ARLINGTON, Texas – Former Texas Rangers slugger Rafael Palmeiro said Friday that Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds should be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Both Clemens and Bonds will be eligible for the first time starting in 2013.

“You’re talking about, in my opinion, probably the best pitcher of all-time and the greatest player of all-time,” Palmeiro said. “Keep them out and then the Hall of Fame has no credibility.”

Palmeiro, who was suspended 10 games by Major League Baseball in 2005 after testing positive for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid, said he’s proud of his career and how he played, even if he’s denied a spot in the Hall of Fame.

Palmeiro was voted on just 11 percent of the ballots in his first attempt at the Hall of Fame in 2011. He received 12.6 percent in 2012, well short of the 75 percent needed from voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America to make it in. And he seems to understand it’s unlikely he’ll get enough votes to make it to Cooperstown.

“I put that behind me already,” said Palmeiro, who was in Arlington after being voted by the fans as one of the greatest Rangers of all-time as part of the club’s 40th anniversary celebration. “I know what kind of career I had. I’m good with it. I can look at myself in the mirror and feel good and proud of what I accomplished. The Hall of Fame would be icing on the cake, but if it doesn’t happen, I’m fine with it. I will accept that and move on and live with it.”

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