February 21st is and will forever be the day the "Jose Canseco Project" was set in motion. The “Jose Canseco Project” has had a widespread and lasting effect on the game of baseball and its namesake this blog. For those of you who have never heard this story before; this is the heartbreaking, tragic and unfortunate tale of the “Jose Canseco Project.”
The "Jose Canseco Project" was a secretive operation ran by Major League Baseball's commissioner’s office in the spring of 2002. After playing half a season for the Chicago White Sox in 2001, Canseco sat at 462 home runs, well within striking distance of 500 career home runs for a slugger of his stature. Even in the twilight of his career Canseco could have hung around long enough to hit 38 home runs. At the time, steroids were suspected by the public and writers but the reach and depths of usage had not become public knowledge yet. Fearful that someone who had so obviously use steroids would reach 500 career home runs, a statistic that all but guaranteed himself a place in the Hall of Fame, the commissioner’s office took unprecedented action.
In December of 2001, MLB baseball took over controlling interest of the Montreal Expos, coinciding with the sales of the Florida Marlins and the Boston Red Sox. This new controlling interest in one of its franchises allowed the commissioner’s office to alleviate an existing dilemma. On February 21, 2002, the 37 year old Canseco was signed by the Montreal Expos and brought to spring training to be there every day left fielder, thus the “Jose Canseco Project”was set in motion.
On March 27th, just six days before the start of the season, the Expos inexplicably released Canseco. By being released that late into spring training, Canseco was left with nowhere to turn since all other MLB rosters had already been assembled and were preparing for the impending start of the regular season. The MLB commissioner’s office had successfully prevented Canseco from obtaining a spot on a MLB roster through its shrewd actions.
In a move that they thought and hoped would protected the integrity of the game, the commissioner’s office set the pieces in motion for the ultimate unveiling of its dirty little secret. In the spring of 2004, Canseco made one last-ditch effort to reach the Major Leagues while trying out for the Los Angeles Dodgers. After this last attempted failed, Canseco turned his back on the game that had ultimately betrayed him.
In 2005, Jose Canseco released a Tell-All book entitled, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big. The book became a “tipping point” in the public knowledge and discussion of performing enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball and throughout the sports world. The book provided answers and generated many more questions pertaining to the “Steroid Era” in Major League Baseball. By avoiding the undeniable truth and concerning themselves with statistics, the commissioner’s office put off the underlying problem and left the game with a bigger black eye than need be.
The fear that Canseco would bring steroid use to the forefront became a self-fulfilling prophecy for Major League Baseball. By blackballing Canseco, the commissioner’s office gave him the motivation and the fire within to write a book that would tarnish his own legacy but more importantly reveal the truth about the game of baseball.
