Dean Palmer's Comeback

[Crash Course]

I see that the Tigers (who had no room for Eric Munson) are giving Dean Palmer a shot at a comeback at age 36 - when he has not played a full season of big league ball since 2000.

Palmer had some terrible injuries - the bicep thing was ugly. So, it would be nice for him if he could come back. Just for the heck of it, I looked up 1990's AL sluggers to see where he fell:

AMERICAN LEAGUE
CAREER
1990-1999
RCAA displayed only--not a sorting criteria

HOMERUNS                        DIFF   PLAYER   LEAGUE    RCAA    
1    Ken Griffey Jr.             233      382      149      475   
T2   Juan Gonzalez               203      339      136      240   
T2   Albert Belle                203      351      148      385   
4    Jose Canseco                177      303      126      195   
5    Mark McGwire                169      246       77      293   
T6   Rafael Palmeiro             165      328      163      390   
T6   Frank Thomas                165      301      136      633   
8    Cecil Fielder               155      288      133       97   
9    Jay Buhner                  138      260      122      146   
10   Mo Vaughn                   137      263      126      284   
11   Dean Palmer                 113      235      122       35   
12   Manny Ramirez               104      198       94      253   
13   Jim Thome                   102      196       94      284   
14   Mickey Tettleton             93      186       93      135   
15   Tim Salmon                   91      196      105      242   
16   Joe Carter                   86      214      128       -4   
17   Tino Martinez                85      213      128       97   
18   Chili Davis                  82      206      124      180   
T19  Greg Vaughn                  76      164       88       36   
T19  Danny Tartabull              76      156       80      145   
21   Carlos Delgado               73      149       76      107   
22   Edgar Martinez               70      196      126      473   
23   Chris Hoiles                 68      151       83       96   
T24  Alex Rodriguez               67      148       81      144   
T24  Harold Baines                67      184      117      170   
26   Paul Sorrento                64      166      102       24   
27   Mike Stanley                 63      162       99      135   
28   Rob Deer                     61      105       44        7   
29   John Jaha                    59      133       74       92   
30   Tony Clark                   56      127       71       52  

That's a lot of power for Palmer - with nothing to really show for it in terms of production.

Don't you have to have once been something before you come back?

[PianoMonkey]

Dean Palmer is one of those power hitters that I never really considered a "good" hitter. He's not the only one on that list, either. Danny Tartabull is another. One of those "derives most of his offensive worth from HR production" types.

[Stageon]

That's a little harsh on Palmer, it's not his fault he got so many injuries (although I understand what you're saying in general). It's like Robb Nen; everyone pretty much assumes he's done, yet the Rockies have decided that he may have some hurling left in him. I say more power to them if these players can earn some dough and try to make a comeback. And in my opinion, no, you don't have to have done anything significant to "come back". Even average players returning from major injuries are to be admired. An "average" MLB baseball player is waaay better than the vast majority of us at their profession, after all.