Yardbarker: Rafael Palmeiro

Orioles: Was Adam's glove really "golden?"

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:08:24 -0500

The Rawlings Gold Glove Awards probably will be announced early next week, and there are rumblings that Adam Jones is about to become the first Orioles outfielder to win a Gold Glove since Paul Blair back in 1975. We've made some inquiries to try and confirm that, but the best info anybody has at the moment was a MySpace entry by Adam's brother Jonathan the other day saying how excited he was about his little brother winning a "Golden Glove 4 his Baseball Team, the Baltimor...

One to Palmeiro

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:47:05 -0500

Alex Rodriguez hits home run 568 to extend the Yankees lead to 5-1 over the Angels. That puts A-Rod one home run behind Rafael Palmeiro for 10th on the all-time list. He’ll be very young when he joins the top ten.

Rafael Palmeiro Tries To Cash in on the Manny Good Vibes, Video

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:17:46 -0500

Rafael Palmeiro Tries To Cash in on the Manny Good Vibes, Video. Since Raffy’s positive steroid test we have heard zilch from him. Now, all of the sudden, he shows up with a white goatee and starts talking about a conspiracy. I believe Palmeiro has been sitting at home looking at Manny getting cheered in [...]

Palmeiro Talks About PED's

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:34:00 -0500

((HT: ESPN/Pedro Gomez))

Rafael Palmeiro spent some time reflecting before he was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame on Friday in Lubbock, Texas.

Palmeiro's legacy shifted in the summer of 2005. On July 15, he got his 3,000th career hit and joined an exclusive club of players with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray are the only other players to have done both. On Aug. 1, Palmeiro found out he had failed a steroids test and was suspended 10 days by Major League Baseball.

"I made a mistake," Palmeiro told ESPN's Pedro Gomez on Friday. "I didn't really understand what I was taking and I paid for it. I paid for it very dearly. Life goes on."

Palmeiro continues to deny knowingly taking performance enhancing drugs.

"I've heard a lot of things out there that are wrong," he said. "People saying I took drugs all my life, I've never touched anything. I worked my butt off my whole career, as a kid, in college, the big leagues, I didn't need anything, I didn't have to cheat at the end of my career, for what? What was I going to gain from it? Whatever I took was tainted, had to have been. There's no other reason unless I got set up.

"What I took was a B-12 [vitamin] that was given to me by a teammate. That's it. That was it."

Before the failed test, while testifying before a House committee with other ballplayers in March 2005, Palmeiro had stated: "I have never used steroids. Period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that."

Palmeiro said he has no regrets about his testimony before Congress because he had never taken anything. He hopes the list of 104 players who tested positive in 2003 is released because, "I'm not on the list."

Palmeiro was a three-time first-team All-American at Mississippi State. He was the SEC's first triple crown winner in 1984, when he hit .415 with 29 home runs and 94 RBIs.

Palmeiro a lifetime .288 hitter in the majors played for the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles.

Here's the interview with Pedro...

All that does is give us the excuse to show this...
((Thanks: APTV))

Rafael Palmeiro Still Denies Knowingly Taking Steroids

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:58:00 -0500

There have been plenty of moments in baseball involving steroids and other performance enhancers that stand out in our memories, but one that's always stuck in the back of my mind was Rafael Palmeiro sitting in front of Congress back in March 2005. There he was wagging his finger at Congress and saying "I have never used steroids. Period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that...."

Yeah Right Palmeiro

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:59:59 -0500

ESPN - Rafael Palmeiro was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame on Friday. Palmeiro used the platform to again deny having knowingly used steroids. “I made a mistake,” Palmeiro told ESPN’s Pedro Gomez. “I didn’t really understand what I was taking and I paid for it. I paid for it very dearly. Life goes on.” He [...]

Rafael Palmeiro denies knowingly using steroids

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:14:10 -0500

The former Rangers slugger did an interview with Pedro Gomez on Friday. Click here to see the story and video. Part of the story on Palmeiro's interview: "I made a mistake," Palmeiro told ESPN's Pedro Gomez on Friday. "I didn't really understand what I was taking and I paid for it. I paid for it very dearly. Life goes on." Palmeiro continues to deny knowingly taking performance enhancing drugs. "I've heard a lot of things out there that are wrong,&q...

Rafael Palmeiro continues to deny knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:16:23 -0500

Rafael Palmeiro spent some time reflecting before he was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame on Friday in Lubbock, Texas on Friday.

Rafael Palmeiro, Can’t Beat The Real Thing, Coke Commercial

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:16:01 -0500

Rafael Palmeiro, Can?t Beat The Real Thing, Coke Commercial. This commercial just struck me as sad and funny. I just have to keep telling myself not to take the whole steroids thing personal. It?s just business. I love how the commercial ends you have Raffy walking away and the caption is ?Can?t ...

Numbers On Steroids: Rafael Palmeiro

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:03:48 -0500

Numbers on Steroids is a look at baseball players during the 90s to see if anything screams out at you.

"I Never Took Steroids! Period!" That's what Rafael Palmeiro said a few months prior to testing positive for steroids. Yay for lying to America. Let's take a look at his career stats to see where any evident jumps are to see if we can pinpoint the start of his abuse.

Averages Say: All of a Sudden the Slugging Percentage Just Plummets. Hmm...

At Bats Per Home Run Says: And from Doubles to Home Runs They Go

Explaining It Away

Let's say for a second he didn't test positive. First let's take away his 2nd year as the numbers are a little skewed thanks to less at bats. In 3 of 4 years Palmeiro was an excellent hitter. He hit well over .300 in 3 of those years and accumulated 41, 35, 49 doubles in those same seasons while making two all star teams. He was a solid hitter that hadn't quite found his power stroke. Once he found it he kept it til his body could no longer do it at the age of 39.

The Verdict

The Verdict was in a long time ago when the test came back positive but when did he start taking the juice. The logical guess would be 1993 when all of a sudden he started a 10 year streak of 30+ Home Runs*. Seven years in the big leagues is a strong sample size to see what kind of a player you are and Palmeiro just wasn't a masher until 1993 when his game to a dramatic upswing. Is it a coincidence?

That B12 Shot Sure Did Have A Lot of Steroids In It

*Actually 9 out of the ten years, the only year he didn't he had 23 homers in 111 games in the Strike shortened year.

Maybe Athletes Should Just Stop Taking "Vitamins"

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 14:56:44 -0500

Miguel Tejada gave Rafael Palmeiro a B-12 shot (allegedly), but it turned out to be steroids (allegedly). Good story huh? Apparently it was so good that track man Justin Gatlin decided he'd go with that as his alibi as well.