A Nifty Pickup

Texas rangers general manager Doug Melvin won't lie: The truth is, he wasn't pursuing free-agent first baseman Rafael Palmeiro last off-season. Melvin says his No. 1 priority was acquiring a pitcher- Roger Clemens was atop his wish list and Randy Johnson close behind—and he needed to re-sign Will Clark, the incumbent first baseman, who was coming off one of his best seasons. Palmeiro? Who had time for Palmeiro? Then on the morning of Dec. 1 the phone rang in Melvin's office.

"Hello, Doug."

"Yeah?"

"It's Rafael—Rafael Palmeiro."

For a moment Melvin didn't know what to think. Everyone figured that the Baltimore Orioles had the inside track on resigning Palmeiro, who had hit .296 with a career-high 43 home runs and 121 RBIs in 1998. After all, Orioles owner Peter Angelos had the bankroll to outbid any suitors, and, in averaging 40 homers and 119 RBIs per year for the previous four full seasons in Baltimore, Palmeiro had earned a reputation as one of the game's best hitters. His return was a lock, right?

"Doug, can we meet?"

"Uhh...sure."

An hour later they met at the Arlington Marriott, a short distance from Melvin's office at The Ballpark in Arlington and Palmeiro's home in Colleyville, Texas. Yes, Palmeiro told Melvin, money is fine and dandy. Yes, he liked playing at Camden Yards. But his home was in Texas. His family—his wife, Lynne, and sons Patrick, nine, and Preston, four—was in Texas. If Melvin could make a competitive bid, Palmeiro wanted to return to the Rangers, for whom he played from 1989 through '93. "There was one problem," recalls Melvin. "The Orioles had an offer on the table [five years, $50 million], and Raffy felt he had to make a decision that day. We needed to act, and quick."

Melvin, who knew he couldn't meet the Toronto Blue Jays' demands for Clemens and had lost out of the sweepstakes for free-agent Johnson, called team owner Tom Hicks. "I think we should sign Palmeiro," he told Hicks. "It'll pay off." Hicks thought about it briefly before giving Melvin the go-ahead. Melvin phoned Palmeiro, and in minutes they agreed to a five-year, $45 million deal. "It's one of the fastest decisions we've ever had to make," says Melvin, whose move led to Clark's signing with Baltimore four days later. "Maybe the best." It was certainly the most important free-agent pickup of the year.

Along with New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, Cleveland Indians outfielder Manny Ramirez and Boston Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez, the 34-year-old Palmeiro, who was hitting .355 with 22 homers and 76 RBIs through Sunday, is an American League MVP candidate. Palmeiro won Gold Gloves in each of the last two seasons as a first baseman, but after undergoing surgeries in February and March to repair torn cartilage in his right knee, he became a full-time DH for Texas and had missed only two games, neither because of the knee.