Imagine being an identical twin. Now, imagine your twin is Jose Canseco—the 1980s poster boy for "the Bash Brothers," the first man to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in a single season, and the guy who eventually blew the lid off the entire steroid era. That's the reality for Ozzie Canseco.
If you grew up watching baseball in the early 90s, you might remember the hype. There weren't just one, but two massive, Cuban-born athletes who looked exactly alike, swung the bat with the same violent torque, and shared the same DNA. But while Jose became a household name (and a bit of a lightning rod for chaos), Ozzie lived a career that was part "glitch in the Matrix" and part cautionary tale about the brutal hierarchy of professional sports.
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The Twin Who Was Actually a Pitcher
Most people assume the Canseco twins were always a matched set of power-hitting outfielders. Not quite. Ozzie was actually drafted by the New York Yankees in 1983 as a pitcher. He was a second-round pick, which is no joke. He had a mid-90s fastball and a sharp breaking ball.
But baseball is a weird game. While Ozzie was trying to navigate the Yankees' farm system from the mound, Jose was exploding into a superstar in Oakland. By 1986, Ozzie decided he’d had enough of pitching. He wanted to hit. He signed with the Oakland Athletics, joining his brother’s organization and transitioning to the outfield.
Think about the pressure. You’re the "other" Canseco. Every time you step into the batter’s box, the scouts aren't just looking at you; they’re looking for Jose.
That One Week in 1990
There is a very short, very specific window in baseball history where the "Canseco Twins" were a legitimate on-field reality for the Oakland A’s. In July 1990, the A’s called Ozzie up to the Big Leagues.
For nine games, they were teammates.
It was surreal. They looked so much alike that fans (and sometimes even teammates) couldn't tell them apart unless they looked at the jersey numbers—Jose wore #33 and Ozzie wore #46. On July 20, 1990, they both started in the same lineup against the Kansas City Royals. Jose was in right field, and Ozzie was the designated hitter.
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The dream didn't last long. Ozzie struggled to find his rhythm at the plate. While Jose was launching moonshots into the bleachers, Ozzie was battling the steep learning curve of Major League pitching. He finished his stint in Oakland with a .105 batting average.
The Bizarre Case of the Celebrity Boxing Switch
If you want to know how weird the Canseco saga gets, you have to look at 2011. This is arguably the most "identical twin" story in the history of sports.
Jose was scheduled for a Celebrity Boxing match against Billy Padden in Florida. He had already been paid $5,000 upfront. When the fighter showed up, things felt... off. The promoter, Damon Feldman, noticed the "Jose" who arrived didn't have the same tattoos on his arms that the real Jose had in his promotional photos.
It turned out that Ozzie had shown up to fight in Jose's place.
The promoter was livid. The fans were confused. Jose eventually took to Twitter (now X) to defend the move in his typical cryptic fashion, but the damage was done. It became a legendary anecdote of the lengths the brothers would go to help each other out—or perhaps just to mess with the public.
Ozzie Canseco: A Legend in the Independent Leagues
It’s easy to dismiss Ozzie’s career because he didn't hit 462 home runs like his brother. But in the world of Independent League baseball, Ozzie was basically Babe Ruth.
- In 2000, playing for the Newark Bears, Ozzie hit 48 home runs in a single season.
- That’s actually more home runs than Jose ever hit in a single MLB season (Jose’s peak was 46).
- He was named the Atlantic League MVP that year.
He was a professional hitter for a long, long time. He played in Japan for the Kintetsu Buffaloes, spent years in the minor leagues with the Cardinals and Brewers, and managed several independent league teams like the Brownsville Charros. The guy lived and breathed the game, even if he didn't get the multi-million dollar contracts and the Wheaties boxes.
The Steroid Shadow
You can't talk about a Canseco without talking about "Juiced." When Jose released his tell-all book in 2005, he didn't just name-drop Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro. He talked about the culture of the sport.
Ozzie’s name stayed mostly out of the primary "Godfather of Steroids" narrative, but both brothers were involved in a 2002 legal incident. They both pleaded guilty to felony charges following a fight at a Miami Beach nightclub on Halloween in 2001. It was a messy period for the twins, and it reinforced the image of them as a package deal of talent and trouble.
Honestly, Ozzie's biggest hurdle wasn't a lack of talent. It was the "Twin Tax."
If Ozzie had been born to any other family, a second-round draft pick who made it to the Big Leagues and crushed 48 homers in a pro season would be the pride of the neighborhood. But when your twin is a cultural icon, "pretty good" feels like a letdown.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that Ozzie was just a "clone" or a hanger-on.
In reality, Ozzie was a highly respected hitting coach and manager in the later stages of his career. He understood the mechanics of the swing as well as anyone. He spent years in the dugout of the Yuma Scorpions and the Edinburg Roadrunners, teaching younger players how to handle the grind.
He wasn't just "the twin." He was a lifer.
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How to Follow the Canseco Legacy Today
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the history of the Canseco brothers, here are the best ways to get the "unfiltered" version:
- Read "Juiced" (Jose Canseco): While it focuses on Jose, it provides the family context and the atmosphere they grew up in as Cuban immigrants in Miami.
- Look up the 1990 Oakland A's Box Scores: Specifically the games between July 18 and July 28. It’s the only time you’ll see two Cansecos in the box score of a Major League game.
- Check Independent League Archives: Search for the Newark Bears' 2000 season. Ozzie’s stats that year are genuinely mind-blowing and show what he was capable of when he was "the man" on a team.
- Follow the Coaching Tree: Ozzie has spent significant time in the United League and North American League. Many players from those circuits still credit him for their approach at the plate.
The story of the Canseco twins is a reminder that in professional sports, the margin between being a legend and being a footnote is razor-thin. Ozzie had the look, the swing, and the power. He just didn't have the timing. But for one week in Oakland, the world saw double, and baseball was a lot more interesting for it.