Harris all cousins of Clyburn. Harris would get to the majors pitching for the Anaheim Angels. Clyburn was assigned to the Rookie Gulf Coast League Pirates, he batted .342 with 51 hits, 26 runs and 25 RBIs in 39 games. In 1993 he was promoted to the Class-A Augusta Pirates of the SALL He batted .265 with 127 hits, 21 doubles, 55 runs and 66 RBIs in 127 games, but the team did poorly going 59-82 and finishing in 7th place.


1993 Bowman


He spent 1994 with the Advanced-A Salem Buccaneers (Salem, Virginia) in the Carolina League he played 118 games with 126 hits, 57 runs, 90 RBIs, 22 homers and a .273 BA. The team went 64-75 finishing 3rd. Clyburn was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 4 Pirates prospect after the 1993 season and the No. 8 prospect after the 1994 season.


He married Latonia Samuel, they had two children, Gavin and Logan, they were later divorced, but remained amicable.

On October 13, 1994 he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Jacob Brumfield. He started 1995 with the Winston-Salem Warthogs of the CARL he was batting .260 with 59 hits, 41 RBIs and 27 runs in 59 games when he was traded. On June 16th he was sent long with Tony Nieto (minors) to the Baltimore Orioles for Brad Pennington and he was assigned to the Advanced-A Frederick Keys in the Carolina League. He was there less then a month when Orioles director of player
development Syd Thrift sent him to the Advanced-A High Desert Mavericks of the California League.


High-A Desert Mavericks


Thrift stated Clyburn "needed a change of scenery", he finished the season with the Mavs. pread out between 3 teams he managed to hit 23 homer runs, most in his career and 82 RBIs second most in his career.


He would spend the 1996 season with the Double-A Bowie Baysox of the Eastern League, In an afternoon game of a double header on June 17th he drove in 4 runs hitting two homers as they Baysox beat the Trenton Thunder, 5-3. He also hit a three-run homer in the nightcap leading to a 5-1 win. The team had issues after Clyburn went to the disabled list on July 5th with a strained hamstring. The team went on a losing streak winning only seven games in the month of July. Clyburn would return on the 31st, but was limited to 11 games the rest of the season. He finished the season batting .252 with 55 RBIs and 18 homers in 95 games. The team finished in 5th place.

Spending the 2007 spring season with the O's in Ft. Lauderdale, FL he was optioned to Triple-A on March 12th. He would have his most successful season in the minors with the Rochester Red Wings of the IL. The team would be playing home games in the nice new stadium Frontier Field starting with their home opener on April 11 against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons. During a game in late April he hit two solo home runs and a triple against the Norfolk Tides in a 5-2 victory.




He hit a homer literally out of the park and into the parking lot during the Triple-A All-Star Game in Des Moines, Iowa helping the AL affiliates defeat the NL 5-3. The team also featured Frank Catalanotto, Paul Konerko and Magglio Ordonez as well as another former Devil Ray, Eddie Galliard representing the Toledo Mud Hens.



Triple-A All Star game July 9, 1997


He reached career highs in plate appearances, at-bats, games played (137), hits (156), runs (91) and doubles (33). He led the Red Wings with 76 RBI and 20 home runs finishing with a .300 BA and a .870 OPS. During that season the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle sponsored the Player of the Month award for the team. Clyburn won and received his plaque during an on-field ceremony. After the game he handed it to Wings broadcaster Joe Castellano saying in his southern drawl “It’s wrong. It says Daniel. My name is Danny.” He wanted him to give it to "Jim" to be fixed, Castellano thought he meant the writer for the Democrat and Chronicle Jim Mandelaro who covered the team for the paper. When Jim presented the fixed plaque to Clyburn, he looked confused and asked him why he had his award. Jim replied "You asked for me to fix it". Danny said “No, I told Joe to have the GM (Dan Mason) fix it.’’ GM-Jim sound pretty close in a thick southern drawl.

The Red Wings finished first in their division with an 83-58 record, Danny recorded at least one hit in all nine post season games, He led the Wings as they took the International League Championship defeating the Columbus Clippers by a score of 4-3 in Game 5, Clyburn had an RBI in the final game and was named the Governor's Cup series MVP. Other Devil Rays alums on that 1997 team were Tim Laker, Estaban Yan, Aaron Ledesma and Brian Shouse. Wings manager Marv Foley who was named the IL manager of the year said Clyburn was the hardest working player he had ever seen.


He was passed over twice for promotion during his incredible minor league season by Double-A prospect Dave Dellucci and his Red Wings teammate Aaron Ledesma. Finally after the post season run he was called up by the Orioles on September 15th, making his debut at a pinch hitter. 41,602 flocked to Camden Yards for the first game of a double header against the Cleveland Indians on a Monday afternoon. Another future Devil Ray, Estaban Yan had started for the O's, Baltimore was leading 6-5 heading into the 8th inning. With Paul Assenmacher pitching for the tribe, B.J. Surhoff led off with a walk, Geronimo Berroa struck out, Rafael Palmeiro walked and Cal Ripken went down swinging. Danny was sent in to hit for Tony Tarasco, on a 2-2 count he grounded out to end the inning. O's pitcher Randy Myers closed out the ninth retiring the side, to preserve the win. He got into just one more game where he struck out twice.

