Headlined Jose Canseco, A’s officially induct 2024 Hall of Fame class

OAKLAND — Jose Canseco was, in his words, an emotional wreck. He certainly played the part. His voice cracked. His tears flowed.

He never thought this day would materialize.

“What I accomplished here, what we accomplished as a team and, of course, with everything that I’ve been through — the steroid book, the steroid era, the whole combination,” Canseco said. “For the Oakland A’s to even consider putting me in the Hall of Fame, to me, it was a shock. When they called me, I thought it was a joke.”

This was no joke. Ahead of the final Bay Bridge Series, Canseco, Miguel Tejada, Terry Steinbach, Bill King, Dick Williams and Eddie Joost were officially inducted as the sixth Oakland A’s Hall of Fame class. And if Canseco had any lingering doubt that this was real, those doubts officially washed away when Tony La Russa, his former manager and “second dad,” adorned him with a green jacket.

“I wish I could give…a forearm bash to everybody,” Canseco said.

La Russa being the one to introduce Canseco was not insignificant. The two, for a litany of reasons, haven’t always had the smoothest relationship. But on Saturday, La Russa showered Canseco with praise.

“He had one of the highest baseball IQs of any player I’ve managed over the many years,” La Russa said.

If La Russa knew Canseco for his brain, the baseball world knew Canseco during his prime for his brawn. In nine total seasons with the A’s, Canseco slugged 254 home runs, became the first member of the 40-40 club and won the 1988 MVP. Along with Steinbach, who slugged 132 homers over 11 seasons in Oakland, Canseco and the A’s won three American League pennants. He helped them win the 1989 World Series against the Giants, making Saturday’s Bay Bridge Series even more of a fitting setting for his induction.