Rafael Palmeiro on Monday denied ever taking steroids, calling those claims in Jose Canseco’s pending book “ludicrous.”
In a combined statement released by the Orioles, Palmeiro and owner Peter Angelos questioned Canseco’s credibility, one day after the New York Daily News reported on the contents of his new book, “Juiced.”
In the book, which is scheduled for a Feb. 21 release, Canseco reportedly said he injected steroids into several of his former All-Star teammates, including Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez and Mark Mc-Gwire.
“I categorically deny any assertion made by Jose Canseco that I used steroids,” Palmeiro said in his statement. “At no point in my career have I ever used steroids, let alone any substance banned by Major League Baseball.”
Canseco said he introduced steroids to McGwire in Oakland and then introduced them to Palmeiro, Rodriguez and Gonzalez after getting traded to the Texas Rangers in 1992.
Palmeiro had never hit more than 26 home runs in a season until 1993, when he hit 37 in his final year with Canseco as a teammate. Palmeiro went on to slug at least 38 homers a season from 1995 to 2003. He attributed his surge to a change in hitting philosophy: He began focusing on pulling the ball to right field instead of spraying the ball for base hits.
In October, the Orioles re-signed Palmeiro, 40, to a one-year, $3 million contract with plans to make him their full-time designated hitter.
“The Orioles are solidly behind Rafael Palmeiro and have absolute confidence in him and in his denial of the Canseco story,” Angelos said in his statement. He suggested his law firm might have just gained a new client–if Palmeiro wants the services.
Canseco is withholding further comment until Feb. 20, when he is scheduled to appear on “60 Minutes.”
Tom Grieve, who served as Rangers general manager from 1984 to 1994, lashed out Monday at Canseco in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“Jose Canseco is an embarrassment to baseball and an embarrassment to his family,” Grieve said. “He’s become nothing more than a caricature. …
“You’ve got a guy who has squandered a fortune, his personal life is an embarrassment, and he probably has no way to earn an honest living. He’s a joke.”
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Reaction to Canseco’s claims
“As I have never had a personal relationship with [Jose] Canseco, any suggestion that he taught me anything, about steroid use or otherwise, is ludicrous. We were teammates, and that was the extent of our relationship.”
–Rafael Palmeiro, Orioles slugger and former teammate of Canseco’s with the Rangers
“I have always told the truth, and I am saddened I continue to face this line of questioning.”
–Mark McGwire, one-time teammate of Canseco’s who denied
using steroids to the New York Daily News
“If there was, he was not aware of it at the time.”
–Scott McClellan, White House press secretary on Canseco’s assertion that President Bush must have known about players using steroids when he was the managing partner of the Texas Rangers
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Edited by Phillip Thompson (plthompson@tribune.com) and Drew Sottardi (dsottardi@tribune.com)
