On Sept. 4, 1987, Vicente Palacios stood on a big-league mound for the first time, a 24-year-old Pirates rookie from Mexico making his debut at Houston’s Astrodome. It must have felt to him like standing atop Mount Everest. He’d been rejected by two other organizations, White Sox and Brewers, making him wonder whether he’d lost his chance of ever reaching the majors, but here he was, pitching in the same game with none other than Nolan Ryan.
Seven years later, on July 19, 1994, his 31st birthday, Palacios was back on the mound at the Astrodome, this time as a member of the Cardinals. He’d been through multiple shoulder surgeries and experienced more rejection, but managed to persevere.
Palacios had his greatest game that night, holding the hard-hitting Astros to one hit in nine innings and pitching a shutout for the win.
Traveling man
Born about 20 miles inland from the port city of Veracruz along the Gulf of Mexico, Palacios was 19 in 1983 when he pitched his first season of professional baseball in the Mexican League with El Aguila de Veracruz (The Eagle of Veracruz).
“There was no question he was one of the top three or four pitchers in Mexico,” Terry Collins, then a scout for the Dodgers, told The Pittsburgh Press.
The Chicago White Sox purchased his contract in 1984 and sent him to the minors. A right-hander, Palacios didn’t do enough to impress while in the White Sox system. They loaned him to the Mexico City Reds in 1985 and to El Aguila de Veracruz in 1986 before releasing him.
Desperate to revive his career, Palacios, 23, experimented with developing a different pitch. “I did it on my own,” he told Bob Hertzel of The Pittsburgh Press.
The pitch Palacios came up with was a variation of the split-fingered fastball. “It’s kind of like a forkball,” catcher Mike LaValliere said to The Press. “He holds it like a knuckle-curve, only it doesn’t spin much.” Pitching coach Ray Miller described it to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as “a knuckle palm ball,” and broadcaster Jim Rooker, a former pitcher, called it “a knorkle ball.”
Palacios learned to master the pitch in winter ball in Mexico after the 1986 regular season, drawing interest from scouts for the Pirates and Brewers.
The Pirates signed Palacios on Dec. 4, 1986, four days before the baseball winter meetings, but the Brewers outmaneuvered them. Because he wasn’t on the Pirates’ big-league roster, Palacios was exposed to the Dec. 8 Rule 5 draft, and, much to the Pirates’ chagrin and embarrassment, was selected by the Brewers.
The draft rules required that the Brewers keep Palacios on their big-league roster throughout the 1987 season or else give the Pirates the chance to take him back.
At 1987 spring training, Palacios was nurtured by the Brewers’ 20-game winner and countryman Teddy Higuera, who focused on the mental aspects of pitching, such as managing emotions and making adjustments to game situations.
However, Palacios didn’t advance enough to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster, and was sent back to the Pirates.
“We really wanted to keep him,” Brewers general manager Harry Dalton told The Pittsburgh Press. “We saw potential in him. We would have kept him if he were a little more poised, a little more mature.”
Ups and downs
The Pirates sent Palacios to their Class AAA Vancouver farm club in 1987 and he thrived under the guidance of pitching coach Jackie Brown, who altered his pitching mechanics. “When his mechanics got straightened out, he started feeling better about himself,” Pirates director of player development Buzzy Keller told the Post-Gazette.
Palacios was 13-5 for Vancouver and led the Pacific Coast League in ERA (2.58), shutouts (five), innings pitched (185) and strikeouts (148).
Called up to the Pirates in September 1987, Palacios made his debut at the Astrodome, working two scoreless innings (sixth and seventh) in relief of Mike Bielecki and matching zeroes with opposing pitcher Nolan Ryan. Boxscore
Four days later, Palacios made his first start and outdueled Rick Sutcliffe, holding the Cubs to one run in eight innings and getting the win. Boxscore
Based on that success, Palacios was in the Pirates’ plans, but then came more setbacks. He had shoulder surgery in 1988 and again in 1989.
His comeback bid in 1990 began with Class AAA Buffalo, where Terry Collins was the manager and Jackie Brown the pitching coach. Palacios made 28 starts for Buffalo and had a 13-7 record.
The Pirates, in the thick of the 1990 title chase in the National League East, brought him back to the majors on Sept. 5. Manager Jim Leyland used Palacios in relief and got rewarded. In seven appearances covering 15 innings, Palacios allowed no runs and earned three saves, including one against the Cardinals, and helped the Pirates become division champions. Boxscore
Because he joined them after Sept. 1, Palacios was not eligible for the playoffs.
Nonetheless, his career seemed to be on an upswing. With the Pirates in 1991, Palacios was used as both starter and reliever. Though he spent a month on the disabled list because of shoulder problems, he posted a 6-3 record, with three saves and a 3.75 ERA. In seven starts, including a shutout of the Expos, his ERA was 2.72. Boxscore
The Pirates repeated as division champions in 1991, but Palacios was left off the playoff roster because his season record against their foe, the Braves, was 0-3.
In 1992, Palacios won his first three decisions, but then his shoulder began to ache. He was placed on the disabled list in June, had his third surgery, missed the remainder of the season and was released. The Padres signed him, watched him at spring training in 1993 and released him. He returned to the Mexican League with the Yucatan Lions, who dealt him to the Aguascalientes Railroadmen.
“A lot of people think when you go to the Mexican League, you’re done,” Palacios told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Then when I got traded from (Yucatan), I was worried. I started thinking there’s something wrong.”
As he had before, though, Palacios soldiered on, earning 20 saves in the Mexican League in 1993 and pitching a no-hitter in the playoffs.
On Dec. 23, 1993, the Cardinals signed Palacios to a minor-league contract and invited him to spring training as a non-roster player.
