Ancient Rafael Palmeiro Released by Independent League Team for Being Way Too Old

Former MLB star Rafael Palmeiro's comeback attempt may have mercifully come to an end.

The Cleburne Railroaders, an independent league team in the American Association, released the 54-year-old Palmeiro Tuesday afternoon.

“Unfortunately, his body wasn’t at a point where he’s capable of being a regular in our lineup for a full season," the team said.

This, of course, is the tactful way of saying that they'd prefer not to employ players who qualify for AARP.

The aging Palmeiro appeared in 31 games for the Railroaders in 2018, and for the most part, he played fairly well, posting a .919 OPS, but he was limited due to extreme soreness.

Go figure.

The three-time All-Star underwent knee surgery during the offseason, but unfortunately didn't recover as quickly as he or the team had hoped.

For a man who took his last MLB at-bat back in 2005, it's amazing that he even made it this far. Another awesome anecdote from his tenure in Cleburne was the fact that he was able to play alongside his son, Patrick Palmeiro. The pair even homered in the same game once.

But as is so often the case, Father Time caught up to Palmeiro. As valiant as it was, the comeback simply wasn't meant to be.

Still, Palmeiro's historic career in the MLB will always be remembered, as he was one of the most prolific power hitters of the steroid era.