Jose Canseco to bring full circus to court, plans to sue MLB and MLBPA

Disgraced former MLB slugger Jose Canseco apparently has one more trick left up his sleeve to help keep himself in the limelight, well beyond his 15 minutes of fame. Canseco wants to get together with fellow disgraced steroid users Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro to file a lawsuit against Major League Baseball and the Players Association to seek compensation for loss of wages and defamation of character.

Canseco stated in a telephone interview that:

"Because I used steroids and I came out with a book, I was kicked out of the game, but I have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame. A lot of these players have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame: Mark McGwire and so forth. They're losing salaries, because obviously when you're inducted into the Hall of Fame, you get asked to do certain, you know, appearances and shows and so forth, which incorporates income. So there is a major income loss. Not even that, baseball blackballs you from their family, meaning you can't have a future proper reference from them, a job, no managerial jobs, no coaching jobs, nothing. They completely sever you."

Clearly Canseco is grasping at straws in his life. It is hard to know where to begin in criticizing Canseco, so in the interest of time we'll keep it brief. Canseco had a bright career when he broke into baseball, but his career was cut short by diminishing skills after roughly 10 seasons. His numbers went downhill and few people wanted him. In 2005 he wrote a tell all book, mostly in an attempt to make money, about the use of steroids in baseball in which he claimed as many as 85% of MLB players used steroids.

Canseco's threat of a lawsuit against MLB and MLBPA is just the latest in a string of moronic attempts to reclaim some honor, fame, and most importantly cash. Despite earning $45 million in pay alone during his career, Canseco is broke. He has resorted to numerous appearances on cheesy reality shows in his post-MLB days, including his most recent stunt which saw him get destroyed in one round in an MMA fight with a 7ft tall fighter from South Korea. Canseco's book, Juiced, was nothing more than another attempt to make money and try to make himself feel better about cheating by pointing the finger at others.

In the end, Canseco's career ended because he had no talent left. As for being "black balled" and having his character defamed, these are all consequences of his own actions. MLB didn't put the needle full of roids in his butt, he did. Canseco dragged his own name through the mud by cheating and getting caught, he has no one to blame for his current situation but himself. It is hard to feel sorry for someone that managed to squander away $45 million, the fact that he didn't think to save any of that is his problem. Neither the MLB or MLBPA should have to give him money to make sure he lives a comfy retirement. As for Sosa and Palmeiro, I would seriously hope they both have the brains to stay clear of Canseco. Though they are both fellow users, each still has some respect and a much better chance of making the Hall of Fame than Canseco ever did. Attaching their wagons to Canseco would leave them right where he is, pathetic, broke, and grasping at straws.