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FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) – Texas Rangers first baseman Rafael Palmeiro had surgery Sunday to repair torn cartilage in his right knee and will be sidelined 4-to-6 weeks.
Palmeiro, who played with the Rangers from 1989-93 before re-signing as a free agent during the offseason, also had surgery on the knee on Feb. 10.
He was working out with the club and had been expected to return by the end of the week, but reinjured his knee while jogging Thursday. Dr. John Conway operated on the knee Sunday at Fort Worth, Texas.
Palmeiro, 34, has appeared in 1,368 games in the ’90s, second to Cal Ripken Jr. He has not missed more than three games in a season since 1990.
Texas said there is an outside chance he could be ready for opening day.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) — Texas Rangers first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, who signed a five-year, $45 million contract with the club during the offseason, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee today and is expected to be sidelined 4-to-6 weeks.
Rangers orthopedist Dr. John Conway removed torn medial miniscus cartilage from Palmeiro’s knee. He is expected to remain in Texas for several days to begin rehab before returning to the Rangers’ spring training camp in Port Charlotte, Florida at the end of the week.
Palmeiro underwent surgery on the knee on February 10, but experience soreness while jogging in Port Charlotte on Thursday. After an MRI revealed torn cartilage, Palmeiro was forced to undergo another arthroscopic procedure. He had not appeared in a spring game.
The 34-year-old Palmeiro spent five seasons with the Rangers before the club opted to sign Will Clark as a free agent prior to the 1994 season. Ironically, Palmeiro’s return to Texas prompted the Orioles to sign Clark as their first baseman for the upcoming season.
Palmeiro batted .296 and established career highs with 43 home runs and 121 RBI with Baltimore last season. For his career, Palmeiro has 314 homers and 1,079 RBI.
Palmeiro has been one of the steadiest players this decade. Only four players have more hits and he is in the top 10 in doubles and runs scored. Only Orioles iron man Cal Ripken has played more games in the 1990s than Palmeiro.
In five years with the Orioles, Palmeiro led the club in RBI five times and homers four times. He is the only player in Baltimore history to hit at least 30 home runs in four straight seasons. He also is the only Oriole to record at least 35 home runs on four occasions.
A solid defensive player, Palmeiro has won consecutive Gold Glove Awards. He is a career .294 hitter with 314 homers and 1,079 RBI in 1,782 games.
In 19 playoff games, the Cuban-born Palmeiro has batted .239 with four homers, eight RBI and 22 strikeouts.

“RANGERS/STARS REPORT” TELEVISION SHOW TO DEBUT SATURDAY
FOR RELEASE: 11:00 a.m. (CST), Friday, March 5, 1999
The “Rangers/Stars Report,” a 30-minute broadcast television program featuring highlights and in-depth profiles of both the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars, will debut this Saturday, March 6 at 10:30 a.m. on KXTX–Channel 39.
Rangers’ telecaster LIN Productions, a subsidiary of Southwest Sports Group, Inc., will produce the weekly program. NBC-5 Weekend Sports Anchor John Rhadigan will serve as the show’s host.
“We’re excited to be a part of a synergy between the Southwest Sports Group, LIN Productions, the Dallas Stars, the Texas Rangers and KXTX-Channel 39,” said Lee Spieckerman, President of LIN Productions and Executive Producer of the “Rangers/Stars Report.” “This is the first program of its kind to take a behind-the-scenes look at two local sports teams on a weekly basis.”
In addition to airing on KXTX-39, the show will make its premiere on NBC-5 on March 20 at 5 p.m. The show will then run every Saturday, once at 10 a.m. on KXTX-39 and then at 5 p.m. on NBC-5. The “Rangers/Stars Report” will air at 10 a.m. on March 13 on KXTX-39.
The show will highlight new feature material each week, ranging from team road trips to community involvement from both the Rangers and Stars to a behind-the-scenes look at the personalities of each teams’ players.
“We have a rare group of athletes between these two teams that have a lot of fun on and off the field and ice,” Spieckerman said. “We’re going to capture that fun in a way that no other program has done, while providing glimpses of players, families and teams that can’t be found on any local sportscast.”
Contributing reporters to the “Rangers/Stars Report” include Craig Miller, from KTCK radio and “39 On Deck”, Ginger Geoffery, who joins the show from KUSA-TV in Denver, and the broadcast teams of Ralph Strangis and Daryl Reaugh from the Dallas Stars Hockey Network and Bill Jones and Tom Grieve from the Texas Rangers telecasts. Bob Schmelzle serves as the show’s producer.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) — Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams informed the Texas Rangers today that he does not intend to play baseball in 1999.
After receiving a letter from Williams stating his intention to concentrate on a career as a running back in the NFL, the Rangers decided to place the outfielder on the restricted list. As a result, Williams will not count against the major league roster and will remain the property of the Rangers.
Williams, the all-time leading rusher in Division I-A history with 6,279 yards, figures to be one of the top players selected in the NFL draft in April.
The 21-year-old Williams has never played above Class A and has not had more than 266 at-bats in any minor-league season. He batted .204 and averaged a strikeout nearly every three at-bats through his first three seasons before batting .283 (15-for-53) last season at Batavia of the Class A New York-Penn League.
Williams originally was an eighth-round pick of the Phillies in 1995. He was not on Philadelphia’s 40-man roster and the Expos paid $50,000 to pluck Williams in the Rule 5 draft on December 14. The next day he was sold to Texas.
As a senior, he ran 2,124 yards and 27 touchdowns and finished his career with 20 NCAA and 44 school records.

PORT CHARLOTTE, FLORIDA (TICKER) — The Texas Rangers today agreed to terms with Danny Patterson on a one-year deal and renewed the contract of fellow righthanded reliever Alan Levine. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Patterson was one of closer John Wetteland’s most reliable setup men last season, going 2-5 with two saves and a 4.45 ERA in 56 games. He allowed 64 hits in 60 2/3 innings with 19 walks and 33 strikeouts.
The 28-year-old Patterson, who was paid $208,000 last year, will be eligible for arbitration after the 1999 season. He is 12-11 with three saves in 117 major league appearances.
Levine was 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 30 games with the Rangers last year, also appearing in 12 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City. He was picked up by Texas after being designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox on January 15, 1998.