He played for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League as they took the 1997 championship over the Grand Canyon Rafters, 2-1. The team was managed by current Angels manager Mike Scioscia, the team set an AFL record in batting average (.317) and led league in ERA (4.15).

On January 28, 1998 Clyburn came to terms on a one year deal with the Orioles.


Stepping to the plate during a spring training game on March 2, 1998 as the Orioles defeated the Montreal Expos 11-9 at Ft. Lauderdale Stadium in FL.


He had a good spring but fractured the fourth metatarsal bone in his left foot while running the bases on March 3rd that hampered him and eventually landed on the DL March 19th. The following week he and pitcher Everett Strull were assigned to the team's rehabilitation center in Sarasota, FL. He kept having set backs in his rehabilitation and was finally activated on June 11th rejoining the Red Wings. He batted .286 with 21 doubles, 14 homers and 54 RBIs in 84 games when he was called up to the O's on August 28th. Willis Otanez was lost for the rest of the season with a fractured left wrist. Earlier in the week he had been passed over for promotion in favor of Otanez.



On the 30th he collected his first hit off Chris Haney of the KC Royals, his first RBI on September 1st was part of a 2-run single off White Sox's Jim Parque. His first homer came on September 25th in a game against the Red Sox against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. In 11 games he batted .280 with one homer and 3 RBIs.


Photo Day on March 1, 1999 in Ft. Lauderdale.

He was vying for a reserve outfield spot behind B.J. Surhoff, Brady Anderson and Albert Belle but he barely got squeezed out and was one of the final cuts in spring 1999 being assigned back to Triple-A.



The next day on March 29, 1999 he and a PTBNL were traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Jason Johnson. The Orioles sent Bolivar Volquez (minors) (April 22, 1999) to complete the trade. Thinking he was going to be spending another season in the minors he instead gets new life with the Devil Rays when he was added to the opening day roster as a reserve outfielder. The first series started in Baltimore on April 5th, Clyburn made his first appearance for Tampa Bay when he pinch hit for Davey Martinez in the 8th inning. The DRays were down 5-6, facing Arthur Rhodes he struck out. The Orioles went on to win 10-7.


Batting against the the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois on April 29, 1999. The Devil Rays won 4-1.

Unfortunately, when given his chance he struggled. He was hitting just .198 with 3 homers and 5 RBIs when he was sent to the Durham Bulls of the International League on June 3rd. He finished the season there participating in their post season run, when they lost the IL championship series to the Buffalo Bisons. He played in 82 games for the Bulls batting .234 with 9 homers and 33 RBIs. He was designated for assignment on November 20th, he accepted and was outrighted to Durham hoping to to make a spot for himself the following spring. However, he was among the first cuts from camp in 2000 as he was released on March 8th.

He made his final Major League appearance with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on June 2, 1999 at the age of 25.

In parts of three seasons he finished with a .211 BA, 23 hits, 4 home runs, 8 RBIs in 41 major league games.


He came out of retirement briefly signing with the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League on April 9, 2002. He was reunited with Manager Marv Foley who managed the Rochester Red Wings where Danny enjoyed a successful season in 1997. He played just 17 games batting .258.



On April 3, 2003 he re-signed with the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League. He was named an All-Star and batted .248 with 101 hits, 21 homers and 75 RBIs in 113 games. One of his more notable teammates was Rickey Henderson until he was offered a contract back in the big leagues. The Bears ended up with a 63-63 record and second in their division, missing the play-offs.



August 29, 2003


Danny was back for 2004 and so was Henderson after he was released by the LA Dodgers.





Dave Richards coaching Danny Clyburn at third base, April 27, 2004.


He was an All-Star again and batted .334 with 100 hits, 17 doubles and 16 homers in 75 games.

Before and during this attempt to make a comeback he did odd jobs and got into some trouble with a drug arrest and a DUI and put on probation. He violated the probation, his license was suspended, he was arrested on a harassment warrant and tried to pass off someone else's license as his own. It became evident that this was the cause of his limited playing career in the majors.

On February 28, 2005 he was arrested and charged with cocaine possession, resisting arrest, DUI, open container and driving without a license. According to the Lancaster News, he had picked up a friend in his Lincoln Town Car, police signaled him to stop as his passenger matched a description of a suspect in a theft. Both attempted to flee, Clyburn was caught, his passenger got away. This is likely why he did not return to the Bears and ended his playing days.


