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Jose
Canseco is glad to be in pinstripes!
August 8, 2000 - George Steinbrenner finally got his
power hitter.
Cuban born, Jose Canseco was claimed Canseco off waivers solely to block
competing contenders from adding his potent bat to their lineup. But Tampa Bay decided to shed Canseco's contract and let the Yankees
have him for the $20,000 waiver price, so the Yankees will assume the remainder of his $3
million deal, paying Canseco slightly under $1 million for the final 56 days of the season.
GM Brian Cashman admitted that his intent was to "prevent certain others from getting
him." But now that Canseco is a Yankee, Cashman said, "my intent is to have him help
the club.
"The organization has always been enamored by this man's power
and he's one of the games biggest names ... Hopefully, he's got some more thunder left in his bat."
A stunned Joe Torre was very surprised on the acquisition and doesn't know
where Canseco fits in or whether he'll be a regular player.
Despite the uncertainty of where Canseco is going to play, he is thrilled
to be playing for a contender. "I'm definitely happy," he added. "It's exciting to go to a
team in contention, with a chance to win a division and
go to the World Series. The Yankees have great history.
Everybody wants to be with a winning club. I'm just
happy to be considered by the Yankees as somebody that can help."
Canseco, 36, was hitting .257 with nine homers and 30 RBI in 61 games for the Devil Rays. He is 24th on the all-time homer list and
he is third among active players behind Mark McGwire (552) and Barry Bonds (479).
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