For the last couple of weeks, former MLB player Rafael Palmeiro has beenteasing that he is coming out of retirement to play baseball once again.
Palmeiro has not played professional baseball since the 2005 MLB season and has been out of baseball for over 10 years. The former left-handed slugger is now 53-years old, but still believes that he can compete at the MLB level.
Rafael Palmeiro played in the majors for 20 seasons. The former four-time All-Star played three seasons with the Chicago Cubs, seven with the Baltimore Orioles, and 10 with the Texas Rangers.
Good to be back in the cage again. The comeback is real. pic.twitter.com/uA8FMjyTjv
— Rafael Palmeiro🇺🇸 (@Rafael_Palmeiro) January 5, 2018
Palmeiro spoke to The Athletic and told them he had “No doubt” in his mind he can come back to the majors. Palmeiro told them that the reasoning behind his comeback is that “I want to prove to myself I can do it on a high level”.
Rafael Palmeiro in Batting Cages, Teasing Comeback to MLB
Palmeiro made his MLB debut on September 8, 1986, with the Chicago Cubs. Palmeiro’s last appearance in the Majors was on August 30, 2005, with the Baltimore Orioles.
Palmeiro was accused of being an anabolic steroid user by former Rangers teammate Jose Canseco. Conseco identified Palmeiro as a steroid user in 2005 in his book titled Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big.
The Numbers
Palmeiro played in 2,831 games across 20 seasons. The left-handed hacker batted .288/.371/.515, with 585 doubles, 38 triples, 569 home runs, and 1,835 RBI.
The former first baseman was a four-time All-Star (1988, 1991, 1998, and 1999), a three-time Gold Glove Award winner (1997, 1998, 1999), and a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner (1998 and 1999).
Palmeiro is one of just five players to record 3,000-plus hits and 500-plus home runs in Major League History. Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez, and Eddie Murray are the others.
Shortly after accomplishing that achievement, Palmeiro was suspended for 10-days due to testing positive for steroids. He claimed that teammate Miguel Tejada gave him a tainted vitamin B12 shot. Palmeiro left a sour taste in Orioles fans mouths due to this statement. Once his suspension was over, Palmeiro only played in a few more games, was booed by Baltimore fans, and was sent home because of a nagging injury and was told to stay home.
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