CC, for a guy who seems to want to move on, I am surprised you are suggesting dredging up the Canseco-McKay connection again.

I have actually spoken to McKay about it before, back in the 2005 time frame when Jose’s book came out. He waved off any knowledge and said he didn’t know what guys did outside the clubhouse. On another thread here on the blog, I posted a snippet of McKay’s testimony from the Mitchell Report investigation where he and La Russa admitted they had suspicions. Here it is again:

“…La Russa and McKay acknowledged that they had suspected Canseco of using steroids when he was playing with Oakland. McKay said: ‘It just got to the point where you knew he [used them].’ Neither La Russa nor McKay shared their concerns with the Oakland front office, however. According to La Russa, ‘I thought, what’s the use? So I didn’t say anything.’”

Here is one of McKay’s quotes from the 1990 book, now 20 years old:

“I actively discourage the use of steroids and other such drugs. They may make muscular development come easier, but you pay for it later on. Whatever short-term gain there might be, it isn’t worth the price your body will eventually have to pay. There is no room for steroids in this program or any other program for a serious athlete.”

Do people realize that McKay and Jose Conseco co-authored a book on weight training for athletes? I wonder why no one asks LaRussa if his 1st base coach, former conditioning coach, and co-author on strength enhancement with an admitted steroid user knew anything or was also blind to the roids use on his teams? Not that I care personally but if I was a journalist I’d sure be asking.