

Jose Canseco hit 462 home runs over 17 major league seasons. (Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

Former baseball star Jose Canseco is in a Las Vegas hospital, as doctors try to save what they can of one of his fingers. According to the Miami Herald, Las Vegas police said the ex-slugger told them he was cleaning his gun in his kitchen when it fired, hitting a finger.

“There was nothing suspicious. There was no alcohol involved, just a misstep with a handgun,” Las Vegas Metro Police Lt. Mark Reddon told reporters, according to NBC News.

TMZ Sports reported it had gotten in touch with Canseco’s fiancee Leila Knight, who provided an update:

” … he was sitting at a table in their home cleaning the gun when it went off. She says he didn’t know it was loaded — and the shot ripped through the middle finger on his left hand. Leila tells us 50-year-old Canseco is in surgery right now as doctors desperately try to save what’s left of the finger. She says the bullet tore through the bottom part of the finger and doctors have already said he’ll never have full use of it again … even under the best of circumstances.”

Canseco rose to prominence in the late 1980s as an outfielder on the Oakland Athletics, where he formed the home run-happy “Bash Brothers” with Mark McGwire. He possessed a combination of speed and power that allowed him to become the first major leaguer to have 40 homers and 40 stolen bases in the same season, but as his statistics faded, Canseco made stops with the Rangers, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees and White Sox.

In 2005, Canseco caused a stir with his book, “Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big.” His allegations in the book of widespread steroid use, including by himself and McGwire, were initially dismissed as an attempt for publicity, but many of the claims were subsequently corroborated, at least in general terms.

Canseco has had a checkered experience starting from when he was still a player, including arrests and financial difficulties, as well as appearances on several reality shows.