The Rise and Fall of Rafael Palmiero

Lets check out his updated rap sheet: 1. Cheater More telling than any drug test, a look at Raffy's career statistics gives you a good idea of when the juicing started. The 1991 - 1993 Texas Rangers included these players: Palmiero, Juan Gonzalez, Jose Canseco, Ivan Rodriguez, Kevin Brown, and Julio Franco. Raffy went from singles slap hitter to premier home run hitter in this time. You do the math. 2. Selfish stat hound - Palmiero repeatedly used his no-trade clauses to nix mid-season trades to contenders in the last decade. Was content piling up big numbers on last-place teams. More than almost any other modern athlete, he was in it for himself. 3. Bald-faced liar - No elaboration necessary here. And the latest addition: 4. Rat - Palmiero names teammate Miguel Tejada as a possible source for the drugs that mysteriously showed up in his system. (Who injects vitamin B-12 anyway? An entirely flimsy alibi on both counts.) As recently as last year it appeared this guy was on an unstoppable quest for the Hall of Fame. Now he's being asked by his manager to stay away from the team. Has any other athlete fallen so far, so fast? Respect? Gone. Hall of Fame? Forget it. Career in politics? Well, maybe. This scandal has hit dozens of players, but no one has lost more than this guy.