Canseco served papers at Tuesday's Scorpions game
Jose Canseco was watching the Yuma Scorpions from the dugout during Tuesday night's game when he was served papers in the second inning. The papers stem from a disputed celebrity boxing appearance Canseco was involved with earlier this year.
According to legal documents obtained by the Yuma Sun, promoter Damon Feldman and Hollywood Boxing are seeking $7,500 from Jose Canseco and Ghidra Entertainment for a breach of contract and $156.68 in costs. Capt. Eben Bratcher, spokesman for the Yuma County Sheriff's Office, said the papers were served at the stadium because it was the only local address listed for Jose Canseco.
Asked about the incident following Tuesday's game, Canseco said, “No comment. I don't want to talk about that. That's not baseball.”
Feldman claims Canseco agreed to participate in a celebrity boxing match on March 26 in Hollywood, Fla., but Canseco's identical twin brother, Ozzie, showed up instead. Feldman claims he advanced $5,000 to Jose Canseco and paid $1,500 for airline tickets to fly to the location. A civil action hearing has been scheduled for July 20 in Broommall, Pa.
Attempts to reach Jose Canseco and Feldman for comment on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
“Yes, it's the boxing event,” Yuma general manager Jose Melendez wrote in a text. “He (Jose Canseco) really just wants to focus on turning the team around. He doesn't want to talk about it.”
North American Baseball League commissioner Kevin Outcalt was unaware of the situation as of early Wednesday afternoon and said he hadn't talked to Canseco.
“Nobody served us, they served him directly,” Outcalt said. “It sounds like some kind of personal legal dispute. ... When people get served papers, it doesn't mean they're guilty of something. We'll certainly see what it's all about and hopefully it won't have an impact on the league and he'll be able to continue on to be here to manage.”
Feldman has also made his share of headlines, as the Philadelphia Daily News reported Feldman received two years probation after pleading no contest to charges of fixing fights and promoting fights without a license on March 7. As part of his deal, Feldman was reportedly ordered to pay $7,500 restitution and banned from promoting fights in Pennsylvania for two years.
Canseco publicly ridiculed Feldman via Twitter on March 26, saying, “Be very careful with Damon feldman [sic] who runs celebrity boxing he will not pay you if you fight for him. Damon feldman [sic] will not fulfil [sic] his part of the bargain.”
The Scorpions are scheduled to host the Lake County Fielders on July 20 in the second contest of a 10-game homestand, which includes a doubleheader on July 21.
But Yuma already has plenty of experience playing without player-manager Canseco. He said he tore his left biceps in the second game of the season but he will try to play through the pain.
Canseco has played in five of 11 contests since, including his first pitching appearance of the year on Tuesday, when he tossed a scoreless ninth inning in a 10-4 loss. At the plate, Canseco is batting .267 (4-for-15) with no home runs and three RBIs this season, but he has drawn eight walks to lift his on-base percentage to .522.
His brother, player-coach Ozzie Canseco has also been hampered by a left quadriceps injury and hasn't played since May 31. He is batting .286 (4-for-14) with no home runs and four RBIs in six games. Jose and Ozzie Canseco have only played together for five innings all season.
