Dean William Palmer (born December 27, 1968) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who had a 14-year career from 1989 to 2003. He played for the Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers, all of the American League. In 1991, Palmer won the American Association home run title with 22 HRs despite only playing in 60 games. In 1992 Palmer became the first Texas ballplayer to ever homer in the first three games of a season, a feat that was matched in 2011 by Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz. Palmer now is the assistant coach at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee.