Surf Dawgs

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Surf Dawgs look back at the Canseco era

By Larry Knowles

July 10, 2006

San Diego--The Jose Canseco era lasted nine innings.

On July 3^rd, the former Major League slugger played his only game as a member of the Golden Baseball League’s San Diego Surf Dawgs, striking out three times and getting beaned by a pitch. His entire Dawg career lasted from 7/05—make that 7:05—to a little after 10:00 p.m.

“The only thing I remember about him,” said Dawg shortstop Johnny Day, “is striking out three times and getting hit.”

Day, whose last name neatly sums up the Canseco era, later reached a little deeper into the vault to recall a few of the better moments.

“When we walked into the clubhouse, he stood up to shake everybody’s hand. He was very respectful. He looked like he wanted to be here.”

Day said that he expected the Canseco era to last longer than it did, and had talked with teammates about reaping some of the rewards of having an ex-Major Leaguer in the locker room. “We joked around a little,” he recalls, “and said things like, ‘We’re going to start eating better while on the road.’”

Pitcher Justin Ottman took a less sentimental trip down memory lane.

“My fondest memory is that I think he’s a clown,” Ottman said.

He quickly qualified the statement, saying, “In both ways. For what he did in major league baseball, with steroids, but also hanging out with him for that one day. He had a sense of humor.”

Ottman spoke about the late stages of Canseco’s San Diego career. “At the end,” he said, “we all sat around and hung out in the clubhouse and talked about anything.”

One member of the front office looked back at the Bash Dawg era with nostalgia and a smattering of angst. Gary Lochansky, President of the Surf Dawgs, recalled those halcyon moments just after Canseco signed with the team.

“My fondest memory was after the press conference,” Lochansky said. “We sat in the locker room, and I got a chance to reminisce with him about his days as a New York Yankee.”

The good times were fleeting, however. Lochansky, when asked whether Jose left a legacy with the Surf Dawgs, replied, “No, other than a lot of shirts with his name and number on the back.”

The merchandise cost about $15,000 and Lochansky said he’s hoping to recoup some of the money by getting Canseco’s autograph on the shirts and selling them as memorabilia. He added that some of the shirts would be given away during promotions or thrown into the stands between innings.

On July 5, citing family obligations, Canseco demanded a trade to a Golden Baseball League team closer to his home in Los Angeles. The official line is that Canseco had recently gained full custody of his nine year-old daughter Josie and didn’t want to shuttle her to San Diego for the rest of the summer.

But breaking up is hard to do, and sometimes a white lie or two can ease the split for both parties. So, did Canseco really demand the trade, as reported, and are family obligations really the reason for the move?

“Yes, he called me and demanded to be traded,” Lochansky verified. “That’s how it happened.”

Lochansky is less sure about why Canseco wanted out of the Dawg house, but is inclined to believe the “It’s not you—it’s me” refrain. “In the conversations I’ve had with Jose, we have no reason to disbelieve him,” he says.

“If you sit down and think about it, it does sound a little hokey,” Lochansky concedes. “Everybody I’ve talked to says it sounds a little hokey, but I don’t have any proof to the contrary.”

Regardless of how Canseco left, the fact remains: the man who was seemingly a Surf Dawg for life, the guy you couldn’t ever imagine in another uniform, is gone.

Canseco now plays for the Long Beach Armada.

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