Retirement

If you’re looking for a baseball book that will keep you entertained until Opening Day, check out Dirk Hayhurst’s The Bullpen Gospels: Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran.  The book details Hayhurst’s 2007 season at three different levels of the minors.  He describes long bus rides, living with host families, Kangaroo Court, and battling the urge to give up on a dream.  It’s an honest story about the arduous journey it takes so many ballplayers to reach their ultimate goal, knowing they may never achieve it.

Continue reading "A baseball read to hold you over until Opening Day"

Following Andy Pettitte’s retirement announcement last week, the New York Yankees are left with a big hole in their starting rotation.  CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and A.J. Burnett are the team’s top three starters, while the last two spots are up for grabs.  Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre are options for Joe Girardi, but their limited experience in The Show may hurt their chances, as the Bronx Bombers tend to go with more established pitchers.  That leaves Freddy García (35) and Bartolo Colón (37), both of whom will try to prove they are not washed-up.

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Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas officially announced their retirements this week, ending speculation that either one would attempt a comeback in 2010 after not appearing in a big league game last season.  Glavine was a great finesse pitcher of his generation, and Thomas was a premiere slugger of the nineties.

Continue reading "Two more great careers reach the end of the line"

Big news from the Big Unit: 46-year-old Randy Johnson announced his retirement, concluding his career with a record of 303-166, a 3.29 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.  His five Cy Young Awards – one with the Mariners and four in a row with the Diamondbacks – rank him behind only Roger Clemens, and his 4,875 career strikeouts are second only to Nolan Ryan.  He was a 10-time All-Star, starting the Midsummer Classic four times – twice for each league. Johnson made history in 2004 when he became the oldest player – at 40 – to throw a perfect game.

Continue reading "The Big Unit hangs ‘em up"

Braves manager Bobby Cox announced this week his plans to retire after the 2010 season and to immediately take on a consulting role with the team.  Cox has won 2,409 games as a manager and is fourth all-time in the category, behind only Connie Mack (3,731), John McGraw (2,763) and current Cardinals manager Tony La Russa (2,550).  Cox has five pennants and one World Series title to his name, and won the Manager of the Year award four times.  Under his leadership, the Braves have won 100 games six times.  The next manager of the Atlanta Braves will have big shoes to fill.

Continue reading "Bobby Cox has one more season in him"

Mike Mussina announced his retirement this week.  While I’m glad he won’t be a Yankee anymore, I can’t say I’m happy to hear the news.

Mussina hasn’t been a member of the Orioles in eight years, but he was the team’s pitching staff in the 1990’s.  He became the staff ace as soon as he arrived, and won 147 games during his nine and a half seasons with the team.  He broke my heart when he left to sign with the Evil Empire, but the Birds had a bad habit of not scoring enough runs for their #1 pitcher and it was hard to blame him for leaving for greener pastures.

Continue reading "Say it ain’t so, Moose"

Mike Piazza announced his retirement on Tuesday, concluding a 16-year major-league career that includes 2,127 hits, a .308 batting average, 427 home runs, 1,335 RBI’s, 12 All-Star teams and one All-Star Game MVP, 10 Silver Slugger awards, a Rookie of the Year award, and one trip to the World Series during which he slugged two homers in the Mets’ five-game series loss to the Yankees.  Though he was known almost exclusively for his offense, Piazza actually caught two no-hitters, including the only one thrown at Coors Field in the thin Colorado air.

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Why does All-Star balloting begin before the first month of baseball is over?  The All-Star Game is not until the third week of July, so what reason is there to let fans vote when the only stats they can see represent well under a third of the season’s pre-All-Star-break half?  This practice not only helps popular but undeserving players get elected, it also leads to important inaccuracies.

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After 17 years as the Green Bay Packers quarterback, the legendary and future hall of famer 3 time MVP Brett Favre is set to retire.

"I know I can still play, but it's like I told my wife, I'm just tired mentally. I'm just tired," Favre, a three-time NFL MVP, told ESPN's Chris Mortensen in a voice mail message.

Continue reading ""Iron Man" Set to Retire"