The fabulous Cuban American Rafael Corrales Palmeiro, aka Raffy, is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and left fielder. During his long and illustrious career, he played for the Chicago Cubs, the Texas Rangers, and the Baltimore Orioles. He was named to the MLB All-Star Team four times, won the Gold Glove three times, and the Silver Slugger twice. He is one of only six players in history to be a member of both the 500 home run club, and the 3,000 hit club. He was inducted into the Mississippi State University Hall of Fame in 2008, and into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2012 he was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

Born and raised in Havana, Cuba, Palmeiro relocated to the United States and later graduated from Miami Jackson High School. He had always had an eye for baseball, something that the professional clubs were quick to spot. He was drafted by the New York Mets in the 1982 draft, but didn’t sign. Instead, he attended Mississippi State University where he played college baseball for the Bulldogs in the Southeastern Conference, and became the first of two players to have ever won the SEC triple crown. He and fellow teammate Will Clark formed the imposing one-two hitting punch known as “Thunder and Lightning”. He then went professional, signing with the Chicago Cubs in the 1985 draft. He played in the minor leagues at first, but then made his Cubs MLB debut in 1986. He finished his career in 2005 with 2,831 games played, the most by any player who never played in the World Series. He was the subject of the sports documentary, Thunder and Lightning, in 2015, and he also appeared in the family sports comedy movie, Little Big League, and in the sports comedy TV series, Arli$$.

Palmeiro connects with his dedicated fanbase through Twitter.