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'Vindicated' Is More Than A Grand Slam

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By BOB D'ANGELO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 3, 2008

Jose Canseco begins his sequel to "Juiced" with a rant. At times he blends vindication with a dash of vindictiveness, but by the time he is finished, the former major-league slugger and self-proclaimed "Godfather of Steroids" catches himself and regains his focus.

The tone in "Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and the Battle to Save Baseball" (Simon Spotlight Entertainment, $25.95) skips from triumph and relief to anger and bitterness. After "Juiced" was released in 2005, Canseco was called a liar, vilified for openly discussing steroid use and naming names. As it turns out, plenty of what Canseco asserted in his first book was on the mark; he spends a good portion of "Vindicated" recounting his bumpy ride.

Writing "Juiced" felt "like I was doing something important, like I was telling a story that was way bigger than anything I had first imagined," Canseco asserts.

"Vindicated" is just as blunt, opening with Canseco wondering why almost all the Roger Clemens references in his first book were excised by his publishers. His conclusions form the biggest conspiracy theory to come out of Texas since an infamous November afternoon in Dealey Plaza.

Canseco takes his shots. Commissioner Bud Selig "is a clown and a hypocrite." He "hates" Alex Rodriguez for apparently lusting after his wife - and also says he introduced A-Rod "to a known supplier of steroids."

Canseco criticizes the Mitchell report (he gives it a "disappointing D or maybe even a D-minus"), lamenting that his failure to be thoroughly interviewed by the committee left him "Mitch slapped." He claims Magglio Ordonez, whom Canseco befriended and injected, turned his back on him after "Juiced" was published.

But this book is not just a grand slam of his critics or a smug "I told you so." Canseco gives some solid advice to parents of young athletes who might be tempted by performance-enhancing drugs.

"Parents should learn about the dangers and the side effects and have a heart-to-heart with their kids," he writes. "Be vigilant, because it's just too easy for underage athletes to jump right in."

Despite the controversy he generated, Canseco still professes his love for baseball, and as one reads "Vindicated" it's hard to dispute his passion ("I never wanted to leave the game; the game left me."). He also writes of his adventures in helping to raise a daughter he adores, his love for poker, playing in a Sunday league, and his sometimes bizarre foray into reality television.

He even confesses that "If I had to do it over again, I might not do steroids," an about-face in philosophy. Canseco also believes baseball is resilient.

"The game of baseball will survive the Steroid Era," he writes. "Because baseball is forever."

Canseco is a survivor, too.

YANKEE-MANIA: Several books about the New York Yankees have hit the shelves, likely driven by the final season of Yankee Stadium. A few stand out: "A Yankee Stadium Scrapbook" (Running Press, $24.95) is a charming look at the venerable ballpark. Not only are there photographs of players in action, but also there are shots of scorecards, ticket stubs and other memorabilia. Author David Fischer takes the reader through the Stadium's 84-year career with a design that would make a scrapbooker proud.

Longtime sportswriter Phil Pepe takes a different approach in "Magic Moments Yankees" (Triumph Books, $27.95), ranking the top 40 events in franchise history. Babe Ruth's "called shot," Bucky Dent's homer in the 1978 American League playoff and Lou Gehrig's farewell are there, along with 37 other magic moments. What's No. 1? We won't say, but it was the perfect choice.

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