Whaddaya Say, Jose?

He does, however, have one substance abuse problem: cars. He's addicted. He has owned a 12-cylinder, metallic-red Jaguar, that gorgeous white Porsche and a white Lamborghini, among others.

Canseco won't reveal what beauties lurk in his garage these days. "He doesn't want the cops to know," says Esther.

Jose Canseco Sr. was only 19 when he married Barbara Capaz, a beautiful girl by anyone's reckoning, happy, charming and a wonderful seamstress and cook. She bore him a daughter, Teresa, and they lived well off Jose's job as an oil executive with Esso in Cuba. But when Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, Canseco lost not only his job but also his house and his car. He made a living giving English lessons at $15 a month out of his home in Havana.

On July 2, 1964, Barbara bore twins. The first the Cansecos named Osvaldo Capaz, after Jose's late brother, who was killed working on La Cubre, a ship carrying ammunition to Castro. The ship was sabotaged. The second, born two minutes later, they named Jose Jr., no middle name. The birth was complicated, and during delivery Barbara received a blood transfusion.

On Dec. 5, 1965, the Cansecos were finally allowed to leave Cuba for the U.S., with less than $50 and no job prospects. They moved to Opa-Locka, Fla., and lived with their only American connection, Jose Sr.'s sister, Lelia.

Jose Sr. kept the family fed by working two jobs at a time—at a gas station by day, as a security guard by night. Today, after much sacrifice, he has a home in Miami and is a well-paid executive with Amoco. He did not return our calls.

Jose Canseco's outs are sometimes as unforgettable as his home runs. He once hit a line drive that nearly decapitated shortstop Billy Spiers of the Brewers. "If Billy doesn't get his glove in front of his face, that ball kills him," says Parker. In Detroit, Canseco once drove a ball so hard that Tiger third baseman Rick Schu caught it in his glove and was knocked over by the force of the blow.

When Canseco comes to bat, A's third base coach Rene Lachemann moves down the line, about six feet beyond the coaching box. "It's for health reasons," Lachemann says.

In Anaheim, Canseco hit a shot that caused A's play-by-play radio announcer Bill King to say: "There's a line drive over short, it's in the gap, it's gone!"

Oakland teammates swear they'll not be surprised the day Canseco lines off the wall into a double play.