Chicago Cubs: Former first-rounder Rafael Palmeiro eyeing comeback

Former Chicago Cubs first-round pick Rafael Palmeiro is mulling over a comeback attempt. The only concern? He’s 53 years old and hasn’t played in 12 years.

Call it what you will. A hopeful tale. A bad joke. A sideshow antic. Regardless of how you feel about the Chicago Cubs’ 1985 first-round pick, Rafael Palmeiro, attempting to return to the big leagues, one thing is for sure. This is one eye-catching story.

Palmeiro, 53, seeks redemption and closure above all else. He sat down with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic to talk about what he hopes to accomplish. After all, he played for two decades and is one of just four players ever to record 500 home runs and 3,000 base hits. Once a shoo-in for Cooperstown, he fell off the ballot quickly after gaining eligibility.

A failed PED test ended his career in short order. But, once upon a time, he represented an incredibly promising young talent in the Cubs organization.

This story starts out happy…

The 1985 Major League Baseball Draft opened with the Milwaukee Brewers drafting B.J. Surhoff – a then-catcher out of the University of North Carolina. Several other notable names preceded Palmeiro in the first round, as well: his college teammate Will Clark, Barry Larkin, Barry Bonds and Walt Weiss all earned first-round picks.

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Then, with the 22nd overall pick, the Cubs went with Palmeiro, the young outfielder out of Mississippi State. He reported to the Cubs’ Class-A club in Peoria, where he put up a very respectable .828 OPS as a 20-year-old getting his first taste of pro ball.

He made his regular season debut just a year later, in September 1986. Within two years, he earned his first All-Star selection. In 1988, he hit .307 on the year with 41 doubles – it seemed as if he was putting it all together for the first time.

Then, the Cubs traded him.

Headed toward a climax in our tale…

Palmeiro was more of an all-around athlete when the Cubs drafted him. But after his trade to Texas, he started to show more pop. He smacked 26, 22 and 37 homers, respectively, from 1991 to 1993.

In that 37-homer campaign, he led the league with 124 runs scored, finishing eighth in American League MVP voting. But he packed his bags, inking a five-year, $30 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles. Over the course of his time with the O’s, he averaged more than 30 homers and 100 runs batted in annually. Each year, he received MVP votes – and in 1998, he also picked up a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove – as well as his second career All-Star selection.

He then left money on the table, returning to the Rangers. Again, he found success. Scenery never seemed to matter much to Palmeiro. He put up more eye-popping numbers in Arlington, putting the finishing touches on what many considered a Hall of Fame resume. Prior to the 2004 season, he again bounced back to Baltimore – where everything went south.

A disappointing end

Palmeiro remained productive through the ’04 campaign. But in 2005, after testing positive for PEDs mere weeks after testifying to Congress he’d never touched steroids, he left Baltimore – and baseball – never to return.

And now, things come full circle. He’s trying to somehow, someway gain acceptance in the game that cast him out like a leper. As far as I’m concerned, good riddance. There are consequences to your actions – and while I’m totally fine with trying to earn a place back in baseball, this isn’t the way to do it.

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Find a coaching role. Get involved in a front office. But let’s call it what it is: a publicity stunt. The once-promising Chicago Cubs first-round pick is tarnishing whatever is left of his reputation by this circus act. And, folks, I’m sorry –  but that’s just what it is.