NEW YORK - Former baseball slugger Jose Canseco expressed regret over his involvement in the sport's ongoing steroids controversy during a recent interview with the A&E
Network.

In a one-hour documentary titled, "Jose Canseco: The Last Shot," the former American League MVP admitted he regretted "mentioning players (as steroids users)" in his book "Juiced," which was published in 2005 and ultimately resulted in a congressional hearing on doping in the sport.

"I never realized this was going to blow up and hurt so many people," Canseco said in the interview, which aired Monday night.

Canseco, 44, revealed that he wrote the book because he wanted to get even with Major League Baseball, which he believed had him "forced out of the game."

In his book, Canseco named Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro as steroids users. Those three players, along with Canseco, were present at a March 2005 congressional hearing in which Sosa and McGwire provided questionable testimony while Palmeiro defiantly denied using steroids.

Less than four years later, Sosa and McGwire are widely considered longshots to reach the Hall of Fame despite ranking sixth and eighth, respectively, on baseball's all-time list for career home runs.

Palmeiro tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during the 2005 season and was suspended.

"If I could meet with Mark McGwire and these players, I definitely would apologize to them," said Canseco, who developed a friendship with McGwire during their seven-year stint together
with the Oakland Athletics. "They were my friends. I admired them, I respected them."

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures A Duck goes for a ride, a NASCAR driver takes flight, some bankers take to boxing, and much more. more photos

During the interview, Canseco also claimed that he is worried about his health. The six-time All-Star said that he recently has stopped using performance-enhancers and that his body cannot adequately produce enough testosterone.

Canseco currently faces misdemeanor charges from last week, when he was apprehended in San Diego for attempting to transfer illegal drugs across the American-Mexican border. The drug, human chorionic gonadotropin, helps restore testosterone.

A former AL Rookie of the Year, Canseco belted 462 career homers and had 200 stolen bases in a 17-year career with eight different teams.

Also on NBCSports.com Rosenthal: NFL contenders, pretenders revealed   College football: Slideshow of Top 25 games College hoops: Season starts Monday! Are you ready?   Video: Red card? Some rough play in women's soccer Twitter: Follow us @nbc_sports

MORE FROM BASEBALL

Baseball Section Front

Sosa’s skin undergoing color change Phillies decline option on Feliz Blyleven: Yanks on top, but dynasty talk premature   Vote, discuss: Will the Yankees repeat in 2010?   Slideshow: Yankees on parade Blog: ‘The Yankees are smug and they are haughty’ World Series rematch? Don’t count it out When confetti runs out, Yankee fans toss files Blog: Tim Lincecum, social pioneer? Um, no Blog: Torre might stay in L.A. beyond next season Baseball Section Front   Add Baseball headlines to your news reader: