Jim Palmer Speaks: How an Adopted Kid from NYC Became a Legendary Pitcher | Undeniable with Joe Buck

Discover how Jim Palmer, a legendary MLB pitcher, outpitched his own incredible life story, transforming from a high school phenom to a Baseball Hall of Famer. In this exclusive, Palmer opens up about his storied career with the Baltimore Orioles, sharing tales from Yankee Stadium strikeouts to World Series triumphs across three decades.

Chapters:
0:00 – Jim Palmer Introduction
2:00 – Jim Palmer Childhood
2:57 – Father Passes Away
3:20 – Falling in Love with Baseball
5:45 – Organized Sports in High School
6:50 – Considering College
8:03 – Orioles v. Colt 45s
10:07 – Palmer’s Wild Pitching
11:00 – Major League Debut/Facing Mickey Mantle
12:38 – 1966 World Series v. Dodgers
16:14 – Dealing with Injury/Minor Leagues
18:58 – 1969 Return
21:13 – Earl Weaver’s Personality
23:37 – Upset by the Mets
24:40 – 1970 World Series v. Reds
28:12 – Palmer on Roberto Clemente
29:54 – Mental Game of Pitching
34:08 – Quote Reflection
36:08 – Underwear Ads
36:39 – 1979 ALCS/World Series
39:32 – Earl Weaver’s Final Season/Criticism of Palmer
43:55 – Joe Altobelli Becomes Coach
45:56 – 1983 World Series as a Relief Pitcher
47:20 – Retirement/Closing Remarks

[Music] my guest tonight’s pursuit of Excellence took him from watching Mickey Manel play at Yankee state to striking him out just over a decade later signed to play for the Orioles immediately after high school James Alvin Palmer went on to dominate hitters for 19 Seasons he’s a six-time Allstar he won three Sai Youngs and he won the world series three times in three separate decades but before becoming the winningest pitcher of the 1970s did you know he earned his nickname Cakes by eating pancakes before games sold suits in the off season when he was starting out was offered a basketball scholarship to UCLA by John Wooden tonight we’ll learn what makes this undeniable icon who he is a man who once said people don’t understand me at all please welcome Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Palmer hi Dad hi bud brings back some p painful memories right here Jim why is that 14 years of age Riverfront Stadium 1970 or uh Orioles come to town World Series and you took my little heart out when you Orioles swept the Big Red Machine you started game one how dare you yeah and they probably you know the the Big Red Machine um they had Lee MC Le May who would eventually come to the Orioles but they didn’t have Joe Morgan so they were not the Big Red Machine of 75 and 76 when they won the World Series you know backtack years how would you describe your childhood um privileged I mean I was adopted at Birth in New York um I think when you grow up you know my dad was uh you know was Jewish he owned a couple dress companies my mom had come from Omaha was Catholic met my dad they adopted my sister Bonnie about 18 months before um I was adopted so that would have been somewhere I think in 1943 1945 uh in October I think I was born on the 15th of October I was adopted um you know lived on Park Avenue um 1095 Park Avenue I’m not sure what it was like then but we had a nice apartment and I still remember you know my earliest remembrances waking up uh one Saturday morning and there’s about 15 cars in the driveway and my father had passed away so and how old are you uh about N9 and a half did you understand and I don’t think you can really fathom Dan I mean at that particular age but my mom remarried and I took Max Palmer’s name uh who was a character actor you know salesman you know worked at uh San Anita in Hollywood Park in the restaurants and all that so we moved to Beverly Hills and I went to sixth seventh and eighth grades in Beverly Hills when did you fall in love with baseball when my dad took me in Yankee Stadium when I in 1954 when I was 9 years old if years ago uh Billy Chris did the the movie City Slickers and there’s a scene where they’re you know they’re on Horseback in New Mexico and you know he’s with his buddy from New York and he says what’s the greatest your greatest day ever and he said oh when I was 10 years old 1955 my y you know but my dad took me to Yankee Stadium and uh it was before color television and and when I walked up that you know the runway and actually saw the field the lights and whatever he goes I mean that was the greatest day ever well it happened to me um a year earlier I mean I grew up wanting to be Mickey Manel I used to take my glove and you know I had a Mickey Manel glove and I used to take the baseball and put the belt around it and put it underneath your mattress see Park Avenue if end up end up in Beverly Hills it it it does sound like a movie if if I was going to have a storyline I said okay here’s a baby who’s adopted Park Avenue you play baseball play catch with the butler well George yeah yeah so you’re playing well I couldn’t get a friend I mean George was there so so you got the butler who’s playing catch uh tragedy happens with your you know your stepfather dying at the age of nine you moved to California then to Beverly Hills then to AR I mean that’s a whole lot to Fathom for somebody who well it is and you know it’s funny when you’re adopted it’s not really who your biological parents are it’s who your real parents are so um I was very fortunate I mean I had parents that loved me they taught me the importance of Education and being polite I couldn’t have been more fortunate because this was a man that took me you know again embraced my mom embraced me and my sister and uh help raise me why did you take his name at age nine um because my mom was going to go from being paully weasen to paully Palmer and I was 12 years old and knew they were having the Little League you know bankwood and when I was getting the best hitter best pitcher award I said no longer will I be Jimmy weas and I will I’ll be Jim Palmer and he’s in the audience he’s in the audience and he’s tearing up but the greatest thing is I would play catch with Max in the backyard and he said I finally knew you were going to be a professional baseball he said when I couldn’t catch