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Quietly great Palmeiro hits 3,000, seals Hall pass
Rafael Palmeiro kisses the ball he reaches the milestone with
Maybe now Rafael Palmeiro will get some of the attention that for so long has eluded him.
Perhaps now that he's some 3,000 hits and 566 homers down the road, yes, perhaps now people will finally pause on his name in today's box score for more than a split-second, nod their heads in appreciation and realize that, doggone, one of the greatest hitters of our time has played out his career in virtual anonymity.
Oh, not in Baltimore and Texas, the two places in which Palmeiro has spent most of his time over the past 17 years. Orioles and Rangers fans know that Palmeiro with a bat often is like Pavarotti with an audience.
Still, Palmeiro has made a career out of always being the best man instead of the groom, always playing Charlie Watts to everybody else's Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
In Texas, at various times, Juan Gonzalez, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez and Jose Canseco were around to overshadow him. Baltimore was always about Cal Ripken Jr.
And even now, in Palmeiro's second tour with the Orioles, it is Miguel Tejada's team. Period.
Except for now, as Palmeiro takes a rare moment in the sun. How memorable was that 3,000th hit he punched out, a two-strike double to left field in the fifth inning Friday at Seattle?
Well, try this: Only three other men of all of the hundreds of thousands who have ever attempted to tame this game have ever crossed the 3,000-hit, 500-homer club: Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Eddie Murray.
As if he wasn't a Hall of Famer yesterday, Palmeiro cinched it with No. 3,000. Nobody with his kind of numbers has ever been kept out of Cooperstown, and the prediction here is Palmeiro is in with ease when his time comes.
Yet amazingly, Palmeiro has never been voted into the All-Star Game. Again, he remained over in the shadows, out of the way. There was always Mark McGwire or Frank Thomas or Tino Martinez.
All the while, Palmeiro has been as steady as a metronome. He has played in at least 140 games in 16 seasons, including the past 10 in a row.
Yes, some of his numbers have stacked up like firewood because he has played so often and so long. Yet there they are, gleaming in the sun today just like a shiny new Cadillac.
Mays and Aaron batted right-handed, Murray was a switch-hitter. Meaning, Palmeiro is the first left-handed batter ever to climb to 500 and 3,000. While we were watching Mo Vaughn and Jason Giambi at first base, Palmeiro just kind of snuck up on us.
Funny how so many see the ornate gates on the way into the palace, yet so few notice the solid foundation. And so it's been with Palmeiro. He probably received more compliments as the guests have left than he did when they arrive, but that's OK.
Today, we come to appreciate Raffy.
Source: AP
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