MAIN Sports Sports Idols Rafael Palmeiro

Born Rafael Corrales Palmeiro in Havana, Cuba on September 24, 1964 the Baltimore Orioles first baseman and Viagra spokeman made worldwide headlines for his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Under new regulations established by the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, Palmeiro had been given a 10-day suspension on August 1, 2005.

Less than five months earlier, Palmeiro told Congress: ``I have never used steroids. Period. I don't know to say it any more clearly than that. Never."

In his appearance before the congressional panel, Palmeiro angrily had denied accusations made by former slugger Jose Canseco. It was Canseco who had cited Palmeiro and Mark McGuire as steroid users in his tell-all book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big."

The charges were later repeated by Canseco on a "60 Minutes" interview on CBS Television.

Upon beginning his 10-day suspension, Palmeiro issued a statement saying "When I testified in front of Congress, I know that I was testifying under oath and I told the truth. Today I am telling the truth again that I did not do this intentionally or knowingly."

In the 2005 season , Palmeiro had become a prime candidate for Baseball Hall of Fame induction when, on July 15, 2005, he joined Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray as the only players with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs.

The embattled slugger later received some heartening news when President Bush - who owned the Texas Rangers when Palmeiro played for the team - released a statement through spokesman Scott McClellan saying that he considers Palmeiro "a friend and he believes in him."

In November, the embattled player dodged an indictment when a congressional committee announced that there was insufficient evidence to charge Rafael Palmeiro with perjury after denying that he ever took steroids in a sworn testimony.

Batting .280 with 18 home runs and 59 runs batted in, the 2005 season marked Palmeiro's 20th in the major leagues although he has not played a game since then.

Related Web Sites

Yahoo! Sports - Rafael Palmeiro

Rafael Palmeiro - Wikipedia

also see -> Jason Giambi | Ken Griffey, Jr.

Derek Jeter | Mike Piazza | Alex Rodriguez