Rafael Palmeiro's 3,000th Hit

Rafael Palmeiro had two hits in four at-bats at Seattle on July 15, 2005, the first of them his 3,000th, and drove in a run as Baltimore won 6–3. He had passed 500 home runs two months earlier, which put him in a group of four players who had reached both figures.

Palmeiro was forty and twenty seasons into a career split between Texas, Baltimore and a first stint with the Chicago Cubs. He had never led his league in home runs, but had hit at least thirty-eight in nine consecutive seasons.

Five months before the milestone he had testified before Congress that he had never used steroids. Eighteen days after it, he was suspended for testing positive for one. He played seven more games, never returned, and has drawn little Hall of Fame support.