Baltimore Orioles: The Five Best Home Run Hitters of All-Time
4. Rafael Palmeiro, 1B/LF
Despite an outstanding MLB career, the first thought that comes to mind when you think of Rafael Palmeiro is steroids. After his positive steroid test, Palmeiro, to this day, declares he never used performance-enhancing drugs. Palmeiro’s Hall of Fame chances came to a halt and tarnished one of the most historic baseball careers ever.
In seven seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, Palmeiro smashed 223 of his 569 career home runs in an Orioles uniform, fifth best in franchise history. The slugger’s best season in Baltimore was in 1998 where he hit .296/.379/.565 with 43 home runs and earned his second career All-Star appearance. He also was the recipient of MLB’s Silver Slugger award and finished top-20 in MVP voting. Even more remarkable, Palmeiro played 736 games and two seasons in 1996 and 1998 where he played all 162 games.
After all the steroid speculations, Palmeiro returned to baseball with the Orioles and on July 15, 2005, the 40-year-old recorded his 3,000th career hit with a two-bagger off of Joel Pineiro.
Palmeiro hit 159 home runs from 1995-1998 with the Orioles including four walk-off home runs. Throughout his historic Orioles career, Palmeiro jacked 124 four-baggers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. In two playoff appearances with the Orioles, Palmeiro hit four playoff home runs.
Notwithstanding the steroid speculation, Palmeiro is one of the greatest players in Orioles history and one of the top home run hitters of all-time.