By 2012 Clyburn was living just outside of Los Angeles, he was busy coaching at a youth baseball camp 3,000 miles from where his roots and family still resided in Lancaster. It appears he put his legal troubles behind, cleaned up his act, and spoke of finding religion. He planned a trip home to visit family and pick up a car to drive back. He took a bus arriving on the afternoon of February 4th in Charlotte, a friend picked him up to take him on to Lancaster. He went to see his kids, father, sister , nephew and spent the weekend visiting friends. On Sunday he and some friends hung out at an uninhabited house in the neighborhood that had been turned into a party/clubhouse just up the street from Clyburn's childhood home . The house was a place for the guys play cards, watch TV, drink and get high, this get together was the Super Bowl, where the NY Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17. Included in the group was his lifelong friend Derrick Lamont McIlwain, they had played together as kids, went to the same schools, they even became related by marriage.

On Monday, Danny spent most of the day with his Dad, but that evening he headed over to the "clubhouse" again meeting up with Derrick, Michael Hough (Danny's uncle) and others for drinking and cards. According to witnesses including Hough, Danny and Derrick began bickering, Derrick felt that the ex-major leaguer should spring for alcohol, Hough said he left the party around 11:30. The argument continued, then escalated, when police arrived around 2 am on February 7th they found Clyburn lying in the front yard, he was killed instantly when the bullet went through his heart.

They took witness statements, but McIlwain fled the scene. He turned himself in later that day and confessed, he was charged with murder and possession of an unregistered weapon during a crime.


McIlwain was on probation from a drug conviction in 2011. That Friday family and friends gathered for Danny's funeral, even the Mayor of Lancaster paid his respects and tried to comfort the grieving Clyburn Sr. By this time, Danny's death had been all over the news and his father was disappointed that no pro player or team had reached out to him with condolences. Jr had played over a decade in pro baseball. Danny's son Gavin was 17, a quarterback for Andrew Jackson High School whose cellphone screensaver is a photo of Danny's 1997 Red Wing's championship ring next to the home run ball from the All-Star game.


In March 2013 there was a hearing where McIlwain was seeking immunity from all charges by claiming self-defense under South Carolina's “castle doctrine,” the state's version of the Stand Your Ground law. He claimed that when he asked Clyburn to buy drinks, Danny pushed Derrick telling him he didn't owe him anything. Derrick said he was afraid as Danny who had no weapon, was much taller, larger and stronger. In August, the South Carolina Supreme Court denied all appeals for immunity clearing the way for trial dates to be set for pending cases including the trial of Derrick McIlwain. He still claimed self defense, that Clyburn was drunk and high, toxicology reports confirmed there was THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) in his system at the time of his death.



Prosecutors afraid that a jury might buy what Derrick was claiming offered a deal, he took it, voluntary manslaughter. In January 2014 during a sentencing hearing, McIlwain spoke of how Danny never bothered to "give back to the hood" or help anyone out after he became a ball player. McIlwain, had no job no permanent residence, a wrap sheet dating back to at least 1996 and the gun he used was purchased illegally. The Clyburn family was outraged. Spectators, investigators and prosecutors were all shocked by McIlwain's cold attitude and lack of remorse for killing a man he he knew his whole life as he was sentenced to just 15 years. This was not a high profile national case there were no TV crews or ESPN coverage in the courtroom, just a mourning family and small town community. Danny sister Alisha addressed McIlwain as did cousin Mark Anthony. Alisha reminded him and everyone else that Danny was unarmed, Mark reiterated what Danny had said, that he owed Derrick nothing. Danny had worked hard to become a ball player and whatever money he had was for his family and himself.

According to Clyburn Sr, there was was no life insurance, he had retired but went back to work as a custodian to pay for his son's funeral expenses. The grave at the Mount Zion Church cemetery remains without a proper headstone until the bill is paid. The plot is marked only by the small metal marker provided by the funeral home to this day. There are many that believe he should be inducted into the Rochester Red Wings Hall of Fame, but it is possible that his off field troubles have kept him out.



Gavin and Logan Clyburn visit Danny's grave site in October 2014.


The Clyburns and extended family remain close, all still live in or near Lancaster. Danny's son Gavin graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in 2013.

[Tobywan]

David Lamb #15-INF

David Christian Lamb was born on June 6, 1975 in West Hills, California to Gregg and Constance Lamb. His father Gregg was in law enforcement eventually becoming a highway patrolman. He began playing baseball at seven years old when his father started taking him to Dodgers games and turned to switch hitting at 11. David attended Newbury Park High School (Thousand Oaks, CA) while also playing in a summer league. He played varsity football as a quarterback in his sophomore year but quit to concentrate on baseball and keep up his 3.5 grade-point average.



In 1992 he had a very prosperous but exhausting summer. Lamb helped his American Legion team, the Newbury Oaks (27-1) to the Area 6 championship, going 12 for 19 (.632) in the team's four-game tournament sweep the last week of July, One of his teammates was Robert Fick.



There was a possibility he was going to have to make a choice between teams at one point, he was committed to play in the Area Code games but if he participated he was supposed to be ineligible to play for the Oaks beyond the state tournament. American Legion commission Chairman Harold Hall waived him to participate in the Legion regional tournament and World Series since the dates didn't conflict. So, they went to state then embarked across the US and abroad playing with the tour ending at the Legion World Series in Fargo, North Dakota. They lost the first game but won the next 5 to take the national championship. There were plenty of scouts in attendance and the game was televised on ESPN. David was named the American Legion's National Player of the Year. Then he flew to South Korea to play exhibition games for the All-Star series, when he returned his prospect ranking had climbed. Just 3 days after returning from the whirlwind excursion he started his senior year of high school playing for the Newbury Panthers.

