Tuesday, July 3, 2018 | 2 a.m.
Jose Canseco attends Brad Garrett's Maximum Hope Foundation Poker Tournament at the Tropicana on Sept. 17, 2011.
NORMAL, Ill. — Two hours before the first pitch Friday at Corn Crib Stadium, Jose Canseco uncoiled from his trademark open stance and laid into a batting practice delivery.
"If that's not going out, nothing is," Canseco said of his drive into a stiff breeze blowing in from center field.
"Whew," said the former major league slugger, now a resident of Las Vegas, as the baseball nestled onto the grass berm.
In his return to competitive baseball as a temporary member, however, Canseco struck out swinging in each of his three weekend plate appearances (all on 2-2 pitches) in a weekend stint with the Normal CornBelters of the Frontier League, a 12-team independent minor league.
His plate appearances were limited to one at-bat per game over the weekend series per an agreement with the visiting Florence Freedom and the Frontier League.
"It was tough. Three at-bats, having a bad knee, being 54 and not playing forever, I expected that," said Canseco. "The pitching is pretty good. Those kids were throwing hard. I did the best I can. The eyesight and reaction time isn't there."
Canseco, who warned before the weekend series that he expected to be dominated by pitchers less than half his age, did display some prodigious power before Sunday's contest.
An elite slowpitch softball player, Canseco rocketed at least 10 softballs over the fence beyond the left-field berm and completely out of the Corn Crib confines.
"The only thing that came up positive was hitting softballs over 500 feet," Canseco said with a laugh. "That was a lot of fun."
Canseco's appearance in uniform over the weekend did not signal any desire on his part to return to baseball.
"There is no reviving anything. My baseball career is dead, dead, dead," he said. "I'm not going to be a (Rafael) Palmeiro. I'll just go out and try to survive a few at-bats."
As for his on-field pursuits these days, Canseco is happy to continue slow-pitch.
"I've been a big softball player for over 35 years," said Canseco. "I enjoyed playing it in the offseason. I love playing softball."