No quit
Palacios won a spot on the Opening Day roster of the 1994 Cardinals as a reliever. “I’m very impressed with his stuff,” Cardinals pitching coach Joe Coleman told the Post-Dispatch. “The only question is his durability. He’s sneaky quick and throws that ball (from) out of his uniform. It’s tough to pick up. He’s got a fastball that rides in on their hands, and he’s got the forkball to go along with it.”
In the Cardinals’ season-opening win against the Reds at Cincinnati, Palacios played a key role, pitching two scoreless innings in relief of starter Bob Tewksbury. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh by striking out Reggie Sanders. Boxscore
After making nine relief appearances, Palacios was moved into the starting rotation on May 3 when two pitchers went on the disabled list. He lost seven of his first eight decisions, but received poor run support. The Cardinals averaged 1.1 runs per game in his seven losses as a starter.
Lacking better options _ the 1994 Cardinals would finish with a team ERA of 5.14 _ manager Joe Torre stuck with Palacios.
On July 18, the Cardinals blew an 11-0 lead and lost, 15-12, to the Astros at Houston. The next night, Palacios, with his 1-7 record, was given the start against the Astros’ Darryl Kile.
The Astros, managed by Terry Collins, had a lineup with two future Hall of Famers, Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio, plus Steve Finley and Luis Gonzalez, and would lead the league in RBI that season.
It looked to be a mismatch, and it turned out that way, too _ but not in favor of the Astros.
Palacios issued a walk to Bagwell in the first and gave up a leadoff single to eighth-place batter Andujar Cedeno in the third, then retired the last 21 batters in a row, completing a one-hit shutout in a 10-0 Cardinals triumph. Boxscore
“I kept the ball down, mixed my pitches and stayed ahead of the hitters,” Palacios said to the Associated Press, “and our guys made a lot of good plays behind me.”
He made two more starts, then returned to a relief role, as Torre tried to find plugs for a pitching staff leaking runs.
Palacios led the 1994 Cardinals pitching staff in strikeouts (95) and was second to Bob Tewksbury in innings pitched (117.2). His season record: 3-8, 4.44 ERA.
With the 1995 Cardinals, Palacios got raked (5.80 ERA and .300 batting average against) before he underwent his fourth shoulder surgery in July. “I’ve got to find a new shoulder,” Palacios said to the Post-Dispatch.
The Cardinals released him four months later.
Determined to keep pitching, Palacios eventually worked his way back to the Mexican League. In 1999, with Broncos de Reynosa, he made 43 relief appearances and was 5-2 with 10 saves and a 0.95 ERA.
The Padres, managed by Bruce Bochy, signed him and on April 20, 2000, five years after he pitched for the Cardinals, Palacios, 36, was back in a big-league game. His opponent: the Cardinals.
Pitching in relief of Brian Boehringer, Palacios faced 13 Cardinals batters and gave up six runs, including home runs to Eli Marrero and Rick Ankiel. Boxscore
He did better after that, allowing no runs in four of his next six relief appearances, but the Padres released him in August.
Once again, Palacios returned to the Mexican League and pitched there until 2003 when he turned 40.
RetroSimba 
As you said Mark, what perseverance! Stories like this one are so inspiring and a reminder to me that baseball isn’t all about money. Some players love the game above all else. Amazing that he had the innovation to invent his own pitch. One thing that stuck out to me was that he did so well when pitching coach Jackie Brown was with him. I would think this is the case with many pitchers. I remember reading somewhere that Jim Palmer thrived under Earl Weaver and that if Weaver wasn’t around, Palmer might not have performed as well. I think in Palmer’s situation it was more psychological, but still, it’s fascinating how one individual can impact another, both in baseball and life in general.
Jackie Brown indeed was a mentor to Vicente Palacios. Brown, a former pitcher with the Senators, Rangers, Indians and Expos, also coached at the big-league level with the Rangers (1979-83), White Sox (1992-95) and Rays (2002). Brown helped Palacios with more than his pitching. According to a Pittsburgh newspaper, Brown was one of the first to realize that the language barrier was a factor that needed to be addressed. When Palacios got to the Pirates, he was as thin as a broom straw, Brown said, and the club told him to gain weight. He did. Too much. Then the club told him to lose weight. Palacios was confused. It was Brown who realized that better and more effective communication was needed from the club in order to connect with Palacios.
I remember all the noise surrounding Vincent Palacios when he first came up. For many pitchers, one shoulder surgery is all that it takes to end their career. Vincent Palacios had multiple shoulder injuries and surgeries and continued pitching till he was nearly 40. Pretty darn impressive. It also proves that he wasn’t in it just for the money. He just wanted to continue doing what he loved most. Play baseball.
Yes, indeed, Phillip, Vicente Palacios remained dedicated to the game of baseball. According to baseball-reference.com, Palacios pitched a total of 13 seasons in the Mexican League. Overall, in majors, minors and Mexico, he pitched for 17 different professional teams, not counting winter ball. In 2017, he managed the Olmecas de Tabasco of the Mexican League, according to baseball-reference.
This is quite the story. I always think that I’d much rather read a book by a guy like this (journeyman) than someone like Nolan Ryan. The superstar books are always boring as hell. To be honest, I’d rather get a root canal than ever read another baseball autobiography.
A witty, smart, insightful book about life in the Mexican League over the years would be a heck of a read. You would be a good candidate to write it, Gary.
I second that idea!
So many teams! This poor guy had to wake up wonder what city he was in. And yet he had his moments that might have made all the moves and all the surgeries seem worth it.
Yes, indeed. His story helps to remind me that life seldom is a smooth journey and to try to keep on keeping on when it hits a rough patch.