Everyone from his folks, coaches and teammates speak of how quiet he is and focused on baseball. He ate a banana before every game, drank milk with his meals, collected baseball cards and watched Dodger games on TV.


In 1993 he was the Marmonte League Baseball MVP, Ventura County Player of the Year, All State, All-CIF and was named a USA Today High School All-American. Several colleges were already interested, David and his now 3.6 grade-point average turned down recruiting visits from North Carolina State and Texas A&M. He signed a letter of intent to to play for the defending Division 1 champion Wave at Pepperdine. He gave up a college career when he was selected in the 2nd round of the June 3, 1993 amateur draft by the Baltimore Orioles and signed on July 23rd. His signing package was $300,000, which included a round-trip ticket to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York where he was to be honored due to winning that 1992 American Legion POY award. He was assigned to the Rookie GCL Orioles, played 16 games batting .179. He was among many of the young players just thrilled to be in camp with Cal Ripken Jr. in the spring of 1994. Some gathering up courage to ask for an autograph, Lamb brought a camera for photo taking, all were awed to watch him, hanging around after they were dismissed to take notes on how he moved around the infield. After spending time at extended spring training, he was sent to the Single-A Albany Polecats (N.Y.) of the SALL in late May. Lamb hadn't been with the team long when the Polecats started a road trip that would end up lasting almost a month. Heavy rains had flooded most of the Albany area for weeks, the team's home games were moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee . Lamb would tell of how bad it smelled, the rain swelled the ground so much that local graveyards were uprooted with coffins floating around. They were finally able to return at the end of July.




He batted .240 with 29 RBI in 92 games, the team ended up in 4th place with a 63-74 record. He spent the 1995 season with the Advanced A Frederick Keys of the CARL, he batted .222 with 34 RBI, 14 doubles and 97 hits in 124 games and was a Single-A All-Star. The Keys finished 4th with a 58-79 record. After their short season he was sent to the Bowie Baysox but played just one game. He got a little more work when he played winter ball in the Hawaiian League. He credited that time with helping him improve his game significantly. In 55 games he batted .271 against Class A- and AA-caliber pitching, helping the Maui Stingrays win a championship. He went to the Advanced A High Desert Mavericks in the California League for the 1996 season. In 116 games he collected 118 hits, 24 doubles, 55 RBI while batting .257. The Mavericks won their division going 76-64, but were eliminated from the play-offs in the semi-finals. Up to this point he had been used almost exclusively as a short stop and he led all CALL shortstops in fielding (.969) that season.

He skipped winter ball instead hitting the weight room hard, he entered spring camp with an extra 10-15 pounds of muscle. He had his best minor league season in 1997 splitting his time between High A Frederick Keys and Double A Bowie Baysox of the EL. While not thrilled about starting back at Class A ball, he played very well helping the Keys win the first half title in their division and was named to the CARL All-Star team. He reached career highs in games played (143), hits (154), doubles (41), runs (76), walks (59), RBI (77) and batting average (.297). He put up very good numbers even with moving around all over the infield, though mainly at second base. Finishing the season in Bowie they wound up in 2nd place with a 75-67 record, they were eliminated from the post season in the semi-finals. He got more playing time with the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League where he was part of the championship team defeating the Grand Canyon Rafters 2-1. The team set an AFL record in batting average (.317) and led league in ERA (4.15) under manager Mike Scioscia.

On January 10, 1998 he agreed to terms on a one year deal with an invite to spring training.



Lamb bats during a spring training game between the O's and the Montreal Expos in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on March 2, 1998. Orioles won 11-9.

On March 12th he was cut and re-assigned to minor league camp, alas, heading back in Bowie, but the good news was he would be mostly at shortstop.
He batted .303 in 68 games and was named a Double-A All-Star before being promoted to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings in the IL finishing the season batting .298 in 66 games. The Wings ended their season in 4th place with a 70-74 record.

Any dreams Lamb had of a chance to be Cal Ripkin Jr.'s successor vanished when on December 14th he was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the Rule 5 draft. It started out looking like he was going to lose out on a spot with the 1999 opening day roster and be sent back to the Orioles.



Photo Day for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on February 5, 1999 at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida



Spring Training game against the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland, Florida on March 9, 1999. The Devil Rays defeated the Tigers 8-5.

