Thirteen years after his last major league start, former Texas Ranger Rafael Palmeiro announced Tuesday he will play — alongside his son, Patrick — for the independent American Association team the Cleburne Railroaders.
The 53-year-old Palmeiro last played with the Baltimore Orioles in 2005 but announced in January he wanted to make a comeback and add to his 20 seasons of major league play.
A four-time All-Star, Palmeiro is one of six major leaguers with more than 3,000 hits and 500 homers.
Palmeiro testified before Congress at a hearing in March 2005, punctuating his comments with a finger wag, insisting under oath that he had never used steroids during his career. In August of that year, Major League Baseball announced Palmeiro had a positive steroids test. He didn’t play baseball professionally again.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Palmeiro said, according to Sports Day. “Nobody gave me a chance to go to spring training, so I will just take this path.”
The Cleburne, Texas, team will open its season May 18 against the Winnipeg Gold Eyes.
