Rafael Palmeiro

After receiving just 4.4 percent of the total vote, Rafael Palmeiro has officially fallen off the Hall of Fame ballot. With 3,020 hits and 569 home runs over 20 seasons in the big leagues, Palmeiro has posted Cooperstown caliber numbers — but there was that incident with the congressional hearing and the steroids.

In spite of Wednesday’s bad news, Palmeiro tells the Baltimore Sun’s Dan Connolly that he is sticking with his story about his failed drug test in 2005. Raffy blames former teammate Miguel Tejada for giving him a tainted B-12 supplement that contained the steroid stanozolol which he injected just weeks after pointing his finger at congress stating that he had never used PEDs.

“I take full responsibility, accountability for my mistake. It cost me tremendously in my life. It ruined my career and now it has ruined my chance of being a Hall of Famer,” Palmeiro said. “I don’t blame anybody but myself. I should have known better and I should have trusted no one. You live and you learn. Some lessons are harder than others and this one I’ll pay for the rest of my life.”

Not all hope is lost for Palmeiro as he could still be elected by the veterans committee in 2026. If I were a gambling man though, I would bet he never makes it to Cooperstown.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons