The Bash Brothers are a duo of former

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

players consisting of

Jose Canseco José Canseco Capas Jr. (born July 2, 1964), nicknamed Parkway Jose, Mr. 40-40 and El Cañonero Cubano (The Cuban Cannon), is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and designated hitter. During his time with the Oakla ...

and

Mark McGwire Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Card ...

. Both prolific

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

hitters, the two were teammates in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) for seven seasons with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

, helping the team win a

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

title in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

. The two began celebrating homers by bashing each other's forearms, which spawned a marketing campaign that was a takeoff on

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respecti ...

. After retiring from playing, Canseco and McGwire both admitted to using

anabolic steroid Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related and have similar effects ...

s during their careers.

Background

Canseco was drafted by the

Oakland A's The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

in the 15th round of the

1982 MLB Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players *David Wells†, 2nd round, 30th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays * Allan Anderson, 2nd rou ...

. He did not become a legitimate power hitter until he began weightlifting in late 1984 and gained of muscle. In 1985 he jumped from AA to

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

to the major leagues, and batted .300 at each level. In 29 games with Oakland that season, he batted .302 with five

s (HR) and 13

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...

(RBI), and hit a combined 41 home runs with 140 RBI at all levels that year. McGwire played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ''Trojans'', the women's athletic teams are referred ...

, and set a school record with 32 home runs in his junior year. He played for the United States national team in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

before being selected by the A's in the first round of the 1984 draft. In two-plus years in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

, McGwire hit 48 home runs. He debuted with the A's as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

in August 1986.

Oakland A's

The

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Canseco was named the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

(AL) Rookie of the Year in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

when he hit 33 homers, and McGwire captured the award the following season, when he was moved to

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and hit a league-leading 49 home runs, a major-league record for rookies. The two combined for over 200 home runs as Oakland captured the

AL pennant Each Major League Baseball (MLB) season, one American League (AL) team wins the pennant, signifying that they are the league's champion and have the right to play in the World Series against the champion of the National League (NL). The pennant ...

in three consecutive seasons from

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

through

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

, winning the World Series in 1989. In 1988, Canseco was unanimously voted the AL Most Valuable Player after batting .307 and leading the majors with 42 home runs and 124 RBI. He also added 40

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe o ...

s (SB), which combined with his home run total made him the first major leaguer to ever reach the

40–40 club In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 40–40 club is the group of batters who have collected 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season. Jose Canseco was the first to achieve this, doing so in 1988 after having predicted the feat in Apr ...

. Starting with

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

that year, Canseco and McGwire began a ritual of meeting at

home plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

and banging their massive forearms together with closed fists to briefly form an "X" when either of them hit a home run. Dubbed the Monster Bash, it soon replaced the customary

high five High five is a friendly gesture in which one individual slaps another's hand. High five (and variants such as Hi5, Hi-5, and Hi-Five) may also refer to: Music * Hi-5 (Australian group), an Australian children's musical group * Hi-5 (Greek band) ...

as the team's preferred post-homer celebration. The practice was mimicked by

Little League Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationcollege players, and

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

rs. It was also performed by the United States national team at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

in South Korea. At the

Oakland Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home b ...

, T-shirts and banners bore "Let's Bash". The A's marketing department teamed with local San Jose television station

KICU-TV KICU-TV (channel 36), branded on-air as KTVU Plus, is an independent television station licensed to San Jose, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by Fox Television Stations alongside Oakland-licensed Fox ...

to make a song and complementary

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

to the tune of "

Monster Mash "Monster Mash" is a 1962 novelty song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. The song was released as a single on Gary S. Paxton's Garpax Records label in August 1962 along with a full-length LP called '' The Original Monster Mash'', which contained sev ...

", the 1962 hit by

Bobby "Boris" Pickett Robert George Pickett (February 11, 1938 – April 25, 2007), known also by the name Bobby "Boris" Pickett, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, and comedian known for co-writing and performing the 1962 hit novelty song "Monster Mash". B ...

