63° clear Jose Canseco was back in the batter’s box Sunday, facing former Seattle Mariners closer Kazuhiro Sasaki before the start of a Japanese
professional baseball game in Yokohama. Canseco took nine pitches from Sasaki as part of a pre-game ceremony at Yokohama Stadium. Canseco connected on a few pitches but none were home runs. “His fastball and forkball haven’t changed much since he was in the major leagues,” Canseco said. “I should have practiced more.” Canseco, who hit 462 home runs in the major leagues, is in Japan to take part in a mixed martial arts event Tuesday. The former Oakland A’s slugger is fighting South Korean Hong Man Choi on the Dream 9 card at Yokohama Arena. Choi is a 7-foot-2, 330-pound super heavyweight and has a 1-2 record in MMA.
Canseco, who named alleged steroid abusers like himself in his two books, lost to former Philadelphia Eagle Vai Sikahema in his first foray into celebrity boxing.