During spring training he would be reunited with his Orioles teammate Danny Clyburn, they also played well together in the Fall League. As with many cases someone else's misfortune can lead to an opportune moment for another. He was given the infield bench position when Aaron Ledesma dislocated his left thumb during the last exhibition game. David would end up back at Camden Yards, but as a major league player in a Devil Rays uniform facing his former team on April 5th, though he would watch the whole series from the bench. He would finally make his major league debut on April 12th against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Skydome. The Jays were ahead 7-0 when Lamb replaced Kevin Stocker at short to begin the bottom of the 7th. He led off the 8th, facing Robert Person and popped out to right. Jose Canseco hit a solo homer for the DRays in the 9th, to finish with a 7-1 score. Lamb made his first start at SS batting ninth on April 18th against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. He collected his first RBI against Patt Rapp when he grounded out scoring John Flaherty in the 5th inning. He got his first hit in the ninth off Brian Rose, the Devil Rays won 5-1. On April 28th he made a start at second base batting second in the first game of a double header against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. He would hit his first home run off Keith Foulke in the seventh of a 7-10 loss. He didn't get in the second game which the DRays also lost, 1-9. In June he was slowed by a sore hamstring, he finally went to the disabled list due to a lower leg strain on June 22nd, played seven rehab games at Durham and was reactivated on July 9th.

Other than the excitement of his first shot at the major leagues he was thrilled to be able to witness one of his favorite players now a teammate, reach one of his career milestones. He was present when Wade Boggs hit a home run for his 3,000 hit on August 7th. By mid-August he was hobbling again and finally went to the DL on Aug. 21st, he was back with the team by September 6th to finish out the season. He batted .226 in 55 games (28 starts), with one homer and 13 RBI. Tampa Bay finished 69-93, 5th place in the AL East.

Tampa Bay had spent a lot of money on some big hitters over the off season and with other more impressive bench players there was no place for Lamb, he was designated on January 29, 2000. On February 7, 2000 he was selected off waivers by the New York Mets, but would not make the opening day roster.



Photo Day for the New York Mets on March 2, 2000 in Port St. Lucie , Florida.


He was assigned to their Triple-A affiliate Norfolk Tides of the International League. His contract was purchased on July 3rd when Kurt Abbott went down with
back inflammation and Rey Ordonez was still healing from a broken arm. He made his Mets debut on July 5th as a pinch hitter against the Florida Marlins down in Miami. He made just seven appearances getting just one start on July 18th before being optioned back to Norfolk on July 25th, he was replaced on the roster by pitcher Grant Roberts. He played 109 games with the Tides batting .225 with 2 home runs, 23 doubles and 35 RBIs. The team went 65-79 finishing in third place. He appeared in 7 games for the Mets batting .200 with a hit, a walk and a run scored. He was designated on September 5th and became a free agent on October 3rd.

He signed with the Anaheim Angels on November 8th and spent spring training in Tempe. Their starting short stop Gary DiSarcina was still recouping from
rotator-cuff surgery. He was vying with Wilmy Caceres and Justin Baughman for a reserve spot with Benji Gil expected to get most of the starts. He was among the last cuts being released on March 29, 2001. He signed with the Colorado Rockies on April 9th and was assigned to the Double-A Carolina Mudcats in the SOUL. He played 82 games batting .272 before being promoted to the AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox of the PCL. He was there just 5 days before he was released on August 8th, the next day he signed with the Florida Marlins. He finished out the season with the Triple-A Calgary Cannons in the Pacific Coast League who finished second in their division with a 72-71 record. With all the jostling through three different clubs he played 110 games batting .275 with 100 hits, 22 doubles, 6 homers and 38 RBIs. He was granted free agency on October 15th and signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins on November 7th. He was a non-roster invitee to their spring training camp in Ft. Myers, Florida, though he was impressive, batting over .300, the team opted to go with Denny Hocking and Lamb was assigned to minor league camp. He spent the 2002 season with the Triple-A Edmonton Trappers of the PCL, he was named to the All-Star team. In 123 games he batted .309 with 136 hits, 25 doubles, 10 homers and 72 RBIs. He helped the Trappers to a division title, they went 81-59 and took the League Championship by defeating the Salt Lake Bees 3-1. He was called up to the Twins on September 18th and played out the season.



Lamb bats against the Chicago White Sox on September 21, 2002 at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois. The White Sox won 14-4.


He appeared in 7 games batting .100 with one hit. The Twins won the central division with a 92-70 record. They faced the Oakland A's in the ALDS eliminating them 3-2 moving on to wildcard Anaheim Angels in the ALCS. Lamb was added to the roster to replace Denny Hocking. Hocking was lost due to his finger being broken in the postgame celebration after they won the division series when one of his teammates stepped on his hand in the victory pile. Lamb appeared in 2 games as a defensive replacement getting no at bats. They were eliminated 4-1 as the Angels went on to become the "Red October" World Series Champions defeating the San Francisco Giants.

He was released on October 29th, but re-signed with the Twins on November 12th.



Photo Day for the Minnesota Twins on February 24, 2003 at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida

He was assigned to the 2003 Triple-A Rochester Red Wings of the IL, it was the first season being an affiliate of Minnesota.



