Palmeiro

Miguel Tejada's guilty plea yesterday might give credibility to Rafael Palmeiro's claims that he received contaminated B-12 from Tejada. The Jason Grimsley affidavit in 2006 was the first hint Palmeiro might have plausible deniability. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/schmuckblog)

I had a chance to talk to former Oriole Rafael Palmeiro about Wednesday's Hall of Fame announcement that the Baseball Writers' Association of America did not vote in anyone for the 2013 induction class . That includes Palmeiro, who was on his third year of the ballot and is one of just four players in the game's history to have at least 500 homers and 3,000 hits. He's also the only one on this year's ballot to have tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. In 2005, months after he told a congressional committee that he had never taken steroids, a drug test found stanozolol in his system and Major League Baseball suspended him for 10 days.

TORONTO -- His two-run single in the ninth increased the Orioles' lead from 3-1 to 5-1. Considering the Orioles' sorry SkyDome history, it was the perfect time for Rafael Palmeiro to deliver.He's batting .336, and narrowly leads his red-hot rival, Will Clark, in doubles, home runs and runs scored. This could be a monster season for Palmeiro, if he can just start driving in more runs.Clark entered last night tied for the American League lead with 67 RBIs. Palmeiro was tied for second on the Orioles with 38 -- tied with Leo Gomez, who had batted 92 fewer times.

The person who perhaps could be helped or hurt most if the National Baseball Hall of Fame offered specific instruction to its voters on whether candidates with a history of using performance-enhancing drugs should be enshrined has his own opinion as to what should happen. Leave it up to the qualifying members of the Baseball Writers Association of America to make their own decision, former Orioles great Rafael Palmeiro says. The Hall of Fame doesn't need to offer any advice beyond what it already suggests about character and integrity, he believes.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- This need not end badly, need not turn ugly. Rafael Palmeiro is likely to be the next big Orioles name to depart, but his exit need not be as messy as Jon Miller's or Davey Johnson's.Palmeiro is toning down his rhetoric and vowing to produce another big season. The Orioles are hoping to replace him with a younger, cheaper Ryan Minor. It's not a divorce that's looming; it's a corporate breakup.No one should get too emotional; not Palmeiro, not the Orioles, not even their fans, who surely would be disappointed by the loss of one of the most productive hitters in club history.

His family left Cuba when he was 6. The Palmeiros weren't exactly poor, but little Rafael and his friends would gather outside the Orioles' spring training stadium in Miami, trying to catch home run balls. "Those were the baseballs we practiced with," Rafael recalls.Palmeiro's father, Jose Sr., ran an ice cream stand in Cuba, then worked construction in the United States. "We had everything we needed," Palmeiro says. Still, when it came time for him to attend Mississippi State, he qualified for federal grants on top of his baseball scholarship.

Rafael Palmeiro can't believe that Mo Vaughn would leave Boston. But it's going to happen, and Palmeiro could be the beneficiary if the Orioles don't re-sign him soon.Why delay this any longer? The Orioles won't trade Palmeiro or Roberto Alomar. They still figure to lose Alomar to free agency. To remain competitive, it's absolutely imperative that they keep Palmeiro.Think about it: They're likely to get subpar offense at shortstop and third base in 1999, and maybe in center field if Brady Anderson doesn't return to form.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Four old friends took a break from their pre-game outfield sprints yesterday and gathered in center field for a chat.Jose Canseco, Juan Gonzalez and Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers and former teammate Rafael Palmeiro of the Orioles were rehashing old times when a relative outsider ran into the middle of the pack and extended his hand.Palmeiro returned the gesture and shared a handshake with Will Clark, clutching the same hand he bit with harsh words during the winter, words taken back by a public apology, but not forgotten.

Those old Soviet elections were more legitimate than the Gold Glove voting. Rafael "The Phantom" Palmeiro played 28 games at first base last season. Will "Iron Horse" Clark more than doubled that total.But don't tell that to the American League managers and coaches who viewed Palmeiro's 28 games as genius not seen since Mozart, and voted him his third straight Gold Glove.Never again can Palmeiro complain about a lack of recognition. He conceded that Texas teammate Lee Stevens was more deserving, and how about the New York Yankees' Tino Martinez, who only made seven errors in 151 starts?

Imagine how tempting it must have been for the Orioles to throw themselves in front of the Seattle Mariners' bus last night, blocking it from leaving Camden Yards for a little while longer. Usually quick to embrace any open date on the schedule, they'd rather have another crack at a team that knows a few things about lying down. Rafael Palmeiro delivered a two-run single in the seventh inning after a costly error allowed him to bat, and the Orioles complete their sweep of the Seattle Mariners with a 6-3 victory before 27,539.

