Palmeiro back on diamond at 53 with hopes of MLB comeback
CLEBURNE, TEXAS » Rafael Palmeiro isn’t playing for an independent minor league team at age 53 just so he can be teammates with his son.
Palmeiro said he knows there are people who think he has lost his mind, but he is serious about wanting to make a big league comeback nearly 13 years after his career ended under a cloud when he tested positive for a banned steroid.
“I’m doing it because I love the game first of all,” Palmeiro said Thursday. “And because I want to get back to proving to myself that I can do this and maybe for some of those people that think that I cheated, they might think again and say well, wait a minute, he’s 53 years old, he’s playing at this level, he’s playing in the big leagues, he’s producing. Maybe some of those will say, OK, he did it legitimately.”
Palmeiro joined the Cleburne Railroaders after not getting a non-roster invite from a big league team during spring training or the chance to play for an MLB-affiliated team in the minors. Palmeiro and his 28-year-old son Patrick, a third baseman, were introduced by the second-year American Association team and then played in the first preseason game .
“I know that I can do it and I was looking for an opportunity,” said Palmeiro, who played first base and went 1-for-2 with a strikeout and a sharp single.
It was about a 45-mile drive from the Texas Rangers’ ballpark, where Palmeiro played 10 of his 20 major league seasons and hit his 500th homer in 2003. The four-time All-Star also played for the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles.
One of only six players in MLB history with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, Rafael Palmeiro was shunned by Hall of Fame voters. He fell off the ballot four years ago after getting less than the 5 percent vote necessary to stay.
While he has never denied testing positive in 2005, Palmeiro said he never intentionally took any banned substances and that a tainted vitamin shot caused his failed test.
Nats’ Eaton has ankle surgery
PHOENIX » Washington center fielder Adam Eaton had surgery on his troublesome left ankle with no timetable given for his return.
The arthroscopic surgery was performed in Green Bay by the Packers’ orthopedist, Dr. Robert Anderson, an expert in the field of ankle injuries. Anderson was the third doctor Eaton visited.
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo says no injury was apparent from MRIs, prompting Anderson to do the exploratory operation. Rizzo says Anderson found and repaired “a little tear” known as a chondral flap that was irritating the ankle when Eaton moved.
Cards put ace Martinez on DL
SAN DIEGO » The St. Louis Cardinals have put ace Carlos Martinez on the 10-day disabled list because of a strained lat. Martinez leads the National League with a 1.62 ERA.
Martinez pitched five innings in a loss to Minnesota on Tuesday, his first defeat in seven starts since opening day. The righthander is 3-2 overall.
Harvey starts Friday for Reds
LOS ANGELES » The Cincinnati Reds aren’t wasting any time showing off their new acquisition. Matt Harvey will start for the Reds on Friday night in the second game of their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Interim manager Jim Riggleman said Harvey could pitch a couple innings or the righthander could go four, but he will be limited because of his lack of recent game competition.
Harvey was 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA in eight games, including four starts, for the Mets this season before they cut him. • The Reds promoted Nick Krall to general manager, giving him more responsibilities as the team tries to emerge from a major rebuild. Krall has been an assistant to Dick Williams, who will remain president of baseball operations and oversee the department. Krall has been part of the Reds organization for 16 years, starting as director of the team’s advance scouting preparation.
Price may cut back video games, pitches Saturday
NEW YORK » David Price considers himself a gamer — both on and off the field. Now he has to cut down on screen time. A longtime video game enthusiast, the Sox pitcher was diagnosed this week with carpal tunnel syndrome. He has not pitched since May 3 but is scheduled to return Saturday at Toronto.
He insists that while video games may have contributed to the condition, they’re not the origin of the swelling in his left thumb, index finger and middle finger.
“This is just something that happened over time. This didn’t stem from any one thing,” the 32-year-old left-hander said Thursday. “I’m born in 1985, so that’s the video games generation. Being a Red Sox is the least amount of video games I’ve ever played being in Major League Baseball.”