it and I went through the fence so that’s kind of how I kind of knew that maybe I had a future in baseball what was organized Sports what did that give you you know I learned number one you you got to get along with your teammates and number one you got to work really hard and I would go to basketball practice I’d come home help my mom you know do dinner or do the dishes do my homework go shoot baskets go run two miles and I cannot tell you why I did that other than that I wanted to be as good as I could be and uh I just didn’t want to fail um it was almost like a fixation in in a sense baseball football basketball in high school at a pretty high level in basketball I had a work harder I mean I had to you know I wasn’t the tallest guy on the team but I wanted to be the quickest or I wanted to be the guy that was in the best shape or you know I’d maybe work on my jump shot a little bit more or you know use my left hand or whatever or you had to be at your best so you’re always trying to um measure up and if you’re a good athlete and I think anybody that’s ever played Sports I mean you know your audience or whatever if you’re any good you play with the big boys and usually you got to figure it out and so you’re always trying to come up with a way because again you want to be as good or as better as anybody else any thoughts on College well when I got out of high school I was 10 and0 and I I could have gone to Arizona State or SC go to UCLA uh John bu and recruited me so I had some options and Bobby Winkles was the coach at Arizona State and he said listen you’re going to waste your time playing American Legion ball here because you’re better than the guys you’re facing I got four guys from Arizona State going up to Winter South Dakota in the Basin League which was a college League he said you’ll probably be the only high school player in the league and they had all outfielders and whatever and they said because I was a pretty good hitter they said you’re going to pitch so it was a pretty tough league and I did real well Orioles sponsored the team and Jim Russo was was their Scout and um I think one of the things I learned right then was every time he would fly in to see the the the ball Club he would come to Pier South Dakota and it was about 60 miles from from Winter I’d be the guy to go pick him up when he had to go back to the airport I would be the guy that drove him and I think he wanted to learn what Jim Palmer not that he could throw real hard and you know occasionally get his curveball over and maybe throw balls behind people because I had no idea where the ball ball was going but he wanted to learn I think what Jim Palmer was as a person so you you had a chance it was either Orioles or the cold 45s Houston cold 45 Houston Houston cold 45 45s back then Paul Richards ran the the the cold 45s and he wanted to see me Pitch I go down and have breakfast with him and we go back to his hotel room he says I’m going to give you two telegrams one’s going to be for $48,000 the other one’s going to be $40,000 the $440,000 one will have a college scholarship the minimum salary in the major leagues is $7,000 but I’ll pay you 10,000 with 3,000 under the table now I’m 17 years old I’m I’m I’m still I’ve just graduated from high school I don’t have an agent Paul Richards comes over leaves the two telegrams grabs my mother’s Putters working on his putting stroke takes a couple peanuts out of the bowl he says uh I’ll wait for your telegram tomorrow now the Orioles come in Jim Wilson been working on my parents all summer Jim Russo was the Scout that I took to the airport up in in in in South Dakota he sweet talk my parents and I become an oral best thing that ever happened do you know what your goals are at this time you know the expectations were that for us to get to the next level we’re playing AB ball and again in in in aine South Dakota and you’re making $414 after taxes and you’re living in a basement and you go on a 9-day road trip and they give you $27 and you didn’t have a cell phone you didn’t have a credit card uh you know I mean that’s the way you lived I mean 10 12 14 hour bus rid so what Cal told us was hey we’re going to do the best we can do here but we all want to move on you know the ex next year after aball they said got a good chance to go to the major leagues next year so um I think you should go to instructional league and I went down to instructional league for about seven weeks and George bamberger who was our minor league pitching coach would go on to be one of the great pitching coaches he he said we’re going to work on your windup balance you’re going to learn to throw the ball down and the way to a right-hander and if you can do that you have to load you have to extend you have to get over your front side and after seven weeks of hard work um I I was able to do it to some degree a lot better than I had done it that but how Wild were you like were you scary wild I would hit guys and I’d come up and apologize because I didn’t mean to do it um I mean I you know Jim Rooker would would turned out to be a pretty good major league pitcher but he was an outfielder for Detroit and I hit him in the ribs and he couldn’t breathe and you know I mean you’re 18 years old you didn’t want to hurt people I never hit a guy in the head I don’t think I hit a guy in ahead in almost 4,000 innings in the big leagues or whatever but um I could just over rotate and you know drill left hander in the ribs or I just how fast are we throwing well probably in the upper 90s you know and I could make the ball go up a little bit and um and I was always kind of wild up and in but every once in a while especially in a ball I would maybe get a little wild and and end up hitting people 19 do you get called up to the major leagues yeah well you know you get to the big leagues you got to figure out okay I got here now what do I got to do to stay here and probably the best thing that happened when I was 19 is I roomed with a guy by the name of Robin Roberts and Robin Roberts had about 270 wins and he was on his way to the hall of fame in