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NEW YORK -- Jose Canseco bragged about not having to work out as hard as other players on the Oakland Athletics because he had a "helper," his former manager, Tony La Russa, said in an interview with 60 Minutes on Wednesday.
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La Russa managed Canseco and the Athletics to consecutive AL pennants from 1988-90, winning the World Series in 1989. La Russa's interview was broadcast Wednesday night on CBS, three days after the network aired an interview with Canseco, who has admitted using performance-enhancing drugs and accused several former teammates of the same.
Sandy Alderson, executive vice president for baseball operations in the commissioner's office, said Major League Baseball has no record of being contacted during the mid-1990s by an FBI agent who told the New York Daily News he warned baseball about steroid use among players.
La Russa, now manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, told 60 Minutes Wednesday that Canseco would boast about not needing a lot of time in the gym to build his strength.
"He would laugh about the time that other guys were spending there, and how he didn't have to, because he was, he was doing the other 'helper,"' La Russa said. "He was having help in a different way. You know, the easy way."
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| Venerable Mike Wallace interviews Jose Canseco. (AP) |
"Kevin has told me that he does not remember any conversation with Special Agent Stejskal," Alderson said. "However, because of the nature of the assertions made by Stejskal, we have reviewed our records to determine what, if any, contact there may have been between Stejskal and our office."
Alderson said baseball has no record of any contact with Stejskal during the period, adding: "Nor has the FBI provided us with any such documentation."
Alderson said Stejskal left a message on Hallinan's voice mail Tuesday. Alderson said the message states that the '90s contact to which Stejskal has referred occurred at an FBI conference in Quantico, Va., where Hallinan was speaking.
"Hallinan does not recall the scenario described by Stejskal," Alderson said in a statement. "Had Hallinan been more formally contacted, or had he received a follow-up call from Stejskal, he would have pursued whatever information was available."
Alderson said baseball's phone records do reflect a call on June 19, 2002, from a Greg Stejskal, who identified himself as an FBI employee in the Detroit office. Alderson said Hallinan was out of town when the call came and directed Marty Maguire, a member of baseball's security department, to return the call.
"Stejskal referred Maguire to an informant, whom Maguire contacted," Alderson said. "The informant provided very dated information linking only one player, Jose Canseco, to steroid use. At the time that this information was obtained, Canseco was no longer an active professional baseball player."
On May 28 that year, Sports Illustrated released a report in which former NL MVP Ken Caminiti alleged many players used steroids. That June 7, The Wall Street Journal reported that Canseco, who was circulating a book proposal, had told publishing houses that he took steroids.
