Palmeiro re-signed with the Baltimore Orioles in 2004, on a 1-year, $4,000,000 contract. In his press conference, he claimed he was "a little bit older, a little bit wiser". He also said he didn't want to retire until he rejoined the Orioles and if he was inducted to the Hall of Fame, he would do so as an Oriole. His power fell significantly his first season back with the Orioles, having 142 hits, along with 23 home runs, 88 RBIs and a .258 batting average, all drops from the previous season. Despite this, he became one of only six players (the other five being Ken Griffey Jr, Mark McGwire, Jimmie Foxx, Albert Pujols and Manny Ramírez) in history to hit at least 200 home runs for two different clubs, doing so on September 13, 2004 off Justin Miller. Entering 2005, he was just 78 hits shy of 3,000. He hit his 563rd home run that season, passing Reggie Jackson on the all-time list. Just a few weeks later, on July 15, Palmeiro joined Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez, and Eddie Murray as the only players in major league history to get 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. Not long after his achievement, Palmeiro was suspended 10 days for testing positive for steroids. He claimed he received a tainted vitamin b12 shot from Miguel Tejada. Upon returning, he only played a few more games. He was booed by the home fans. He was sent home due to a nagging injury, but was told to stay home – largely because of his attempt to implicate his teammate. As of April 2016, he has yet to return to Baltimore. In his final season, he had 98 hits, 18 home runs, 60 RBIs and a .266 batting average in 110 total games played. He finished his career with 2,831 games played, the most by any player who never played in the World Series.
Rafael Palmeiro Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family
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