. The "Monster Bash" video debuted on the Coliseum’s large Mitsubishi DiamondVision during the A's homestand against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

on April 15–17, but was temporarily shelved after Oakland was swept in the three-game series. However, the A's released the song to local radio stations, and it ended up on the playlists of almost a dozen of them, whose formats varied from

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as ...

new age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

, and even

news/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

. The video later returned to the stadium as well. Costacos Brothers Inc., a poster company, had already planned a photo shoot with the slugging duo for a concept that was originally titled the "Blast Brothers", but the advent of the forearm bashing motivated a change to the "Bash Brothers". While the industry standard at the time was to show action shots of athletes, Costacos Brothers gave their subjects amusing personas matched with catchy slogans. The Bash Brothers poster was patterned after characters popularized by comedians Dan Aykroyd and

John Belushi John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known for being one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Throughout his c ...

. Canseco and McGwire were made to look like a bigger and meaner version of

who were also partial to some yellow in their attire—yellow being an A's team color along with green. Wearing black suits, black shoes, black hats, black sunglasses, yellow socks, yellow shirts, skinny ties, and

fedora hat A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...

s, the duo posed in front of an Oakland Police patrol car while holding giant baseball bats. The poster sold 50,000 copies in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

in less than three weeks. It was as popular as any poster that Costacos had done, and it received immense press coverage. Due to the frequency and distance of their home runs, the Bash Brothers were a popular attraction in every American League city. McGwire became the first player in major league history to hit 30 home runs in each of his first four seasons (1987–1990), and Canseco led the majors in homers for the second time with 44 in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

. However, the Athletics finished in fourth place in the

AL West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams cur ...

in 1991 after having made three straight trips to the World Series. At the trade deadline in 1992, Oakland traded Canseco to the Texas Rangers for outfielder

Rubén Sierra Rubén Angel Sierra García (born October 6, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Sierra goes by the nicknames ''El Caballo'' and ''El Indio''. Over 20 seasons, Sierra played for the Texas Rangers (1986–92, 2000–01, 2003), ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

Jeff Russell Jeffrey Lee Russell (born September 2, 1961) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played 14 years from 1983 to 1996. Russell played for the Cincinnati Reds of the National League and the Texas Rangers, Oakland A's, Boston Red Sox and ...

, and starting pitcher

Bobby Witt Robert Andrew Witt Sr. (born May 11, 1964) is a former professional baseball pitcher, who played all or parts of 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Florida Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay ...

. The A's at the time were 27 games above .500 and leading their division by games, but they had played 34 of 131 games without Canseco, and were seeking to strengthen their pitching. He had homered 231 times with the A's since 1985, and was arguably the biggest celebrity in baseball at the time. However, Canseco had played over 135 games in a season just once since 1988, and his off-the-field antics had drawn criticism as well. After four seasons with Texas and one with

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Canseco returned to Oakland in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. The A's had been languishing for three seasons with a combined 196–224 record, and were having a nondescript offseason before acquiring him for pitcher

John Wasdin John Truman Wasdin (born August 5, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2007, and also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Wasdin made his MLB debut in 1995 wit ...

. Reuniting him with McGwire, who together were once one of the most explosive tandems in baseball, boosted the team's ticket sales considerably. McGwire was coming off of a majors-leading 52-homer season, and Canseco remained a threat with his tremendous bat speed. However, McGwire's contract was expiring at the end of the season, and he was traded mid-season to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

for pitchers T. J. Mathews,

Eric Ludwick Eric David Ludwick (born December 14, 1971) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Florida Marlins, and Toronto Blue Jays between 1996 and 1999. He also played two seas ...

, and

Blake Stein William Blake Stein (born August 3, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals from -. Career On June 2, 1994, he was drafted by the St. Lou ...

. Canseco's season was just ordinary, and he signed in the offseason with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, his fourth team in four years. During their careers with Oakland, Canseco and McGwire combined to hit 617 home runs.