Cooperstown and I used to put him to sleep asking him questions he was 38 I was 19 he was twice my age uh you know just taught me about pitching I mean he could pitch 12 13 hit shutouts he kind of knew how to do it get the first out and things like that and i’ put him you know 1:00 in the morning Mr Roberts you know what if you do he goes kid I got to get my sleep he says you know I’m trying to win 300 games take us back to facing Mickey Manel at Yankee Stadium 10 years earlier you’re seeing Mickey Manel as a fan at Yankee Stadium and here you are facing Mickey man at the end of his career I’m pitching a Thursday afternoon game and I strike Mickey out the first two times so he comes up the third time and um Roger Maris is on Deck now you know this is 1966 19 you know 61 Roger hits what 61 home runs Mickey it’s 54 yeah 54 I mean they were you know the M brothers or whatever even at age 20 I was smart enough to know with a two nothing lead in the seventh inning that you do not walk Mickey manold to get to Roger Maris you know with that five foot wall in right field so I take a little bit off my fast ball the real long home runs you actually admire you know again it wasn’t it wasn’t a home Runner going to beat me but that’s the one hit that Mickey M got and did you know it was gone just the sound of it you know they’re gone you know I mean you just have that feeling I guess if you’re going to give up a home run to a Yankee uh you know why not make it Mickey M 1966 you’re on a collision course with the Dodgers going into the World Series uh how do you process that at your age you know was a Dodgers I mean it was Co and Dale and wills and I mean you’re 20 years old you’re going to pitch against Sandy kofax who’s I mean the Sandy kovax but we had Jim Russo did our scouting and um you know we came out to LA and the headline said Junior League leader Loop leaders in town and I took that as a fence I didn’t realize the American League was the Junior League I mean the national league was the first apparently the first thing so you know we were the vast underdogs so you’re 20 years of AG this is game two the World Series and you’re facing Sandy kofax which we would later find out this would be the last game that he would pitch the 20-year-old Palmer seems calm enough as he warms up for his first World Series appearance Jim pitches to wills and the first ball is hit right back at him the youngster knocks it down and throws Mari out kofax now faces the massive boo pow and the big foto singles to Right Center and Frank Robinson trots home with another run now Palmer is only one out away from a shut out Victory Palmer’s fastball crackles again and rosebar pops up behind [Applause] short apparicio grabs it and the Orioles win six to nothing for their second straight Victory Palmer’s Triumph made history he’s the youngest pitcher ever to achieve a shut out in a World Series did you realize what you I mean that’s pretty big stuff well it was my first shout out ever yeah it was pretty good timing I would guess you know it’s amazing my mom was afraid of heists she’s in the fourth deck and she was afraid of heist and uh you know she actually had to come down and sit on the lower level so she got to I mean this is the same woman that when I had little league in Beverly Hills I used to have a paper route and on the days that I had to actually play games I mean I be the back of her station wagon you wanted to read your paper boy you’d have to go find it I’m throwing them left and right and whatever so you know me you know and then you know my stepfather Max was there and all that who had taken me to little league and you know they had gone to Utah and Babe Ruth league in Hawaii to to see me play in in you know the Arizona finals and all that so it was pretty special day but it was surreal because I mean this was the Dodgers let’s check out how the 1966 World Series ended after two quick strikes MCN p again and Johnson flies to Center Blair is there and the Baltimore Orioles who were supposed to be short of pitching set a new world series record of 33 consecutive scoreless Innings what did Mom Mom and Dad say after you won a World Series um they were really excited I mean you know they were I mean they provided me the opportunity to to play sports and uh so they they were they were you know exalted they they had been there through all the you know the the Babe Ruth and the pony league and the little league and all that stuff so it was a pretty exciting time what about 6768 well I you know I ended up you know I win the World Series game and I had got a quarter Zone shot about two weeks before that game and I don’t think I could have pitched again and all I had was there’s a little tendon the bicep tendon here but of course you externally and internally rotate your arm to throw a ball and um and i’ go to spring training and it always felt like my arm just couldn’t quite uh stretch it so I get through the spring and I’m I’m three and one I almost pitch a perfect game in New York um my next game is in Boston and Harry Bine was the pitching coach Harry the cat B you know used to little left-handed pitcher always kind of walk out and he and he looked at Andy eteron our catcher and he goes how how’s he throwing and Ed says how would I know I haven’t caught one yet because you know you go from a perfect game to throwing three pitches and you’re down three nothing and you know Sports Medicine back then was you know go to go to Miami go to Elmyra and you know hope you get better go to the miners go to the minors and so I spent the rest of 67 um all of 68 in the minor leagues and tore my rotator cuff because again I started changing my windup and I heard everything pop it was kind of like rice krispy I mean and I flipped up a couple of you know how you used to pour milk I mean that’s what it felt like and I said and I threw two slow curveballs and I called Cal Senor out I said I don’t know what I did but I just did something to my arm and um I thought my career was over I guess the word was you were take you were thinking about being an insurance