Rafael Palmeiro

About Rafael Palmeiro

Rafael Palmeiro Corrales (born September 24, 1964 in Havana, Cuba) is a former Major League Baseball player with a career spanning 20 years, 1986 to 2005. Though technically not officially retired, Palmeiro has not played since 2005.

Palmeiro was an All-American at Mississippi State University before being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1985. His major league debut came on September 8, 1986 with the Cubs. He played three seasons with the Cubs (1986-1988), ten seasons with the Texas Rangers (1989–1993, 1999–2003), and seven seasons with the Baltimore Orioles (1994–1998, 2004–2005). He was named to the All-Star Team four times, and won the Gold Glove three times. He is a member of the exclusive 500 home run club and the 3000 hit club and is only the fourth player in history to be a member of both. He ranks tenth in history with 569 home runs. In 2009, Palmeiro and his coach at Mississippi State, Ron Polk, were elected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame .

Palmeiro debuted on September 8, 1986 in a game between the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field, as a left fielder. During his tenure with the Cubs, he normally played left field, though occasionally he would play other outfield positions or first base. Palmeiro was the runner up to National League batting champion Tony Gwynn in 1988 with a .307 batting average, only six points below Gwynn's. After the 1988 season, Palmeiro was traded by the Cubs to the Texas Rangers along with Jamie Moyer and Drew Hall in exchange for Mitch Williams, Paul Kilgus, Steve Wilson, Curtis Wilkerson, Luis Benitez, and Pablo Delgado.