BASEBALL REPORT : SPRING TRAINING UPDATE : Palmer, 45, Has Problems in First Game of Comeback

Jim Palmer, trying to revive his career at age 45, looked like a batting practice pitcher in his spring training debut for Baltimore.

With a fastball barely reaching 75 m.p.h., he struggled for two innings against the Boston Red Sox, giving up two runs on five hits, a walk and a balk.

“I was disappointed,” Palmer said. “I expected more from myself. I would like to have done better. But I think it would be premature to quit now. If I did, I still wouldn’t know if I could do it.”

Palmer put only 19 of his 38 pitches over the plate, and the ones that were strikes were hit hard. Boston batters swung 15 times and missed only once. That was by 21-year-old Phil Plantier, who singled sharply on the next pitch.

Palmer also injured his right hamstring.

“I felt something pop,” he said. “It felt like Rice Krispies. It’s going to inhibit me. I’m not worried about the performance as much as I am about being able to perform.”

Palmer, who retired in 1984, is trying to become the first Hall of Famer to resume playing.