Jose Canseco Shoots Off His Middle Finger While Cleaning His Gun

Former Major League Baseball player Jose Canseco shot off his middle finger on Tuesday while cleaning his handgun, according to a report released by CNN.

Leila Knight, the fiancee of Jose Canseco, contacted TMZ Sports to share the details of the events that led to this accident. Leila claims that Jose Canseco was sitting at a table inside of their Las Vegas home, cleaning his semiautomatic handgun. According to her claim, the 50-year old former MLB outfielder and designated hitter was not aware that his handgun was loaded.

The gunshot reportedly “ripped through the middle finger on his left hand.”

At the time of her report to TMZ, Jose Canseco was “in surgery” as “doctors desperately try to save what’s left of the finger.”

Since the bullet tore straight through the bottom part of Canseco’s middle finger, doctors have already confirmed that (even in a best-case scenario) Jose Canseco will “never have full use of it again.”

During the 17 seasons of Jose Canseco’s playing career, he was able to hit over 450 home runs. Jose Canseco received the American League Rookie of the Year award back in 1986. Canseco was also able to earn the MVP award while playing as one of the “Bash Brothers” for the Oakland A’s two years later. Jose Canseco was also helped the Oakland A’s become the World Series championship team in 1989. According to ESPN, Jose Canseco last played for the Chicago White Sox back in 2001.

Jose Canseco is also known for admittedly using performance enhancing drugs throughout his playing career. Canseco was also criticized for a 60 Minutes interview conducted in 2005 where he spoke openly about his substance abuse problem.

According to USA Today, Canseco admitted that he would never have been a “major league-caliber player without using the drugs.”

While he stated that he does not recommend steroids or growth hormones “for everyone,” he did believe that “certain individuals” could become “super” athletes by using them.

“I don’t recommend steroids for everyone and I don’t recommend growth hormones for everyone. But for certain individuals, I truly believe… that it can make an average athlete a super athlete. It can make a super athlete incredible. Just legendary.”

Jose Canseco has also had a substantial amount of legal issues over the years as well — from reckless driving and alleged drug smuggling to multiple counts of aggravated battery and carrying a loaded semi-automatic pistol in his car, according to CBS News.

[Image Credit: Fox 5 Vegas & Canada.com]