Orlando Palmeiro
Quick Facts
Biography
Orlando Palmeiro (born January 19, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He attended high school at Miami Southridge High School and played college baseball at the University of Miami.
Palmeiro, a star high school player in Miami, Florida, went on to play baseball at the community college level at Miami-Dade Community College South and then briefly at the University of Miami under UM coach Ron Fraser before being drafted by the Angels where he played for a number of years in various farm teams until joining the California Angels.
Palmeiro spent his entire career as a backup outfielder, never having been a regular starter. He was the fourth outfielder of the 2002 World Series Champion Anaheim Angels team, batting .300 for the year. Palmeiro also made the last out of the 2005 World Series for the Houston Astros. His best season was arguably with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2003, when he batted .271 with 3 home runs and 33 RBI.
Palmeiro had a low percentage of swings that miss (7.9%) and was considered one of the game's best pinch hitters with 105 career pinch hits.