Joyner says Canseco owes him trophy. (2024)

Byline: Barry Rozner

If lawmakers have a free minute during a recess, maybe someone in Washington will ask Jose Canseco what he did with his 1986 Rookie of the Year trophy - because Wally Joyner wants to possess what he believes he earned.

Like Frank Thomas, who lost an MVP contest in a close vote to Jason Giambi, and Mike Greenwell, who had an MVP stolen by Canseco, Joyner lost the '86 AL Rookie of the Year vote by a very small margin.

"I'm the 'Natural Rookie of the Year' for 1986. I've always thought that it was mine, so this doesn't really change that," Joyner said by phone from Utah on Tuesday, speaking of the Canseco steroid scandal.

"If my memory is correct, I lost by a couple first-place votes, but I started in the All-Star Game and my team (the Angels) went to playoffs.

"I thought it was a very successful year and losing by a few votes didn't take away from the year I had. I was fine with that."

Canseco won the decision 110-98, with 16 first-place votes to 12 for Joyner. Flip 3 firsts and seconds, and Joyner wins.

The Angels (92-70) captured the AL West, while Joyner led the club in hitting (.290), hits (172), RBI (100) and doubles (27) and was second in homers (22).

His OPS was .805 to Canseco's .775, and at first base Joyner had a .989 fielding percentage to Canseco's ugly .958 in the outfield.

Oakland (76-86) finished 16 games behind the Angels, while Canseco hit .240 with 33 homers and 117 RBI. He was 20th in the MVP voting; Joyner was eighth. And, oh yeah, Canseco said he was on steroids at the time.

"He said he never would have made it to the big leagues without steroids," Joyner said. "He told Mike Greenwell he could have the MVP trophy if he can find it, but Jose probably sold it already. I hope Mike gets it."

As for the steroid scandal finally going public, Joyner says no one should be shocked.

"None of this is a surprise to me," said Joyner, who played 16 years in the big leagues. "But as players, what could we have done about it? If you thought this about someone and you asked the person, he would deny it.

"Jason Giambi denied it last year and this year he's singing a different tune. There wasn't a lot a player could do about it, except make a decision on whether he was going to take them. I didn't. Jose Canseco obviously did."

And the legitimate winner of the 1986 AL Rookie of the Year Award would like his hardware.

McCarthy-schism

Speaking of rookies, there's definitely a division of opinion on whether 21-year-old White Sox hurler Brandon McCarthy should start the year in Chicago.

But if he keeps throwing the way he has - his changeup has been Greg Maddux-like in command and effectiveness - GM Kenny Williams is going to have to manufacture a trade or an injury to his rotation.

With another sparkling outing Tuesday, McCarthy is tied for the American League-lead with a 3-0 record and zero ERA in 10 1/3 innings (third in the AL), with 7 hits, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts.

"I thought he'd come in and show the major-league coaches he was a prospect," GM Kenny Williams said during the ESPN broadcast Tuesday. "(Brandon) had a little different idea. He came to make the ballclub and he's doing everything he can to show us he belongs here now."

After his performance Wednesday, McCarthy told ESPN broadcasters - one of whom was Steve Stone, working his first telecast of the year - that pitching coach Don Cooper has him penciled in to pitch every five days through March 30.

"All I can do is do my job on the field," McCarthy said, "and make the decision hard on them."

He's already doing that, especially with Jose Contreras and Orlando Hernandez so unpredictable.

Bracket racket

Taking nothing from the NCAA Tournament, you'll never see four better days of basketball than the conference tournaments offered last weekend.

After watching the Big East, you might want to give UConn, Pitt and West Virginia serious bracket consideration, and extend that through Syracuse, Villanova and Boston College if the mood takes you.

Every year, there's a hot conference, and the Big East might be the 2005 play.

The good guys

For the fourth straight year, the Wolves are sponsoring "Guns 'N Hoses" Day on Saturday with two police vs. firemen charity games in the afternoon (1-4:30 p.m.), prior to the Wolves vs. Grand Rapids at 7 p.m.

Not only do the police and firemen raise money for charities, they'll also be around for "Crime and Fire Prevention Night" and offer interactive concourse booths.

For more info, Call 1-800-THEWOLVES.

The cheap shot

Dave Thomas of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, on Karl Malone's donation to expand his alma mater's weight room: "Malone's donation, presumably, will give Louisiana Tech athletes more elbow room."

Who's your caddy?

Jerry Greene of the Orlando Sentinel: "Neither Indiana nor Notre Dame made the Big Dance. In fact, this is the first time since 1972 that no Indiana school is involved. As a gesture of shame, all copies of 'Hoosiers' have been recalled."

And finally ...

Comedian Alex Kaseberg: "There are mental health groups that protest the NCAA basketball tournament's nickname of 'March Madness.' They prefer the term only be used where it belongs: the Michael Jackson trial."