Whaddaya Say, Jose?

"The fact is, he didn't do it," Canseco says. "Case closed."

Jose Canseco attracts beautiful women the way a dryer attracts lint. Every year, Canseco would come to spring training with a different knockout in tow, and "every year he'd introduce her as his fiancée," says A's pitcher Dave Stewart. So it was a surpriseless moment when Canseco showed up at the A's camp in Scottsdale in '88 with Miss Miami 1986 and introduced her as his fiancée.

"Right," said Stewart, sarcastically. "When's the wedding date?"

"No, seriously," said Canseco. Pretty soon, a bet was on the table. Stewart bet Canseco $10,000 that he wouldn't marry her. They even drew up a contract. On Nov. 5, 1988, in Miami, Stewart lost the bet.

Jose Canseco first noticed Esther Haddad at a Miami athletic club; he followed her out to the parking lot, followed her home and asked her to lunch. All Esther could think was, Who is this guy?

Soon they were in love. She adored his Miami Vice clothes, his Paul Newman cars and his Tom Cruise smile. That's why she decided, after six weeks, to call it off.

"What?" said Jose.

"I can't tell my dad I'm in love with a drug dealer," said Esther solemnly. She still didn't know that Jose played baseball for a living.

Canseco took her home, showed her his trophy room and convinced her how much three-run homers are worth. When she finally introduced him to her father, they hit it off big.

Mr. Haddad had been Jose's baseball coach in junior high school.