MIAMI -- Jose Canseco buried his face in his hands, trying not to laugh as one of the potential jurors told what she knew about his career.

''Does he play football or baseball?'' she said. ''He's not that big of an issue for me.''

Canseco's baseball career wasn't an issue for many of the 25 people interviewed Monday as jury selection began in the former AL MVP's trial on felony battery charges.

While the majority of them knew snippets about the slugger, including partial details of his October 2001 arrest, few potential jurors could name Canseco's most recent team or any of his career numbers.

''He's a baseball player, but I don't even know which team,'' one man said. ''I'm not really a baseball fan to speak of.''

Welcome to Miami, where baseball isn't exactly the national pastime.

''I used to do track and field in high school and all the guys would talk about him,'' the woman said. ''At that time, he was the thing. He made it to the majors or the Super Bowl or whatever. That's how I got to know his name.''

Canseco and his twin brother, Ozzie, are accused of aggravated battery for fighting with two California men at a Miami Beach nightclub on Oct. 31, 2001. Each of them could spend up to 31 years in prison if convicted and given the maximum sentence.

Jose Canseco told police that one of the men groped a woman who was a companion of the brothers. Police said Jose Canseco grabbed one man by the neck, punched him and broke his nose. Jose Canseco admitted pushing the first man but denied hitting him. He said his brother pushed the other man. Police said the man needed 20 stitches in his lip.

The judge urged the brothers and their attorneys not to speak with reporters until after the trial.

The brothers turned down a plea agreement in August that would have given them probation and community service -- a risky decision that led to Monday's trial, which Circuit Judge Leonard E. Glick expects to last into next week.

''We couldn't do that. It didn't make any sense,'' Ozzie Canseco said.

The brothers have told the judge they passed lie-detector tests proving their innocence. Now they have to convince a six-person jury.

''I'm not a sports person,'' another potential juror said.

Jose Canseco was a six-time All-Star and ranks 26th on the all-time career home run list with 446. Cut by Montreal in spring training, he retired in May as a Triple-A player for the Chicago White Sox.

Canseco finished his career as a .266 hitter with 1,407 RBI and 200 stolen bases in 1,887 games with Oakland, Texas, Boston, Toronto, Tampa Bay, the New York Yankees and the White Sox. He also was the 1988 AL MVP with Oakland, teaming with Mark McGwire to become the ''Bash Brothers.''

He grew up in Miami, was a high school standout there and even has a street named after him. Ozzie Canseco, meanwhile, had a brief major league career and played for two seasons with the minor league Newark (N.J.) Bears.

''I know they're famous baseball players,'' one potential juror said. ''One of them is a future Hall of Famer, but I'm not a big baseball fan.''

Another man said Jose Canseco was one of his favorite baseball players.

''I pretty much have all his baseball cards,'' he said, then was stumped when asked to name some of Canseco's former teams.

Then there was this from a Yankees fan: ''I liked him more than I liked the Dodgers. The power he had to swing the bat, the speed he had on the bases. He was good, then he was not so good.''

Jury selection will continue Tuesday.