Red Wings 2003 Choice

He was teammates with future standouts Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer and was reunited with his former 1998 Red Wings teammate Everett Stull from when they were both part of the Baltimore organization. He played in 120 games collecting 105 hits, 15 doubles, 31 RBI while batting .259. The Wings ended up going 68-75 finishing in 5th place giving them six consecutive losing seasons. He never got a call up and was granted free agency on October 15th. While Lamb's strength was his defensive ability that remained consistent throughout his career, his offense never made enough of an impact to keep him in the majors. He decided to retire.

He played his final game on September 29, 2002 with the Minnesota Twins at just 27.

He played the bulk of his 69 games in three ML seasons with the Devil Rays finishing with a .216 BA, 30 hits, 19 runs, 13 RBI, 5 doubles and 1 HR.

He kept a low profile after his playing days were over, there isn't much information about his immediate family. It is unclear if he had ever been married until just a few years ago. In a country style ceremony at the Red Lily Vineyards in Medford, Oregon in September 20, 2012 he wed Danika Blood. She is a successful make-up artist, specializing in weddings.





David has been a batting and fielding instructor for Hitting Zone for many years the baseball instructional facility is located in Westlake Village, California.


David and Danika April 2014

David and Danika reside in Sonoma, California, they currently don't have any children.

[Tobywan]

Mickey Callaway #61 (1999) ,#51 (2001)-RHP


Michael Christopher Callaway was born on May 13, 1975 in Memphis, Tennessee. to Michael Thomas and Donna Callaway. His sister Callie was a year old and later would come baby brother Casey. His father has worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since May 1973 and is still an independent project manager/consultant. Though his dad's first name is also Michael, the nickname Mickey is for Yankee great Mickey Mantle. He found he had a good arm and threw hard, by 11-12 nobody wanted to be his catcher.



The Callaways : Callie, Mike, Donna, Mickey and little Casey.

Callaway attended Germantown High School (Germantown, TN), playing for the Red Devils, an early injury took away his mid-90's speed, but it helped him to transform from a thrower to a location pitcher. He was named the Gatorade Tennessee High School Player of the Year in 1992. He was also a member of Team USA that went to the 1992 Goodwill Games held in Seoul, South Korea. He was also a member of the 1992 Southeast Baseball Team that participated at the Area Code Games in San Jose, California.



Rebel Mickey with his folks

Members of the scouting world converged at Germantown to watch two highly touted pitchers face off on March 20, 1993, Callaway for the Red Devils and a kid named Kirk Presley pitching for Tupelo High (Mississippi), the name might be familiar as he was a third cousin of Elvis. Callaway pitched well, Presley allowed just one hit, while hitting a home run. Presley was drafted by the Mets but injuries kept him from getting past A-ball. Callaway was ranked by Baseball America as the 14th best high school prospect in the nation in 1993, he was selected in the 16th round of the 1993 MLB draft by San Francisco Giants but did not sign. Callaway went on to attend the University of Mississippi where he was a three-year letterman. He played for the Ole Miss Rebels from 1994 to 1996 and was named a 1994 Mizuno Pre-Season All-American. He went 20-18 in 61 appearances (36 starts) in three seasons with the Rebs. He was 7-7 with a 3.39 ERA for the University of Mississippi in 1995 and 7-7 with a 4.01 ERA in 1996. He did strike out 103 in 108 innings, making him 6th in the Southeastern Conference. He left the school ranked ninth in career wins and tied for seventh in career appearances.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected him in the 7th Round of the June 4, 1996 amateur MLB draft. He was signed on June 10, 1996 by Skip Bundy. At this time the Devil Rays were just starting to build their organization, they were 2 seasons away from fielding a team at the major league level and hadn't officially formed their minor league system. Callaway was sent to the Advanced-Rookie Butte Copper Kings (Montana) of the Pioneer League.






Considered a high scoring league, he went 6-2 with a 3.71 ERA (4th) in 11 starts (16 games) and 63 innings as Butte went 37-35, they lost in the first round of the play-offs. In 1997 he was sent to the High A St. Petersburg Devil Rays, at the time they were the only full-season minor league team of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He finished with a 11-7 record, 3.22 ERA in 28 starts, he pitched 3 complete games with 170.2 IP, he gave up just 39 walks. He was given Florida State League All-Star honors and the team made the post season with a 81-56 record. They defeated the Lakeland Tigers in the first round. They went on to win the Watson Spoelstra Florida State League Championship Trophy over the Vero Beach Dodgers.

He split the 1998 season between the Orlando Rays (5-6, 4.42) of the SOUL and Durham Bulls (5-3, 4.53) in the IL, he made 25 starts and pitched 137.1 innings for the season.The Bulls headed to the postseason, they swept the Louisville Bats in the first round but lost the IL Championship to the Buffalo Bisons 3 games to 2. The Orlando Rays were still under contract with the Seattle Mariners before they became the Devil Rays affiliate starting the 1999 season.

He got more work when he played in the Arizona Fall League for the Grand Canyon Rafters, who were defeated in the championship by the Sun Cities Solar Sox.

He would start the 1999 season back in Durham, there might not be as much salary or status in the minors but things get intense just the same. A Triple-A game on May 9th turned into a bean ball brawl between the Bulls and the Pawtucket Sox. Callaway gave up a homer and a triple in the third inning, then he hit Lou Merloni in the back. There were other beanings but when Merloni was hit again in the fifth this time in the shoulder things came to a head between the clubs. Lou charged the mound, threw his helmet at Callaway and tackled him. Benches cleared and Mickey and Lou were at the bottom of a pile cussing and punching, both were ejected. In the bottom of the fifth, Pawtucket pitcher Jin Ho Cho and manager Gary Jones were ejected from the game after Scott McClain was hit. In the end there were 6 hit batters, four ejections and a wild pitch. Pawtucket's Cho hit two batters, Durham pitchers Callaway hit three and John Daniels hit one. Merloni was suspended 3 games, Cho drew 4 games and both were fined. The Bulls won 8-4.




A month later Mickey was called up making his ML debut on June 12th, he joined the DRays on the road against the Montreal Expos at Olympic Stadium. He would make the start, the first batter he faced was short stop Orlando Cabrera who grounded out. He pitched 6 innings, he gave up 2 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4 for his first win. Norm Charlton relieved him with Roberto Hernandez getting the save. He gave up a solo home run to Vladimir Guerrero.
He helped his own cause by going 2-for-3 with an RBI in the 5-3 victory. It was the only time in his career he ever batted. Wade Boggs was on second and David Lamb on first when Mickey came up to bat with 2 outs facing Dustin Hermanson, he singled scoring Boggs and singled again in the fourth. His time was short as he injured his left hamstring in the first inning of his second start. He was placed on the 15-day DL the following day June 19th. The DRays called up Alan Newman to take his spot. He had a couple rehab games in Orlando, was activated and sent to Durham. He was recalled by the DRays near the end of July, made 2 starts and a relief appearance. He was 1-2 in just four starts before being designated for assignment on Sept. 18th. He cleared waivers and was sent to Durham on the 29th. He finished going 8-2 with a 4.24 ERA in 17 starts and 91.1 IP in the minors.

He played winter ball for the Pastora de los Llanos of the Venezuelan League they finished 4th going 25-37. He was invited to the DRays 2000 spring training.



On a rare occasion Callaway bats against the Atlanta Braves at Florida Power Park in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 4, 2000. The DRays won 4-2.

He was among early cuts on March 14th and assigned to minor league camp. He spent the entire year with Durham going 11-6 with a 5.29 ERA in 26 games (20 starts) in 117.1 IP. The Bulls went 81-62 to make the play-offs for the third consecutive season, but they lost to the Indianapolis Indians 3-2 in the first round.

He played winter ball with Vaqueros de Bayamón of the Puerto Rican League and Tiburones de La Guaira of the Venezuelan League.


He would not make the opening day roster for the DRays in 2001. He was 4-1 with a 3.56 ERA in seven starts when he was called up on May 19th, Tony Fiore was designated to make room for him on the roster. Once again he didn't stay long, he made two appearances, pitching just 5 innings with a 7. 20 ERA. He was optioned back to the Bulls on May 27th as the team called up Ryan Rupe to take his spot. He finished the season in Durham going 11-7 with a 3.07 ERA (5th in the IL) and walking only 24 in 129 innings.



His last game in the DRays organization would be on August 31st as a Bull since the team finished 74-70 and out of play-off contention. He pitched so many innings for them that he became the winningest pitcher in their Triple-A history and he was named the Minor League Pitcher of the Year for 2001. He had been working on some new pitches instead of just relying on fastballs and occasional sinkers. He developed a split-finger and a change up being helped by a former
Angels pitching coach Joe Coleman, now with the Devil Rays organization.

He married his fiance Anna (nee Snipes) on October 21st in a ceremony held at at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Tennessee. She attended Auburn University, receiving a bachelor’s degree in accounting and was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity. She was working for Pfizer Inc. in Jackson, Mississippi.


On December 17, 2001 he was traded to the Anaheim Angels for INF Wilmy Caceres. He didn't make the 25 man roster starting the 2002 season with the Triple-A Salt Lake Stingers of the PCL. On July 28th he joined Jason Ryan (2000) as the only two pitchers in the team's history to win eight straight decisions.
He was 9-2 with a 1.68 ERA in 14 starts (17 games), with one complete game in 91.1 innings when he was called up by the Angels on August 25th. When Aaron Sele was lost with a shoulder injury he became the 5th starter. In his first start the Angels were facing the Boston Red Sox with the always tough knuckleballer Derek Lowe (17-5 record at the time) as they were trying to stay in the wild card hunt. He had gotten very little sleep the night before understandably. Many scoffed, but Callaway was able to keep them in the game allowing 3 runs in 6 innings, he got a no decision leaving the game in a 3-3 tie. The Angels scored five runs in the ninth to win 8-3. He went 2-1, with a 4.19 ERA in six starts in 34.1 IP.

