Jose Canseco takes fan’s challenge to a home-run hitting contest for charity

Any change to seem relevant is right in Jose Canseco's wheelhouse these days, like a fastball on the inner plate was for him in his heyday as a steroid-fueled slugger for the Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays and numerous other MLB teams. But on Saturday it will be for a good cause.

No doubt a few people went, "No way, Jose," when the former American League MVP took Ottawa baseball fan Evan Malamud up on his Twitter challenge to a home-run hitting contest. It is Jose Canseco, after all — he's in his third decade as a pop-culture punchline and it's well-chronicled that his post-baseball life has been a bit of train wreck, what with the bankruptcy, the forays into boxing, the reality-TV appearances and the tell-all steroid-abuse confessionals. His Twitter exchanges can often be a mix of the good, bad and bizarre, so who could be sure he'd really show up?

But it turns out Canseco's word is as solid as the maple used to make Sam Bats, especially when there's the prospect of doing something for charity. On Thursday, Canseco tweeted he was travelling to Ottawa to take on Malamud in a contest of clout. The two will go head-to-head in an event called Home Runs For Autism, which is near and dear to Evan Malamud since Malamud has an autistic son named named Jaedyn. The event takes place Saturday at 3 p.m. ET at Ottawa Stadium. YourCityDeals is even selling tickets at two for $12, so it's apparently a thing.

It goes without saying that even at 47, Canseco should probably be able to knock a few more balls over the fence than Malamud, an avid softball player. That's not so important as the Everyman appeal of a fan using social media to connect with a childhood idol and make some memories. Malamud is not under any illusion he could out-homer Canseco, even if Jose volunteered to stand on the warning track and try to head any deep flies over the fence like he did in a 1993 game with the Texas Rangers. For any Seamheads who are wondering, Ottawa Stadium played more like a pitcher's park when the Triple-A Ottawa Lynx played there before moving to Allentown, Pa., after the 2007 season.

It's like Homer Simpson getting a shot at the heavyweight champion, although Malamud has trained for it seriously, staying away from (mmmmmm) donuts.

Knock one out of the park for your son, Evan. And for us, too.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.