clarinews@clarinet.com (09/21/89)
SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) -- Jose Canseco's new hotline is making a lot of money. Jeff Borris, Canseco's Beverly Hills agent, said the response has been ``overwhelming'' since Monday when Canseco began offering daily reports on a 900 number. Callers pay $2 for the first minute and $1 for each minute in addition. Yesterday Canseco, the Oakland A's famed outfielder, told callers what kind of a pitch he hit in Monday's game. And he confided that he faced the prospect of going hungry because there was no room service in his hotel after 10 p.m. And, all and all, Monday and Monday's game were boring. Canseco, last year's most valuable player in the American League, is the first sports figure to make money by offering a personalized phone message. His agent said, ``The telephone company says they've never seen a 900 number with the `hang time' Jose is getting. Most of the callers are on for five minutes or longer.'' Recently Canseco had run-ins with the law involving a gun concealed in his red Jaguar and an arrest for speeding more than 100 mph. ``People weren't getting the story from the horse's mouth,'' Canseco said. ``I just wanted to tell my side of the story.'' Canseco plugs his phone service in commercials on cable television in which he says, ``Hi, I'm Jose Canseco. I want to speak to you...''