NEW YORK -- Rafael Palmeiro has signed with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League and plans to play alongside his son Patrick for the remainder of this season.
Palmeiro, 50, was a four-time All-Star who played for the Chicago Cubs (1986-88), Texas Rangers (1989-93, 1999-03) and Baltimore Orioles (1994-98, 2004-05). He hit .288 with 569 homers and 1,835 RBIs, but his career was tarnished by a 10-day suspension in 2005 for a positive steroids test -- after he testified at a congressional hearing that he had never taken the performance-enhancing drugs.
Palmeiro never received more than 12.6 percent of the vote for the Hall of Fame ballot and was dropped after the 2014 vote, when he fell below 5 percent.
Patrick Palmeiro, 25, signed with the Chicago White Sox organization in June 2012 and was released last October. He set a team-record for RBIs for the second time in three days, driving in six runs Thursday night in the Skeeters' 15-5 home victory over Camden. Palmeiro had five RBIs on Tuesday night against Camden.
"We discussed me playing earlier this year and it's something I've looked forward to since then," Rafael Palmeiro said in a statement. "The chance to play with my son is an opportunity the Skeeters have offered me and I'm very excited to make it happen this weekend."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
