By Rich Dubroff
SARASOTA, Fla. — Jim Palmer has had a full and rich life.
The best pitcher in Baltimore Orioles history, Palmer was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990 and for years has been an insightful broadcaster for the team’s games.
Palmer has openly talked about being adopted, and because he adored his adoptive parents, he never felt the need to find out where he came from.
“People would say, ‘Wouldn’t you like to know who your parents are?’ or ‘Would you like to have met them?'” Palmer said. “I lucked out. I won the lottery as far as being adopted.”
He didn’t think much about his background until last October when his wife, Susan, convinced the now 72-year-old that he should investigate where he came from. Through Ancestry.com, Palmer found out about his birth family and has recently met some new relatives.
In two recent tweets, Palmer wrote about meeting some of his family and posted two funny videos of his first cousin, Pat Moroney.
Moroney, a Dodgers fan, happened to be a Palmer fan, too.
“When Jim Palmer was pitching in Yankee Stadium, that stadium was completely full, and half of the people weren’t Yankee fans. They were Jim Palmer fans,” Moroney said in the video. “Half of them wanted to see the Yankees get beat … and there was a good chance if Palmer was pitching.”
Palmer reminded his new-found cousin that he had more wins against the Yankees than any other team.
Palmer was initially skeptical about Ancestry.com, but with his wife’s encouragement, he took a shot and said “it’s been an intriguing little journey.”
Palmer has found out he’s 95 percent Irish and his father’s name was Geheran.
Many years ago, Palmer was on a syndicated television show hosted by Sally Jessy Raphael. He met other noted people who were adopted, including Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas and broadcast journalist Faith Daniels. He learned an important lesson from being a part of that program.
“It’s not about your biological parents,” Palmer said. “It’s about your real parents. Whether you’re adopted, whether you’re a foster kid, whether you’re just a biological kid, what kind of relationship do you have with your mom, your dad and your family? It kind of really got me in touch with that. I was always blessed in that sense.”
Photo Credit: Mitch Stringer/PressBox