At the end of August the Angels magical season was in danger when the threat of a strike loomed, thankfully a last minute deal was struck to continue the season. The Angels came on strong at the end to take a wild card spot. Unfortunately, Callaway was left off the post season roster, though he traveled with the team just in case. The Angels easily got through the rounds to the World Series beating the Yankees 3-1 and the Twins 4-1 ending with an exciting win in seven games over the San Francisco Giants. It was the first WS under the new format where both teams got there by virtue of the Wild Card position. He made just 6 starts in late August and through September, the Angels won 5 of them and he got a ring. He was once again named Minor League Pitcher of the Year, though he missed the Stingers post season. They went all the way to the PCL final but lost to the Edmonton Trappers.

Now that Mickey had somewhat arrived his sister Callie snitched to a reporter that her brother had purchased the the new PlayStation major-league baseball game just to see what he looked like on it. He played a simulated season where he went 18-7, oh if it were just that easy in the big leagues.

He made the Angels 2003 25-man roster as a starter, probably due to a combination of a strong spring, injuries to the staff and being out of options. He had made three starts, giving up a total of one run (1.00 ERA) on five hits while striking out seven and not walking none during spring exhibitions. Opposing teams were .161 (5-for-31) against him. He joined a starting rotation consisting of Jarrod Washburn, Kevin Appier, Ramon Ortiz and John Lackey.

On April 1st, the second game of the season he got the start though he was technically the 5th starter, he would be skipped in the second rotation. Just moments after receiving his WS ring he took the mound against the Texas Rangers, their starter Chan Ho Park was booted after just 2.2 innings after giving up 6 runs including a 2 run homer to Brad Fullmer. Mickey pitched 6 innings giving up 4 hits and no runs while striking out Doug Glanville, Carl Everett, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. The Angels were leading 9-0 when he was lifted for Scot Shields, Ben Weber closed out the 10-0 victory.



April 1, 2003 against the Texas Rangers at Edison Field in Anaheim, California.

It was downhill from there, he struggled the next few outings going under 5 innings a start before being moved to the bullpen by the end of April.



April 17, 2003 against Rangers at the Ballpark in Arlington, Texas, the Rangers defeated the Angels 9-7.

He was 1-7 with a 6.68 ERA in 60.2 IP when he went to the DL on June 6th with shoulder inflammation. He made seven rehab appearances with Salt Lake with four starts going 1-0 in 21.1 IP. He was activated on July 23rd, designated for assignment and finally released on the 29th.

He signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers on August 7th and was assigned to the Oklahoma RedHawks (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League. On August 16th he combined with Dan Murray and Reynaldo Garcia for a four-hit shutout of the Fresno Grizzlies in a 1-0 win. Callaway allowed just three hits through five innings to put the team's record at .500 (64-64) He also earned a victory on the 22nd in a game over the Nashville Sounds going six innings giving up 2 runs on five hits with four Ks. He made 4 starts going 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in 17 innings before his contract was purchased by the Rangers on August 30th, Rosman Garcia was optioned to make room. In September he went 0-3 with a 6.45 ERA in 3 starts (6 appearances) in 22.1 innings.



Photo Day with the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium in Arizona on February 26, 2004.



Spring training exhibition against the Kansas City Royals on March 4, 2004 in Surprise, AZ. The Rangers won 9-5.





He began the 2004 season on the Rangers opening day roster, his first appearance was a scoreless inning in relief, but faltered when he made his first start on April 13th. He gave up six runs on seven hits and four walks in just 1.1 innings before being pulled. He was evaluated and found to have inflammation in his ulnar nerve Surgery was performed in May sending him to the 60-day DL. He pitched 2 games in a rehab stint with the AA class Frisco RoughRiders of the Texas League and allowed no runs in 12 innings. He was activated on August 16th, made two shakey starts and went back on the disabled list on August 22nd with a strain in his forearm and shoulder inflammation which finished his season.

On October 12th he was activated him from the 60-day DL then outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma, he declined, was given his release and became a free agent on the 15th. With no ML offers on the horizon he signed with the Hyundai Unicorns of the Korea Baseball Organization in 2005.



Mickey and fans at Suwon City Stadium, South Korea April 2005.


He got especially friendly with Uni pitcher Jo Yong-jun who turned him on to the benefits of ginseng claiming it would help with strength, stamina and a variety of health issues. Mickey and Anna had been trying to conceive for years, Jo explained that ginseng could help with that, too. He drank everything he could containing it and felt stronger. He went 16-9 with a 3.97 ERA, ranking second in wins and fourth in ERA in the league. He was the definitive standout of the Unicorn's staff as the other pitchers combined record was 37-61. After dozens of fertility doctors and treatments in the states by the end of summer they found out Anna was expecting.




On March 1, 2006 his first child, daughter Catherine was born. He had another another good season for the Unicorns going 14-7 with a 2.87 ERA, tying for fourth in wins and was 6th in ERA in the league.


He renewed his contract for $380,000 in 2007 but went just 2-6 with a 4.18 ERA when his season was cut short by an elbow injury. He also made the All-Star team for 2005 and 2006.

On March 7th the family's patriarch passed away, Mickey's grandfather Thorp Callaway was 78.



---------------------------------