Does anyone care?

Seems like there was very little of the usual hype over this. Is the 500 milestone becoming passe in this long-ball era? Is it because he's playing for the Texas Rangers? There's apparently some thought that he isn't deserving of going into the Hall of Fame. Is this why?

And does this mean that now that he's got number 500, he won't need the Viagra tonight?

I didn't even realize this message hit the board. I was complaining to Cyd and Jim that they had not mentioned it on the front page.

I care! I'm becoming a bigger and bigger Palmeiro fan, and believe he should be a Hall of Famer. There have been a lot of sportswriters talking about the subject over the past week. 500 homeruns is still an accomplishment, based on the number of years you have to play to get there. And Raffy can't help that he was never the best in the league in the "meaningful" categories... he still finished top-10 several times in HR's, RBI's, BA, etc. He's consistent, has played mostly for lousy teams, and has been overlooked.

The best player to come out of Mississippi State, now surpassing Will Clark.

I was fortunate enough to be at the game when he hit it. Amazing!

Let me know if you're interested, I have some pics.

Part of it may be the Eddie Murray syndrome; Palmeiro's always been overshadowed by teammates and others in the league (McGwire, Bonds, Griffey, A-Rod, Juan Gonzalez, etc.) who have led in HRs and RBIs, and he's one of those guys like Edgar Martinez who day in and out plays and hits with consistency, sort of an Al Kaline with Eddie Mathews' power; guys like that tend to get overlooked. I'm happy for him. I wish Griffey weren't so delicate or he'd be at 500 by now too.

Some sportswriters are saying because he was never the best at his position, probably never the best player on his team and never voted to start an All Star game. But he'll surely have the stats by the time he's done.

Some others question that he his the vast majority of his HRs after his 30th birthday. Of all members of the 500 HR Club, Palmiero has, by a lareg margin, the fewest HRs before turning 30. Juiced ball? Smaller, hitter friendly parks? Looking at tape from his early days, he is considerably bigger as he got older. Perhaps benefitting from some perfomance enhancer. Insert your own viagra joke here!

I think Rafael is totally hot...in a very MACHO DUDE kind of way !! wink

And since this is Baseball thread ...not a Hot Guys thread (sorry about that) - I think he is an awesome baseball player and I am AMAZED at the GUTS it takes to advertise Viagara!

In terms of the looks department, I'd take Juan Gonzalez, A-Rod or Ruben Sierra over Palmeiro any day. I doubt Juan G. (Igor) or Ruben Sierra needs any VIAGRA to make his tower rise!

Just a thought-Palmiero wouldn't be the first person to be a spokesman for a product he doesn't neccessarily use or need. I'm sure he's making nice money, but its pretty gutsy for the guy to promote such a product.

The last Viagra commercial with him that I saw, I could've sworn he said something (and I forget the exact words he said) that sort of indicated that he DOES use it.

I think Palmeiro deserves to be in. The Hall of Fame has traditionally rewarded longevity. I understand the argument that we could get overloaded with first basemen, but guys like Giambi, Thome and Helton may not make it. With the exception of a few extraordinary superstars who began putting up big numbers young, like Ken Griffey, Jr. and Frank Thomas, whether someone makes it or not tends to be determined by what they do in their thirties. There are a lot of guys who had great credentials at 30 (consider Albert Belle, Will Clark, Jose Canseco, even Mo Vaughn) who are not going to make it.

Here's the quote, from the commercial I just saw a little while ago. "My doctor says it's right for me--that's why I stay with it."