Canseco not wowed by report

Jose Canseco said the list of names in the Mitchell Report came up short. (Louis Lanzano/Associated Press)

NEW YORK - When Jose Canseco tried to get into the Mitchell Report news conference yesterday, the man mentioned most often in those 409 pages wasn't welcome.

Major League Baseball officials refused to let him in, saying it was a "media only" event.

The former Oakland Athletics slugger didn't force the issue and was unimpressed with what he heard of the report.

"It's a slap on the hand," he told Fox Business Network. "The report proved nothing. It just proved what we already knew."

Canseco's name appears 105 times in the Mitchell Report, more than that of Barry Bonds (103) or Roger Clemens (82).

"I saw the list of players, and there are definitely a lot of players missing," he told Fox Business Network. "I don't know what they accomplished or what they are trying to prove."

Prodded further about players not included, Canseco said this of Alex Rodriguez: "All I can say is the Mitchell Report is incomplete. I could not believe that his name was not in the report."

Canseco was one of the first to admit using steroids in his 2005 book "Juiced." There, he gave specific names of other players who allegedly used, including teammate Mark McGwire.

In Mitchell's report, Canseco is reported as the first target of public speculation about steroids in baseball. In 1988, Washington Post writer Thomas Boswell claimed Canseco was "the most conspicuous example of a player who has made himself great with steroids."

Canseco, coming off the first 40 home run-40 steal season in baseball history, denied using steroids at the time. He changed his tune in his book, in which he recounts his use of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone, and claimed widespread use throughout the league.

After Canseco's book came out, he and McGwire were among the players subpoenaed to appear before the House Committee on Government Reform. McGwire refused to answer specific questions.