The rise and fall of Rafael Palmeiro

[weams]

I didn't know that. Pardon my ignorance. They should be in Cooperstown, IMO.

Those are thee ones in the HOF. The MLB Baseball Hall.

[DrungoHazewood]

Hmm, I read it and it was very well written article, but I have a little different take. The problem with guys like Palmeiro is that they just won't take responsibility for their actions. Had he just come out and admitted taking the steroids, I would have had a lot more respect for him. He seems like he's become a very bitter man, and part of that is he hasn't fully taken responsibility for his actions. He still is claiming the "tainted B-12 shot," but what caused his power to surge suddenly a year from Free Agency at the age of 28?

You and I have no idea what he did or didn't do. Performance changes are a poor substitute. You can find careers little different from Raffy's 30, 50, 70, 100 years ago.

He actually had a .267 ISO in 84 games in 1987, at 22, the year they juiced the ball. They almost certainly juiced the ball again around the strike/lockout in '94-'95, but Raffy's ISO went back over .200 in '91 at the age of 26. Three years before free agency.

Maybe he was juicing his whole career. Maybe not. But the idea that he won't take responsibility for his actions only has merit if he's lying. What if he's not?

[DrungoHazewood]

I didn't know that. Pardon my ignorance. They should be in Cooperstown, IMO.

Are you saying all Negro Leaguers should be in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown? There were thousands, and most of them weren't even good enough to be major league players. The Negro Leagues were like today's Cuban or Japanese Leagues: inner circle HOFers playing with guys of AAA, AA, A ball quality.

[MDtransplant757]

Are you saying all Negro Leaguers should be in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown? There were thousands, and most of them weren't even good enough to be major league players. The Negro Leagues were like today's Cuban or Japanese Leagues: inner circle HOFers playing with guys of AAA, AA, A ball quality.

I'm saying we should integrate the respective hall of fames

[Redskins Rick]

Meh. Maybe there is a case to put Raffy and others in the Hall. I don't really care. I certainly don't buy the "woe is me" routine or feel sorry for him that he is not in the Hall. He took a risk and got caught.

So did a sitting president while in the oval office, and the public didnt lynch him.

[Orioles Jim]

All Palmeiro needs is for Tejada to admit to possessing B12 and stanozolol and then giving him a possibly tainted vial of B12 and boom, a lot of things change for him, especially with the Veteran's Committee and probably coaching opportunities.

This article is great, but it really makes me feel like Palmeiro is still running from the truth.

Isn't Tejada broke (apologies if the article covers this). Every man has his price (especially broke men), if Raffy is still in good financial shape, I wonder how much he'd have to pay off Miggy in order for him to sing like that.

That said, God forbid should word ever get out on THAT one. Raffy's already been flat out raked over the coals before. That was 10+ years ago and it's settled down since then. Can you imagine if he got put on full blast again, this time in the social media age. And as they say, the cover-up is worse than the crime.

Still, you have to wonder if it'd almost be worth him throwing the dice on possibly recovering his legacy completely. He's got but more embarrassment (albeit much more, as covered) to risk. And who knows? Maybe he'd be paying Miggy off to tell the truth.

[Aristotelian]

You and I have no idea what he did or didn't do. Performance changes are a poor substitute. You can find careers little different from Raffy's 30, 50, 70, 100 years ago.

He actually had a .267 ISO in 84 games in 1987, at 22, the year they juiced the ball. They almost certainly juiced the ball again around the strike/lockout in '94-'95, but Raffy's ISO went back over .200 in '91 at the age of 26. Three years before free agency.

Maybe he was juicing his whole career. Maybe not. But the idea that he won't take responsibility for his actions only has merit if he's lying. What if he's not?

We know that he injected himself with something and that he tested positive for steroids. Absolute best case scenario, he knowingly injected himself with something received from another player (not a doctor) at a time of rampant steroid abuse. He may have had a "don't ask don't tell" approach to injecting himself but even if you take Palmeiro at his word, it is obvious he did something he knew or should have known was cheating.

[TINSTAAPP]

Isn't Tejada broke (apologies if the article covers this). Every man has his price (especially broke men), if Raffy is still in good financial shape, I wonder how much he'd have to pay off Miggy in order for him to sing like that.

That said, God forbid should word ever get out on THAT one. Raffy's already been flat out raked over the coals before. That was 10+ years ago and it's settled down since then. Can you imagine if he got put on full blast again, this time in the social media age. And as they say, the cover-up is worse than the crime.

Still, you have to wonder if it'd almost be worth him throwing the dice on possibly recovering his legacy completely. He's got but more embarrassment (albeit much more, as covered) to risk. And who knows? Maybe he'd be paying Miggy off to tell the truth.

I guess you didn't read the entire article. Raffy lost $53 million on a bad real estate deal and had to file for bankruptcy. I highly doubt he has enough money to pay Tejada to take the fall for him.

[24fps]

I guess you didn't read the entire article. Raffy lost $53 million on a bad real estate deal and had to file for bankruptcy. I highly doubt he has enough money to pay Tejada to take the fall for him.

The article said he had to file for bankruptcy, but "avoided financial ruin". I suspect nobody's going hungry at the Palmeiro "estate".

[SpinJr]

Loved the article. I guess my takeaway is reputation is simply more important than money. What does it profit a man to gain all the money he can but lose his reputation?

That question resonated all through the article for me.

[DrungoHazewood]

I'm saying we should integrate the respective hall of fames

But they have. There are 20-some Negro Leaguers in the Cooperstown Hall, plus more who split time between MLB and the Negro Leagues.

[MDtransplant757]

But they have. There are 20-some Negro Leaguers in the Cooperstown Hall, plus more who split time between MLB and the Negro Leagues.

Really? I didn't know that

[DrungoHazewood]

We know that he injected himself with something and that he tested positive for steroids. Absolute best case scenario, he knowingly injected himself with something received from another player (not a doctor) at a time of rampant steroid abuse. He may have had a "don't ask don't tell" approach to injecting himself but even if you take Palmeiro at his word, it is obvious he did something he knew or should have known was cheating.

He's no Eagle Scout, sure. But I don't know that it's helpful to assume everyone was cheating full-bore from day one, assuming not just guilt but worst-case guilt.

[DrungoHazewood]

Really? I didn't know that

In 2006 there was a special committee that resulted in the induction of 17 former Negro Leaguers, by far the largest induction class of all time. And, being the Hall, they screwed it up in an almost tragic way. They inducted 17 people, including executives and owners with kind of hazy credentials, but passed on Buck O'Neil, the great storyteller and ambassador of the Negro Leagues. He would have been the only living member of that class. Of course he handled it with dignity and class, but that had to be a huge punch in the gut. He passed just a few years later in his 90s.

[MDtransplant757]

In 2006 there was a special committee that resulted in the induction of 17 former Negro Leaguers, by far the largest induction class of all time. And, being the Hall, they screwed it up in an almost tragic way. They inducted 17 people, including executives and owners with kind of hazy credentials, but passed on Buck O'Neil, the great storyteller and ambassador of the Negro Leagues. He would have been the only living member of that class. Of course he handled it with dignity and class, but that had to be a huge punch in the gut. He passed just a few years later in his 90s.

The people who run the hall are morons