salesman well I got my insurance license so you thought your career well you have you know you have a young wife you have a you know Jamie was what about a year and a half you think your career is over I you know I was I went back to school went back went to Talsen State i’ done a year at Arizona so I you know stayed and I figured well I better get an education got an insurance license and I better figure out another way to try to make a living because I had a young family so I rehabed for about six or seven weeks uh and my arm got better but it still hurt so I pitched in the instructional League my last game was 10 runs and 14 hits in five innings and um I was going to quit and I had a guy by the name of mar foxman he worked for Lily pharmaceutical he said have you ever red this little blue and white anti-inflammatory Anderson I said no so I take one for breakfast one for lunch one for dinner the next day go out to the ballpark it’s I’m throwing like 96 s again so I went six and0 no hitter my arm got better um daav Leonard came back and you know next year we’re both playing for the Orioles in 1969 and and playing for Earl Weaver for the first time do you start 10 and two in 1969 yeah and Davy Leonard 6 and0 so we’re 16 and two as a room and we’re feeling really good about ourselves then he has a magical game against the Oakland A’s the high point came on August 13th at Memorial Stadium against the Oakland A’s Jim Palmer already owned four shutouts but had just spent 41 days on the disabled list was he ready Jim’s performance left little doubt that he was he pitched flawlessly as the Orioles grabbed an early lead [Music] then it was over 23-year-old Jim Palmer became the only American League pitcher of the 1969 season to hurl a no [Music] hitter [Applause] I think you walked The Bases Loaded in the nth yeah I did well go back to Abal I walked 130 129 Innings yeah but that I mean that’s kind of C circumstantial yeah because well I I have an eight8 to nothing leate I got all the runs and um Reggie comes up and I walk Reggie Jackson and I go 0 and2 on Dick green and I threw three pitch is that far off the corner and ire doesn’t call him so I walk him and they send up a guy named Tommy Reynolds and I go I don’t know this guy I look on Deck Larry Haney is a you know catcher for the ace well heed to play for the Orioles I know Larry kany and I’m so I kind of walked Tommy Reynolds to get to Larry Haney and um he hits a ground ball to shortstop which you just saw and he goes you know what you know what’s so amazing he says you pitched around everybody to get to me and he my mom was rooting for you because she was a Jim Palmer fan so here you get the final guy out a chance to break up a no hitter and his mom because he came from Virginia and she must have watch the Orioles a lot she’s rooting you know that that Larry makes an out and and thank you God he did how would you describe Earl Weaver’s personality for somebody who never saw him or heard him Earl like to win but if you were a fan you loved him I mean he was going to go out and kick dirt in an umpires tell them how bad they were you know he didn’t really know CU he you know you’re wearing glasses he wouldn’t put his glasses on because he was too vain so he you know he’d say hey what’s the scoreboard well we’re Liz and Earl and then he started screaming at the umpires um uh just the way he was I mean you know but he was like Billy Martin in in that sense um Earl Earl was Earl and and uh you know I mean he got thrown out and got suspended for a week and he said why were you on the top of the the step you know with a big smile on your face I said I’ve never seen anything that good on Broadway I mean you know because there was never a dull moment um he was you know we had to love hate relationship um I wrote a book called together we were 11 foot n because I was 6’3 and he was 5’6 but he wanted to come you know the pitching mound is 10 inches he would never be taller unless he could get on the top of that mound and actually look down at me but I once handed him the ball in Cleveland and he goes don’t ever put the ball in my face again I go Earl I just I just kind of put it out there and you know he was walking up the mound and all that so well his size probably no so he wanted to get up there so he could actually be my equal to some degree but did you know that no I never knew that Earl looked at the bottom line you know he didn’t really know much about it but if you were pitching well everything was good and if you weren’t it wasn’t up to Snuff and you know I as good as I could be was never quite enough did you laugh at him not to his face but no but if you knew he was going out did you was oh I laughed at what he did but you you knew I mean you just knew now did he irritate me did I irritate him um you know Dave mcnali he would talk to Dave and Dave would go nope and I would actually try to have a conversation which didn’t work you know like Sparky Anderson when he came out to take the ball he never you couldn’t talk to him just give them the ball with Earl it would be are you effing trying and I go excuse me and I said if that’s all you have for me I said why don’t you go back and manage and I’ll try to pitch and then he kind of looked at me he says okay but he trusted me I mean I mean that’s what that’s all you ever ask from I mean your boss or your in this you know this case with Earl 1969 best record in baseball and you run into the New York Mets one of the biggest upsets baseball history really you think you guys went in as big favorites uh you know the Mets had some a good pitching but they didn’t know if they had enough hitting certainly against team at best record in baseball did you you guys considered a big upset um it happened so quickly we won the first game we beat Siver and that’s not easy to do I mean it’s Tom sver I never threw a leadoff home run ever in a game other than the All-Star Game to Joe Morgan except in that ball game you didn’t even see the SWOT catch you know Ron saoto I mean you know if you’re going to give him a Golden Glove when it was over