It took until day one of the second road trip this season for Jose Canseco to step foot on the Worcester Tornadoes team bus. He’s getting along just fine with the players on the field and in the clubhouse, but he’s almost exclusively driven his car to and from road games himself.
I didn’t include a photo of his car outside the ballpark here in Rockland County, New York, since I didn’t ask him whether or not he’d mind. Jose may love attention, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t enjoy privacy sometimes too.
After last night’s game, Jose discovered a flat tire. Although the initial reaction of some people at the park– players, fans and others– was that his tire was slashed, it actually turned out to be just a hole from wear, tear and a small loose nail (which didn’t appear to be shot or hammered in).
With that, the former big leaguer found himself literally back in the bus leagues, at least while his car was being fixed.
I’ve seen team buses held up at the Canadian-American Border, stopped because of severe weather, and even waiting for the radio guy to come streaking toward the bus before it departs sans a media member, boarding the vehicle to the mocking applause of the team (a story for another time). I had never seen a player’s car cause a delay in the team leaving.
Because of the slim pickings food-wise near the team hotel– the transformed Crowne Plaza Suffern, formerly the Holiday Inn where Lawrence Taylor defined sketchy ex-player with some questionable moves with a minor– we had one more stop for those who were still hungry: a diner half a mile from our beds.
Although the game was longer than three hours, I certainly didn’t expect to get back to my room close to midnight. It’s a good thing the beds are so comfortable, and that there was no wake-up time to obey.
Nick Gagalis 
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