When Jose Canseco regretted exposing steroid users in his memoir

Former MLB outfielder and designated hitter Jose Canseco expressed contrition in 2010 for exposing other steroid users in his 2005 memoir.

Canseco admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs in a tell-all book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big," where he mentioned that a vast majority of MLB players used steroids. The revelations didn't win him too many friends in the baseball world.

Canseco, who's tried moving on to other avenues in life, has complained multiple times that the dark past keeps haunting him.

"People are afraid to deal with me," Canseco told ESPN in 2010. "I've been trying to get into the entertainment industry, acting industry. Maybe some martial arts roles. Producers didn't want to touch me.

"When I wrote the book they categorized me as a snitch right away. So in other industries I cannot be touched. It has been horrible for me. I can't have any relations in Major League Baseball," he added.

Canseco, deeply remorseful at the time, said he regretted his satiating desire to use performance enhancers, linking them to his premature exit from the game.

Canseco concluded that steroids are vastly overrated and should never overwrite hard work, dedication and skill.

"These kids don't need steroids to become players," Canseco said. "We overemphasize the steroids and not the athletic ability and skills of these people. We're taking away the hard work the athlete puts in and saying he became great just because of steroids."

"We are giving steroids way too much credit," Canseco concluded.

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Jose Canseco admitted to using anabolic steroids in 2005

Jose Canseco at the 2023 Cactus Jack Foundation HBCU Celebrity Softball Classic

In his revelatory 2005 book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big," Jose Canseco openly admitted to taking PEDs. He also claimed that up to 85% of major league players took steroids.

The Cuban-American player called out his former Oakland A teammates Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Jason Giambi, Iván Rodríguez and Juan González as fellow steroid users. He also named Jorge Delgado, Damaso Moreno and Manuel Collado.

Canseco also claimed to be the "Godfather of Steroids" and said that he wrote it to "clean up baseball." His explosive revelations led to Congressional hearings and the MLB introducing stringent penalties over PED use.

Canseco, the first MLB player in history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a single season, published another book, "Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and the Battle to Save Baseball," in 2008, which made the same allegations as his 2005 memoir.