Aftermath

With Toronto in 1998, Canseco played in 120 games for the first time since 1991, and reached 100 RBI for the first time since 1991. In his last big season, he had 46 home runs, 107 RBI, and 29 stolen bases for the Blue Jays. He became a journeyman

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

before retiring in 2002. He fell 38 home runs short of joining the

500 home run club In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 500 home run club is a group of batters who have hit 500 or more regular-season home runs in their careers. On August 11, 1929, Babe Ruth became the first member of the club. Ruth ended his career with 714 home ...

, a milestone he had hoped to reach to bolster his chances of being inducted into the

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays basebal ...

. Unable to find a job to prolong his career, he accused teams of blackballing him. McGwire hit 70 home runs in 1998 to break Roger Maris' long-standing major-league record of 61. It was the highlight of a four-year stretch from 1996 though 1999 in which McGwire hit 245 homers. He finished his career with 583 home runs, and averaged one homer every 10.6 at-bats in his career for the best

at bats per home run In baseball statistics, at bats per home run (AB/HR) is a way to measure how frequently a batter hits a home run. It is determined by dividing the number of at bats by the number of home runs hit. Mark McGwire possesses the MLB record for this st ...

ratio in major league history. He was considered a likely inductee into the Hall of Fame until allegations of his illegal use of steroids.

Performance-enhancing drugs

On September 28, 1988, sports columnist Thomas Boswell of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' appeared as a guest on '' CBS News Nightwatch'' and alleged that Canseco, who was on his way to winning the MVP award that season, was "the most conspicuous example of a player who has made himself great with steroids.” Boswell did not print the allegations in the paper. According to George Solomon, who was the ''Posts sports editor, the newspaper required 100 percent certainty in what it published. "What Boswell said on CBS was Boswell’s opinion,” Solomon said. In October against Boston during the

1988 American League Championship Series The 1988 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven series that pitted the East Division champion Boston Red Sox against the West Division champion Oakland Athletics. It was the second meeting between the two in ALCS play. The Athlet ...

, Red Sox fans at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

loudly chanted "Ster-roids! Ster-roids!" when Canseco was on the field. He denied the charges, and steroids at the time were not covered in the federal government's Controlled Substances Act. During his home run record chase in 1998, McGwire was spotted with a bottle of androstenedione in his locker by Steve Wilstein of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

, which he eventually admitted to using. An

over-the-counter Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be supplied only to consumers possessing a valid prescr ...

bodybuilding substance, andro was a type of anabolic steroid that had been banned in other sports, but not yet in baseball. “Everybody that I know in the game of baseball uses the same stuff I use,” McGwire said. After setting the home run record, he announced that he had stopped using the substance to avoid setting a bad example to young kids. Meanwhile, the locker discovery was written off by the public as the work of a prying reporter. In 2005, Canseco admitted to using steroids in his book '' Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big'', which stated that he and McGwire injected steroids together while with Oakland. The book also accused other prominent players of using steroids. McGwire initially denied the allegations, before refusing to comment on steroids during a

congressional hearing A United States congressional hearing is the principal formal method by which United States congressional committees collect and analyze information in the early stages of legislative policymaking. Whether confirmation hearings (a procedure unique ...

the following month. In 2010, he too admitted to using steroids. Canseco expressed regret in writing his book and apologized to McGwire in 2014, but his former teammate has spurned multiple attempts at reconciliation.

Cultural references

In May 2019, the comedy group

The Lonely Island The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). The three ...

imagined the Bash Brothers as rappers from their pre-

winning season of 1988 in a visual album entitled ''

The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience ''The Lonely Island Presents: The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience'' is a Netflix special by comedy rap group The Lonely Island. Billed as a "visual poem", the special is directed by Mike Diva and Akiva Schaffer and stars Andy Samberg as J ...

''. Its release was timed with the 30th anniversary of the A's 1989 championship season. Canseco said that he "loved" the video and could not "stop laughing." In their first home game after its release, the A's tweeted at The Lonely Island about ''The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience'' and played one of its tracks, "Oakland Nights", at the Coliseum.

References

{{Oakland Athletics Nicknamed groups of baseball players Oakland Athletics players Sports duos