you know the the ball in the Dugout you get in a short series against a good ball Club um it can end in a hurry and it did how was Earl after that loss you know I think you you re it’s great to get to the world series I mean it’s it’s it’s it’s you know we won 109 games you know in your first year as a manager but Earl didn’t like to lose 1970 you guys back in the World Series Big Red Machine now you’re facing one of the great National League lineups yeah you know the the Big Red Machine they were a very good ball Club who made you nervous or if you’re going over the lineup in with that Johnny Bench yeah why well he’s Johnny Bench but you know again I think we were a better ball club and I think we knew it this is how it played out it’s still 3 to three Lee May leading off the six and a spectacular stop and throw by Brooks Robinson getsy or doesn’t from ground level this time the ball clearly beats the Run get down to Robinson it’s fitting he makes the final out Robinson throws him out balore is the World Champ so it’s a blur it’s a blur in 1966 now at 1970 are you able to you know sort of process this to like we’re doing something pretty incredible here well I’m playing on one of the best teams of baseball yeah is Earl in a better mood now oh then 169 of course yeah but we’re actually having a good time in spring training oh you are well compared to the year before well now early I mean you you you Earl told you exactly he said we’re going you know every year we have the same meeting I’m taking the best 25 guys you guys that aren’t making the ball clubs we may need you so if you do what we we we spend all spring training for we you’re going to have a chance to win are you thinking you have a dynasty here no because we lost to the Mets I think that I’m wearing my is my arm going to be well can I get out there and win 20 games so I can get my $17,500 raise which is what they paid you if you want to S Young you maybe get an extra 5,000 so um I’m worrying how you know how can I get on the field and how can I stay healthy uh because I know we have a real good ball club and then 71 do you have a magical season with 420 game winners something that we’ll never see again no well and the 72 complete games and you know everybody says hey well you know did you know did you uh you know you rooting for the other guys not to do well I said no they they kind of encouraged me to be as as good as I could be I was the last guy to to win in on a Saturday afternoon in Cleveland and it was nothing nothing ball game to the seventh going to be my last start and I’m going I’m G to be the only guy that doesn’t win 20 games and boy you know 19’s not a bad number but 20 had a little bit of a manag ma and um pitched against Allen Foster and I mean it’s nothing nothing I you know I hadit a I hit a ball off Greg n’s foot hit him in the chin they gave him an error I hit a ball the left field that fell between Pinson and left fielder that was an error I finally hit a double down the left field line got thrown out going from second to Third on a a rocket to second base I was doing everything to be not be the guy that didn’t win the uh the 20th game and we ended up winning the ball game three to nothing and then you guys once again best record in baseball you got the the Oakland a beat them in the championship series and then here come the Pirates yeah 71 but you know I play with a lot of great players but Roberto Clement you know people go who would have been the toughest out I mean kuu was tough Brett was tough you know I faced Willie Mays but only in the in the All-Star game but I don’t know I mean we I still remember Klay D was he had come over from the national league as one of our backup catchers so we’re going over the scatter Roberto Clemy well you can throw him a fast ball here but don’t do it twice get him out with a curveball but I don’t know if you want to do that more than once I and I’m going well how are we going to get this guy out well and we didn’t he got 13 hits was the MVP stealing bases throwing guys out from right field um you know and it’s funny everybody talks about Jackie Robinson but you know who obviously you know broke the color Bearer but if you read the book clment you realize how Latin players or people in his case from Puerto Rico how they had to go through a lot of the things that the African-American players uh did going through the minor leagues because there wasn’t a pitch you could probably throw Clemente that because he he was a bad ball yeah bad ball hitter well he had a triple left field home Runner right field off me you know he could hit the high fast ball he could hit the break and ball he um he was a marvelous player and probably a lot of people didn’t know that even though he would end up with 3,000 hits because he played in Pittsburgh so you lose like game seven you know well two to one yeah but there’s no embarrassment you know you win 101 games you have four2 game winners they played great they had Clemente I mean he stepped up um that’s what postseason about I mean you think you know the great NBA you know whether it’s magic and Larry Bird or the Super Bowls or whatever the the players that step up and um I no disgrace losing to the Pirates and you know Steve blast two to one it’s not like we got beat 11 to n uh but Clen what a what a player how much of pitching became thinking for you when you pitch you have a catcher you know who’s hitting but at the end of the day you don’t you don’t look at the guy and go oh it’s Willie Ma I’m going to throw the ball to the corner and so what you see is the glove when you’re pitching I mean you see the glove you’re Yankee Stadium Fenway Park um doesn’t matter I mean it’s boom it’s boom now sometimes the bat kind ofs the ball the W yeah and then you know ends up going over the fence but then okay what was the count uh was it a hitters count was he looking for a fast ball did I make my pitch no was down the middle should have hit it does that change what what the end or the sum total is going to be that game no not at all as you move through the 70s you’re the most