Oh no! Not Raphael Palmeiro :-(

from JoeUser Forums
I can't say it was completely unexpected. With accusations by admitted steroids user Jose Canseco against him previously, plus the fairly constant thought of just what would an athlete need Viagra for (and why be a spokesperson for it if you weren't a user??), there's been a suspicion that Raffy Palmeiro may not have been completely clean.

Unfortunately, he's one of the latest athletes to be "caught", though he denies any intentional use of any banned substances.

Sadly, Raffy's career will now be one much like his current team mate, Sammy Sosa. That is, one that will be always be looked at suspiciously.

Palmeiro was headed for the hall-of-fame, though there were those that have made cases that his career is not worthy, even with numbers that are very impressive, and performance that continues to be rock steady. Now there will be a stain of possible steroid use on his career, and the doubters will have even more ammunition to use in potentially keeping him out of the Hall.

I'm very disheartened to hear and see the news about this today. Palmeiro had been one of the Orioles that I still respected. Can I keep doing that? I just don't know. I hope that the news that follows will help rehabilitate his stature, but I just don't know. Such is the result that comes from the current era of "juiced" baseball.
1,376 views 3 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
I couldn't believe it when I heard this. Palmeiro was one of the guys whem I thought did not "juice" up. Now it's looking like Consceco might have some truth behind his book.

Just like Mark McGuire at the hearings a few months ago, he just ruined his reputation now...Thanks to this, I'm really not sure who is clean anymore.

-mx-
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
What I don't get is how you can take unknowingly steroids. Do these athletes let trainers etc. inject them and not know what is going into their bodies? Is that reasonable or just an excuse.
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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
Now it's looking like Consceco might have some truth behind his book.


Oh, I don't doubt the truth of many of Canseco's words, because, after reading the book, many of the names that were mentioned were either mentioned with NO allegations of use against them (Ken Griffey Junior, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan are all prime examples of this), or players whose usage was only SPECULATED by Canseco (Bret Boone being an example). The allegations against Rafe were, just as those against McGwire, based, at least in theory, on Canseco's firsthand knowledge.

That being said, the question arises: Does Palmeiro belong in the HOF? I'm gonna go off the beaten path here and say YES! Palmeiro was expected to produce, and produce he did, to a level that has been matched by few others. He has always held the respect of his teammates, and he has never had the run-ins with the law that many of the players already enshrined seem to have fallen prey to. And he has always been a respected member of his community.