Former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin, who at times was overshadowed at the position by his contemporary -- the Orioles' Cal Ripken Jr. -- was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame this afternoon. Larkin, in his second year of eligibility, was named on 86.4 percent (495 votes of 573 ballots) of possible ballots submitted by qualifying members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. A player needs 75 percent inclusion on the ballots to gain enshrinement.

Rafael Palmeiro strolled into the big sports memorabilia show at the Hilton Hotel in Pikesville Sunday wearing an orange sweater, jeans and a hip goatee that made him look like the bass player in a jazz band. He was nearly three hours late. His flight from Texas had been delayed. Mechanical problems, Palmeiro explained as a crowd quickly formed to have the former Orioles great sign baseballs and bats and whatever else was thrust in front of him. "First time back in Baltimore?"

Former Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro knew heading into Wednesday that his positive test for a banned steroid in 2005 was going to severely damage his chances of being selected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first opportunity. He didn't realize, however, exactly how little support he would receive from the voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. The 2011 Hall results were announced Wednesday afternoon, and Palmeiro was included on just 64 of the 581 ballots submitted — or 11 percent, falling woefully short of the 75 percent needed for induction.

When results of the 2011 Hall of Fame election are announced at 2 p.m. today, it's likely that a key member of the Orioles' last playoff team will be chosen for induction while another will be left out despite impressive on-field credentials. Second baseman Roberto Alomar, who was a 12-time All-Star, including in each of his three seasons in Baltimore, fell just eight votes short of induction by the Baseball Writers' Association of America on his first attempt last year. It would be highly surprising if Alomar and former big league pitcher Bert Blyleven, who fell five votes short in 2010, did not receive the 75 percent needed for enshrinement.

Rafael Palmeiro, whose Orioles and baseball career ended in 2005, months after he tested positive for a banned substance, is one of 19 new candidates on this year's Hall of Fame ballot, unveiled Monday. Despite Palmeiro's being one of just four players in the history of the sport to collect at least 3,000 hits and 500 home runs — the other three are already enshrined — his chances of making the Hall, at least initially, seem remote at best. Instead, it's his former Orioles teammate, second baseman Roberto Alomar, along with pitcher Bert Blyleven, who is considered the most likely to be inducted this summer.

Miguel Tejada's guilty plea yesterday might give credibility to Rafael Palmeiro's claims that he received contaminated B-12 from Tejada. The Jason Grimsley affidavit in 2006 was the first hint Palmeiro might have plausible deniability. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/schmuckblog)

In 1984 Rafael Palmeiro became the first Triple Crown winner in Southeastern Conference history. It was the last time he overshadowed his Mississippi State teammate and rival, Will Clark.That summer Clark earned a gold medal with the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. The next year he won the Golden Spikes Award as the nation's top collegiate player, and San Francisco made him the second overall pick after B.J. Surhoff in the amateur draft.Palmeiro, 26, also was chosen in the first round, but at No. 22 by the Chicago Cubs.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Rafael Palmeiro spent one full season and parts of two others with the Chicago Cubs and five with the Texas Rangers. He has yet to play in the postseason.He likes his chances of getting there with the Orioles better than in his previous stops for reasons that stretch beyond talent. The Rangers had a stable of stars and an abundance of power. What didn't they have that the Orioles have?Baseball smarts."This is definitely the most fundamentally sound team of the three I've played for," Palmeiro said.

This latest entanglement for Miguel Tejada doesn't teach us anything new about baseball and performance-enhancing drugs. All it does is reinforce what we already knew, and the events of the past few days tell us that a lot of people needed reinforcing, or else they stay deluded about how bad this is. What Tejada's federal court appearance today - for allegedly lying to congressional investigators about his knowledge of teammates' use of performance-enhancing drugs...

Washington -- In March 2005, former Orioles star Rafael Palmeiro famously shook his finger and denied under oath that he had ever used steroids. Six weeks later, he tested positive for stanozolol, a powerful steroid. Had Palmeiro lied? The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform saw reason to wonder but - after interviewing Palmeiro, his wife, and several other players and trainers - concluded it lacked evidence to recommend that he be prosecuted for perjury. Three years later, the committee was in a similar position last week - this time in connection with Palmeiro's former teammate, Miguel Tejada - of suspecting a lie but appreciating how difficult such cases can be to prove.