dominant pitcher in baseball you have 2 win seasons in eight of nine years you win three sa Youngs in a period of four years but as great as you are as a pitcher the team is close but just can’t get over the hump well we got to the playoffs and 73 and 74 the A’s are on their way to winning three World Championships and there was always you know we play the the the division series were fabulous yeah um they just played a little bit better and of course we’re also Frank Robinson gets trade after 71 so we’re transition transitioning to um different players so we’re kind of in a you know a point where we’re just kind of Treading Water did you think you underachieved I don’t know I don’t think I think that would be demeaning to the teams to beat us um you know I and I don’t I it’s funny you know I learn in in baseball a long time I mean to have continued success you if you’re a starting pitcher you win on Sunday you you know you might relish that win it’s kind of like owning a restaurant you know if you have a good you know you serve a good meal and food’s great and the service is great on Friday and it’s not too good on Saturday people don’t come to your restaurant same thing about pitching when do you start being labeled a hypochondria or that nagging injuries and it feels like the media start to pick on you or even you know Earl is starting to say something well again with the with Earl I if if if you know if I went seven and 23s Innings I he wanted me to go eight in a third or a complete game so I always had to live with that um nobody ever told me I was going to wear my body out you know I mean you have to understand I turn my road TR rotator cuff cuff at 22 so I think my career is over so here we are you know now what I’m you know I come to the big leagues at at 19 and in 65 and so we’re you know you’re you know you’re 312 3 4 or whatever you’re pitching back then you if you didn’t pitch 300 Innings or 295 Innings um you you weren’t doing what you’re supposed to do and you know Earl would say I get somebody else to do it you were being questioned by management with the Orioles well by Yeah by Hank Peters and and Earl but they got it from Earl I always thought that I could go one-on-one in Earl and then I realized just imagine you’re a sports writer and I’m Marl Weaver you’re talking to me every day you’re dependent on me giving you a story you know it’s before social media so there you know I just imagine if Earl and I had a Twitter account boy yeah God that would have been so much fun um uh but anyways but they only talk to me every fourth day so I was never going to win I I I never was going to win the you know the the media fight with Earl or whatever and I think one of the things that I really learn and I saw some of the great pitchers whether it’s Ferguson Jenkins or Tom Siver if you play for the same organization from the year you’re 19 till you retire at 38 the expectation level never changes because they’re used to having you there you get traded to another team they take you because they wanted you it’s not that the Oriols didn’t want me they just wanted me to do the things that I used to do but it catches up with you there’s a quote attributed to you and I want your reaction to this people don’t understand me at all when did you say it what did it mean well Baltimore magazine you like you know La probably you know they have the magazine and they they did a poll on apparently who would you like your you know your your son to grow up with and I think most people said Brooks Robinson and the guy they’d least like to have uh their son grow up to be was Jim Palmer now I had been there 11 years I was one arguably one of the best pitchers in baseball uh and I said I’m they told me they wanted to renegotiate my contract and I said okay they said no let’s adjust it so I said so Reggie was going to get 400 Gritz was going to get 300 I said how about you give me what Bobby Gritz was going to get and they go no we have we’re going to pay you one 185 215 whatever and I didn’t have an agent but I got an attorney because I couldn’t talk to him anymore so when I didn’t know this at the time but if you were my agent and you went to the to the Oriols and said you know Jim Palmer wants $300,000 you’d be the bad guy but if I say it or I’m misquoted I’m the bad guy but it wasn’t about the money was the fact that I wasn’t being treated fairly and I thought hey you know I’ve given my life in Soul I mean I’ve done this you know I mean I you know I was Jim Palmer I I I wanted to send my kids to college and still play for the Oreo show I ended up doing the underwear ads you know I mean that that I didn’t know I was going to do it for 19 years because I would show up on time be nice to people uh look good in the ads I are good enough I suppose and I you know I did I did all the ads I did 20 store appearances 20 25 and I didn’t have to leave the Orioles and my kids didn’t have to change their lifestyle and it worked out well oh there well there’s many more of those too 19 years of those what were you thinking when you I’m going what am I doing yeah well that’s that that’s kind of the you know the Thinker pose yeah ran actually we were taking some shots and yeah yeah yeah there you go look at those weights God all any teammates give you grief oh yeah I had fans I I know I’d get knocked out of a game in Kansas City to be throwing underwear and all that like that but you were a sex symbol no I I I that was other people’s perception what do you remember about the 1979 ALCS I hurt my elbow so I come back and I pitch in a game in Cleveland feel great my elbow’s finally well we clenched the division about a week later so we have a meeting after the game in Burl Weaver he says you’re pitching the first game of the playoffs or you don’t putting you back on the disabled list and I go we got the guy who’s going to win the sa Young Award I said I’ll pitch any game except the first game because then I’d have to come back with only three days rest on the fourth day and I don’t know if I could do that because I haven’t done it all summer you’re