Rafael Palmeiro Quotes (72 Quotes)


    The tragedy of all of this is that it happened to me and it shouldn't have happened. It ruined my life and my career. That's the tragedy of this.

    At the time, I thought that was the best I could do. Maybe it wasn't the right thing to do but I did what I had to do at the time.

    I went out there today to run on it, and it just feels like it's going to blow out. The knee's been bothering me all year. The two weeks off that I had, and then coming back and trying to get out there, I just re-aggravated my ankle and my knee.

    I don't think anybody ever saw anybody taking anything.



    I wish that they had the freedoms like the Japanese and the Koreans and the Mexicans and everybody else that has that freedom to come over here and play the game, because I know Cuba has a very strong baseball history.

    I'm very happy for the Contreras family. They're out. Now they've got a chance to experience life the way I did as a kid. You know, his kids are going to have a real chance in life now, and the same way that I had it.

    Well, you know, I left Cuba as a kid when I was 6 years old back in 1971.

    I was careless, ... I'm sorry that I caused all that pain and anguish to my teammates, the Orioles, my fans and my family.

    Oh, man, I'm looking forward to those things. I'm looking forward to days where I can do things that I've been wanting to do that happen in the summertime. Be with my family and kids in the summer. Vacations. All that stuff, before my kids go off to college.

    Although I do not know how this substance came into my body, it is possible that a shot of vitamin B-12 I took sometime in April might have been the cause.

    You just want to be able to have a nice career and make a living at it.

    There's a lot of history in Boston and a lot of history, obviously, in New York with all the championships.

    I was careless in not seeking a doctor's advice and made a foolish mistake, ... Nobody is more frustrated and disappointed in me than I am.

    Obviously, I would love to play and come back and finish and hopefully prove to everyone I can still play at a high level, that I can still be productive and do it the right way, which I've always done, ... I am not going to shy away from what happened to me. I am going to face it. Hopefully, I can explain myself one day, and whether people believe me or not, I can't control that.

    It was a hard time. It was something I would love to erase from my memory.

    I don't think that - you know, I'm sure that there's guys that are doing it, because I'm sure in every sport there's players who want to get the edge. But I think that it's been blown overly - way more than guys are using it in our game.


    I think that if I stay with the team and travel with the team, it's always going to be a distraction going back to Seattle and going back to Texas where I haven't been. I think being in Toronto was a big distraction to our team. We need to try to avoid t

    You know, when you first come up, and you get called up to the big leagues, all you want to do is just, you just want to have a career, a nice career. You want to make a living at it.


    I'm going to take the responsibility, me being careless and taking something I wasn't knowing if it was clean, having full trust in what I was getting. It was careless, stupid, naive of me to think it was safe.

    I want to express my gratitude to the committee for the fairness and professionalism with which they conducted their business. I have never intentionally taken steroids and I strongly oppose the illegal use of steroids by athletes or anyone else.

    I don't know who took what. That is pretty private with an individual.


    They've always been there with me throughout my whole career actually, so I'm very thankful that my wife and kids are here to support me, ... It means a lot to me.

    You set your goals to a point where they're attainable, but far enough away that you have to really go get them. And every year I push my goals a little bit farther away, and every year I work a little bit harder to get them.

    To snap my fingers and let it go away. Even if it takes the 3,000th hit with it, just let it all go away.

    I deeply regret the pain I have caused my family, my teammates, my fans and the game of baseball. I am sorry for the distraction that I have caused to the Orioles clubhouse and the League. I remain opposed to the use of steroids by athletes.

    You know, my family stood for something that they believed in, and I wasn't about to turn my back on them.

    He's the best player in baseball. He's having the best year.

    Yes, but I - you know, it's been such a long time, I'm sure that I've got cousins and uncles that I've never met before, you know, that I've left behind.

    I'm not going to say what was being used in the clubhouse; whatever happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse. But it was not like it was in your face.

    At this rate, I'm going to play first base on Tuesday. I can't wait around anymore. When I go back out there, I want to be able to play first.

    No one seemed to want to talk about our game, ... Even our manager had to comment on the situation and no one really focused on the game and to me that's sad because it's taking away from baseball and the game.


    I would love to go back and help rebuild that country and help - you know, kind of like what's going on with Iraq right now. You know, they've got a new government in place. They're trying to rebuild the country. I would love for that to happen in Cuba also.

    I said what I said before Congress because I meant every word of it.

    They try to say this era was a tainted era. But so many great players played in the last 15 to 20 years. This is going to be the best era in the history of the game in my opinion.

    My parents didn't agree with what was going on, you know, with the communists coming in, Fidel Castro. I didn't see the reason why I needed to go back there and be a part of that exhibition.

    I hope that people learn from my mistake and I hope that the fans forgive me.

    My life was on the line here and my career and everything I worked for, it was hanging by a thread.

    I'm not exactly sure how it got into my body, ... I suspected it was the B-12.

    Maybe if I have some solid years and don't test positive, they can say he went out and hit that way. Maybe that's what I can do.

    I hope that people look at my whole career and appreciate that I've given everything that I've got.

    I just wish we had a win. We had a chance to win it in the ninth and I was up at the plate. I thought it would've been a good opportunity for me to at least get a hit to tie the game.

    I've always known to come to the ballpark and play and be in the lineup. I've never missed time because of injuries. I've had days off, where I knew coming in that I wasn't going to play, but I've never sat out 10 days in a row during the season. That was totally new to me. To play a whole career and not know what that's like, that's unusual. Now I'm dealing with it as best I can.

    He's like a brother to me, ... Why would I want to bring him down when I take full responsibility for what I did I was pressured under oath to say what I had taken and what I was given.

    I wish that they could have more freedoms to be able to come and play. I know that the only way that they can get out is by, you know, defecting to another country or whatever, or getting on a boat.

    I've been on a lot of good infields. I played on a good one in Baltimore, ... But this one has the potential to be the best.


    More Rafael Palmeiro Quotations (Based on Topics)


    Baseball - Life - History - Time - Family - Reasoning - Committees - Education - Congress - Work & Career - Chance - Government - Body - Opinions - College - Faces - Pain - Duty - Man - View All Rafael Palmeiro Quotations

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