If Jose Canseco was seeking revenge, he found it.
Canseco says he was nice enough to educate Alex Rodriguez about steroids and even introduced him to a friendly steroids dealer in the late 1990s, but A-Rod returned the favor by trying to bed his wife, the former Bash Brother alleges in his new book, “Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars and the Battle to Save Baseball.”
Whatever his motivation, Canseco writes that he is “confident” the Yankees star and three-time MVP used steroids.
“I did everything but inject the guy myself,” Canseco says in the book.
Canseco said he introduced the future Yankee to a trainer named “Max.”
“This trainer was a fan of steroids, and he had connections with local suppliers,” Canseco writes.
Max later called Canseco to thank him for the reference. “He said A-Rod had signed on,” Canseco adds. “I didn’t ask for specifics.”
Canseco claims Rodriguez paid him back by ogling his then-wife Jessica. Canseco and Rodriguez were working out at Canseco’s Florida home when A-Rod made his admiration obvious.
“The first day he was there, my then-wife, Jessica, joined us in the gym, and A-Rod’s eyes bugged right out of his head,” Canseco wrote.
“‘Man, your wife is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen!’ ” A-Rod said.
Later, Canseco added, Rodriguez “began calling Jessica on her cell phone. I’m not a jealous man, but I could see that A-Rod, a bachelor at that time, was jonesing for my wife.”
Canseco’s book is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, but publisher Simon & Schuster started shipping copies this week. The Daily News obtained a copy yesterday, after online columnist Joe Lavin first reported on the contents of the book.
Rodriguez did not join the Yankees in Winter Haven Tuesday for their game with the Indians. But as he left Legends Field in Tampa and was asked about the book, Rodriguez told the Associated Press, “I really have absolutely no reaction.”
Asked about the portion pertaining to Canseco’s ex-wife, Rodriguez said, “I don’t know how to answer that.”
Reached by phone, Canseco seemed miffed that his book would be available a week early. “I can’t give a comment on it till Simon & Schuster okays it. So we’re gonna have to wait.”
Canseco also writes that he is not 100% sure that Roger Clemens used steroids, but he sure sounds like he is.
According to the book, Clemens would sometimes say he was off to get a B-12 shot, a known synonym in clubhouses for steroids. When a teammate homered, Clemens would say things such as “Man, you must have had your juice this morning!”
Even one of television’s most respected reporters is thrown into the mix. Mike Wallace, then 86, privately grilled Canseco about the benefits of steroids and human growth hormone after interviewing Canseco in 2005.
“When the cameras stopped rolling, Wallace asked me if we could talk, off-camera,” Canseco writes. “He kept me there for another hour, clearly curious about steroids. . . . He wondered how the steroids and human growth hormones (HGH) might help him, a man in his 80s, live a longer, healthier life. He wanted to know everything.”
Canseco also writes that he injected Magglio Ordoñez of the Detroit Tigers several times with steroids. Earlier this year, The New York Times reported that Canseco had offered to keep Ordoñez out of the book if Ordoñez invested $5 million for a film Canseco was producing. Canseco writes in the book that the Times’ charge is not true, and that he was not involved in a documentary.
“I met Mags in 2001, when I was with the White Sox,” Canseco writes. “When it was all said and done, when Maggs had the information he needed, he told me he was in. A few days later, we went into the back room in the clubhouse, and I jabbed a needle into his butt. ‘Ow,’ he said. ‘That hurt.’ ‘You’ll get used to it,’ I said.”
Canseco writes that he wanted to include his suspicions about Clemens in his first book, “Juiced,” but the publisher wouldn’t let him. According to a source close to the publishing house, HarperCollins, the names included in that book were ones about which Canseco had firsthand knowledge of use.
Canseco writes that comments he made about Clemens to “60 Minutes” and ESPN were mysteriously edited out of the reports. Canseco began to think there was some sort of conspiracy afoot, specifically: “Roger Clemens was from Texas. He went to play for the Astros, to be close to his family. George W. Bush, a former owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team, is, like Clemens, a proud Texan.
“Clemens is a personal friend of Bush Sr. and his wife, Barbara. Clemens still has a standing invitation from Bush Jr. to visit the White House anytime. Getting the picture? Maybe the President of the United States, or his daddy, the ex-President, made some calls and took care of things for good ol’ Roger.”
Clemens’ attorney Rusty Hardin and Clemens’ spokesman Joe Householder did not return calls seeking comment.
But Clemens gets kid-glove treatment in the book compared to A-Rod.
Canseco ends one chapter by saying: “So A-Rod, if you’re reading this book, and if I’m not getting through to you, let’s get clear on one thing: I hate your — guts.”