pitch in the first game you know I didn’t drink a lot of champagne and Earl had a little bit of champagne Sunday morning he’s still hung over and he comes in and he’s got his shower shoes on and I’m going into the training room and I go Earl can we now just you know have a rational discussion who’s going to pitch the first game of the playoffs because we’re going to play the Angels he goes you quit you quit again you know and all the coaches are coming over and I so I want to not hear this anymore so I go into the training room and he puts his foot in the door and I’m looking down at this little foot with shower shoes on and um I got the door and it’s he’s kind of got it in between so and I’m thinking headlines you remember the old days they used to you know when they have the papers this is not going to be headlines in the sports section this is going to be the front of the Baltimore Sun Palmer breaks Weaver’s foot in clubhouse altercation so I let the door I open up the door because I wanted to close it and just break his foot but I don’t and I go what can I really do to IRC him so I have to kind of stand I go do I need to stoop to your level so we can see ey to eye so anyway way um I pitched the first game of the playoffs I mean you know so either way he got his way guys get to the World Series hirat to there yeah what do you remember well we gotta bring up Earl Weaver if we bunt in game two in the seventh inning or maybe the eighth inning with John Lowenstein we probably win the first two games in Baltimore and I remember we’re playing first five games with the coldest games that I ever we had a snow delay you know snow out one of the games and and if we bunt we might have had a chance to to win we end up losing 3 to2 we win the next two games in Pittsburgh and then we stopped scoring runs then once again we lose in seven games to the to the Pirates but once again a very very wellplayed World Series did you do you start to think this might be your last chance at winning Another World Series no not I’m playing on the Orioles well what am I at 79 I’m 3 33 or four yeah I’m young my arms old but I’m young no I no I no I didn’t I didn’t think that 1982 you guys facing Milwaukee at the end of the season have to take all four from Milwaukee to make win the division it’s Earls going to be his last season yes you got the ball final game 1982 season yeah you know I mean you wanted to win I mean you you you wanted to do it’s funny before the game uh Earl says and Earl didn’t have a lot lot of meetings you know normally it was get on your stool turn around pay attention he goes just want to say something and Richie Dar you know our second baseman who came out of University of Southern California goes oh no don’t tell us you’re not going to retire and it kind of broke the ice again um you know it was Earl’s last game Earl gave me every opportunity to win and lose games you know allowed me to pitch enough to you know amass the Innings and play for the teams that eventually would allow me to get to the Hall of Fame so you wanted to win it for him and um but again you just don’t always win the games you want to win Milwaukee 10 Baltimore two in the bottom of the night High to left field ogleby waiting it’s over the Milwaukee Brewers have defeated the Baltimore Orioles 10 to2 you are bearing witness to one of the most remarkable scenes maybe that you will ever see in sport yes the fand have stayed they have stayed made to cheer and to honor the retiring manager of the birds of Baltimore and Errol Weaver is crying and you can understand it and there they are standing and chanting all of them in unison and the sign says it all goodbye arrol and you deserve it you’ve been one of the greatest managers in the history of the game what’ you say to Earl that last last game well Earl and I ended up doing the playoffs we both did the playoffs for ABC so I got to talk to him U uh for the next week or so we did the angel uh Brewer games and of course one you know one of the writers said well Jim Palmer didn’t care whether he won or lost the game because he’s going to go broad broadcast uh you know for ABC but it hurt that they’re saying that you kind of mailed it in because you had another you had a broadcasting gig like if you didn’t make it the playoffs then you’re you’re you’re okay well but you got to consider the S Source I mean do you really think that you’d rather go broadcast than to play in the playoffs so just because you lose a ball game I mean it wasn’t like I you know I mean I thought at least my career was over they weren’t going to let me start anymore and you know you wi 10 you know they forgot the 10 in a row they forgot the fact that you know we came from seven or eight or nine games back um you know we had a great year that year and and it just didn’t end well and that’s kind of what sports is all about you can’t if if it would be so simple if people would said you know what you’re going to sign with the Orioles at 17 you’re going to spend one year in AB ball you’re going to win 20 games eight out nine years you’re going to end up with 268 wins and it’s just going to happen it’s you know everybody talks about the journey and the you know the journey was you know was sometimes painful and that was certainly one of those moments and then my youngest daughter Kelly uh wrote a letter to the editor and I didn’t see this it was in the Chicago paper and when we got to we played two games in Anaheim off day go to Milwaukee and one of the technicians for ABC said hey did you see this thing and it’s a letter from my daughter who’s 13 to Bob masel that saying you don’t know my dad you don’t know how much um kind of hard to talk uh that he that he wanted to win so it you know it’s I think my my daughters they knew that I was Jim Palmer and of course Kelly would go to University of Colorado the minute she graduated from high school she he wanted to get get away from being Jim Palmer’s daughter but uh there’s the the letter from a Palmer fan and happened to be your daughter it’s pretty cool though well yeah pretty cool well I sent her to