Jose Canseco once claimed he had been singled out by MLB for being 'an outspoken Latino' more than white players accused of steroid use

Former Cuban-American MLB player Jose Canseco was the designated outfielder and hitter of his time.

In his autobiography, which was published in 2005, Canseco claimed that baseball had a significant double standard, with white athletes like Brady Anderson, Cal Ripken Jr., and Mark McGwire receiving protection and perks that a vocal Latino like himself never did.

According to the world champion, severe racial bias was prevalent in that era, which saw players of color such as himself left out in the cold.

“The truth is, no one wants to face the fact that there was a huge double standard in baseball, and white athletes like Mark McGwire, Cal Ripken Jr., and Brady Anderson were protected and coddled in a way that an outspoken Latino like me never would be. The light-eyed and white-skinned were declared household names. Canseco the Cuban was left out in the cold, where racism and double standards rule.”

Canseco made a name for himself as one of the best power hitters in the game while playing for the Oakland Athletics.

He was a six-time All-Star and won the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in 1986 and 1988, respectively.

Baltimore Orioles v Oakland Athletics

Canseco won the World Series twice.

Jose Canseco admitted to injecting steroids

In his book “Juiced,” Canseco alleged that he and teammate Mark McGwire would lock themselves in a toilet and administer steroid injections to one another while they were playing for the Oakland A's in late 1980s.

“Steroids, used correctly, will not only make you stronger and sexier, they will also make you healthier,” Canseco wrote. “Certain steroids, used in proper combinations, can cure certain diseases. Steroids will give you a better quality of life and also drastically slow down the aging process... I’m forty years old, but I look much younger.”

He once made a controversial call regarding players from the Steroids Era of Baseball.

"All the players that are in the Hall of Fame who used steroids should somehow get together and try to get the other players in who used steroids into the Hall of Fame ... Of course that takes courage," Jose Canseco tweeted.

Canseco retired from MLB in 2001.