good school so she knew how to write but I mean I can’t uh well you know it’s funny I mean Jamie you know Jamie was always kind of the mother hen but Kelly had a little bit of an edge to her still does Jo El tbelly comes in how does the mood change if it changes at all with this team well we used to always say that you know we we want to win for the Orioles and I think it was really kind of a um the mission was to win without Earl Weaver I mean it I you know one of the great we we come out of spring training and we used to fly United they used to always have a shrimp cocktail and maybe surf and turf and we’re we’re taking off and they put the meals down and again Richie da who had a great sense of humor and he goes Hey where’s the shrimp because there was no shrimp cocktail and Mike Flanigan says well he’s retired and playing golf in Florida because he’s talking about Earl Weaver you know all five six of them and that’s kind of the way we started the 83 season you know and now it’s you know Cal had been a rookie we got Eddie Murray I mean I didn’t play much of a part in 1983 because I ended up I don’t think hurt my back and then the elbow or whatever but you’re out of the bullpen uh well as it turns out yeah I mean I started for a while and then I would get some starts but the only way that I would on a team that’s going to the World Series or the playoffs was to go to the minor leagues so I went up to hagertown and Pitch some games and um you know which I I realized I don’t you know what I had 268 wins I mean it was black and white uh Earl Weaver was gone I mean Earl like I said Earl gave me every to win and lose this was a different manager I I really think that and I would find this out in 84 it was embarrassing for Joe alelly for a guy that probably was going to go to the Hall of Fame to actually have to put him in the bullpen or use him differently so I had to go to hagertown and I was you know Mike Flanigan had heard something and he didn’t want to go I go I I’ll go because I knew that was the only way I’d have a chance to to u to get to the playoffs and eventually the World Series if we got that far you win a World Series in the 60s you won one in the 70s now you have a chance in the 80s and you come in in game three in relief ninth time Palmer has appeared in a World Series game but never before as a relief pitcher so here he comes in the bottom of the fifth inning by Owens nope grounded to Third and Cruz goes the short way to D so Jim Palmer comes out of the bullpen a liner and the Orioles are the world champion contributing at age 37 winning a World Series on my 37th birthday yeah last win last win was what a birthday present um you know I’m sitting out in left field you know about 385 ft away looking through the Plex ofala in Philadelphia and I’m going boy this is great when you’re you’re looking at that you’re you’re looking at baseball from a different lens out in the bullpen that you’re you know here you are looking at it are you starting to wonder and say okay this is it well The Hourglass is definitely turned over um but I think it gives you appreciation um I I had no idea that that was going to be my last win ever U but it turned out to be the the case and then you retire next year in May um it just seemed to me that was the right thing to do uh doesn’t mean you don’t want to still try to do it I mean just think about it you play that long whether you play football or basketball every year you got to prove that you can do it again but I always think that’s why you were as good as you were because you always know that number one you got to prove you can do it and you always want to have that opportunity and it’s hard to give up that opportunity what’s next for you well um um you know I mean you know I my stepson has you know has autism you know fabulous kid at 21 you know certainly do awareness for that because I know how you know affects one out of every what 41 or 42 two boys and you know when girls are are are autistic it seems to be more severe how’s Spencer affect you you know Spencer I mean he’s a special child I mean he’s smarter than I am I mean photographic memory can you know could do accents and all that kind of stuff but it you know he has autism you know when they did the statues um you know in 2012 they have like nine foot statues of all the Hall of Famers and Susan looks at Spencer she said do you want to in introduce Jim Palmer at Camden Yards and uh F goes yeah and now you know he’s 15 years old you know he has autism um but he’s very verbal and so he runs out on the field you know 40,000 people let’s hear it for number 22 still the greatest the most amazing that’s exactly what he told me to say say Jim Palmer and then runs off the field and it’s like he’d been doing this all his life when I was 15 years old I could never have done that some fun questions what pisses you off people at the grocery stuff store checking out on their cell phones that pisses you off well it gets me going a woman’s checking out in in in Florida and I go excuse me are we going to pay for our groceries or you just going to talk on your phone she goes Helen I there are rude people here in Palm Beach and I said excuse me I said she’s not going to say anything because if she says something she’ll get fired I go he’s not going to say anything because he’ll get fired and I’m going to tell you right now I said when you get home look in the mirror and you’ll see the person that’s rude so other than that [Applause] what skill do you wish you had oh a lot of piano when I was a kid my mom I I took the piano lessons she had to drag me in I had recit recital and all that kind of stuff and I never I wanted to be on the playground and then now I wish I hadn’t been on the playground I mean it would be great to be able to sit down and play play the piano he won a World Series in three different decades he won the Sai Young three times in a span of four years he pitched almost 4,000 Innings he’s undeniably one of the great right-handers in baseball history ladies and gentlemen Jim pmer that’s it that’s it thank you [Music]