rolling retirees: 2018 and beyond

daniel bard has had enough

Bard would appear in just 13 innings over that four-year span, allowing 35 earned runs while walking 46 and hitting 16 batters. Yet he continued to motor on, trying anything and everything to get back to the big leagues.

https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2018/1/4/16797700/daniel-bard-retirement

I remember seeing him at NYY in a late sept/early october game when we first came up and the air went out of the stadium when his name was announced.

rolling unretirees

Good to be back in the cage again. The comeback is real. pic.twitter.com/uA8FMjyTjv

— Rafael Palmeiro (@Rafael_Palmeiro) January 5, 2018

former pirate great justin morneau

https://www.twincities.com/2018/01/08/report-justin-morneau-set-to-retire-rejoin-twins-as-special-assistant

minnesota native and 12-year twin glen perkins

mark appel, the top pick in the 2013 draft

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2757009-why-mark-appel-perhaps-the-biggest-bust-in-mlb-history-is-retiring-at-26

backup catcher eric fryer

xp long way down from the #1 pick

He's excited to play Settlers of Catan or one of his 30 other board games with John, with whom he shares a one-floor home

Ex-A’s ace Jarrod Parker tells the @sfchronicle he is officially retiring; a look at his life after promising career derailed by injuries: https://t.co/SFb6gVc6K7 via @sfchronicle

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) February 13, 2018

2009 AL ROY Andrew Bailey

former mets great mike pelfrey

12 seasons, 68-103, 4.68 ERA, 1.510 WHIP, 4.8 bWAR, $41m in salary

nice work if you can get it

about all you can say is that he didn't give up many homers

stephen drew

wes wilson, a backup catcher who hit .207/.260/.259 in 226 games over seven seasons in the yankee system

hadn’t really thought about it, but i guess matt holliday is probably done. good career; too bad he pulled a mantle and slipped under .300

batting average, feh

Aaron Laffey retired after Wednesday night's game. He had an 18.00 ERA in three starts with the 51s.

— Betsy Helfand (@betsyhelfand) June 7, 2018

MLB career K/9: 4.5

1,262,200 in career earnings if fangraphs is right

After suffering two concussions in the last eight months while playing in the Detroit Tigers organization, Blaise Salter has voluntarily retired from professional baseball because he fears the long-term risks that could come from brain injuries.

He’s afraid of ending up like his grandfather, Tigers great Bill Freehan, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Salter's only 24 years old.

While this close, loving family is fiercely private and sensitive about Freehan’s condition, Salter acknowledges his grandfather’s condition played a direct role in his decision.

“We are so close,” Salter said. “Seeing him the way his health has been, it’s definitely been an eye opener for me. I saw it firsthand how concussions have affected his life. Obviously, he had way more than I did, with the lack of equipment back in the day. To see that, I really thought about my life. I wanted to do anything I could, to prevent that from happening.”

There is evidence linking brain injuries to a higher risk of developing brain conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

It is not clear how many concussions Freehan suffered during his 15-year Tigers' career, but his family suspects concussions played a role in his condition.

And it was enough for Salter to walk away from baseball.

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/columnists/jeff-seidel/2018/06/07/detroit-tigers-bill-freehan-alzheimers-blaise-salter/682734002/

http://larrybrownsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Jayson-Werth-hairy-bobblehead.jpg

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23927548/jayson-werth-says-done-playing-pro-baseball

presumably Chase Utley

https://sports.yahoo.com/chase-utley-hold-press-conference-171946434.html

the first overall pick in the 2006 draft, luke hochevar

not a great career, but at least better than mark appel's

i don't know much about him, but why did the royals push him through their minor league system so quickly despite him never putting up good numbers?

there was some weird shit surrounding his drafting -- dodgers took him in the first round in '05, he agreed to sign then changed his mind, then played indy ball in early '06. he didn't sign with the royals until he was almost 23. high-end college pitchers are *supposed* to move quickly, and he made his big league debut a week short of turning 24, but . . . yeah i dunno. probably some combination of the royals being terrible at player development + the fact that hochevar insisted on an MLB contract and was therefore already on the 40-man roster

sometimes when a guy like that retires i like to see how much money he raked in for his career.

answer: just shy of 25 million

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24380190/brandon-mccarthy-atlanta-braves-retire-end-season

ryan howard

Had no idea he wasn't already retired.

maybe he was hoping to pull a matt holliday but no one called

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dm_RhIrU4AAMM3k.jpg:small

They said it could never be done

a 6.66 K/9 would have been the icing on the cake but I shouldn’t quibble

david wright, after one final home series

Online prices for his presumed last start on 9/29 have skyrocketed in the last few minutes. (I already am going to the NY Film Festival that night.)

actually, not technically retiring but being medically sidelined a la prince fielder

Gulp.

https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2018/09/victor_martinez_retirement_1.html

reliever brad ziegler

a little surprising as he was still doing alright and getting saves this year.

Ike Davis has retired https://t.co/ciETMhLWTd

— HardballTalk (@HardballTalk) November 6, 2018

noted former pirate

Joe Mauer

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25228494/joe-mauer-retire-15-seasons-minnesota-twins

Utley.

At one point I would have thought both those guys were headed for the hall.

they still might be

It's really too bad that the Twins never won anything with Mauer, they had some good teams but seemed to choke against the Yankees every year. Even with all his injuries he had a hell of a career.

our beloved adrian beltre

:( :( :(

nooooooo

bartolo : is now the last active* player who played in the majors in the 20th century

huh.

(fWAR = 9.1)

no doubt

David Ortiz comes to mind too: 5.2 bWAR, 4.5 fWAR.

not really much of a position player, though (ba-dum-dum)

He had a very definite position.

https://fansided.com/files/2013/10/7758640-590x401.jpg

yeah iirc the (now discredited) list had ortiz like fifth and clemente around 10

I think the main thing Posey offers is balance. He hit for high average, got on base at a high clip, had more pop than other high OBP guys, was a plus defender, a plus-plus framer. It doesn't look that sexy on the page.

Munson is an interesting comparison I think because he never even came close to getting voted in, yet Posey's stats aren't that much better than his. Not because Munson is obviously his peer or obviously better than him. But if you're arguing that Posey is a sure thing, it's interesting that Munson wasn't.

i think back when Munson was eligible voters cared a lot more about accumulated stats than now. he plays through his decline years and reaches like, 2,500 hits and 200 home runs – he's probably getting in.

They're also both comparable to Kirby Puckett--not positionally, obviously, but in other ways: abbreviated career, very popular (before the world knew about the awful things Puckett was doing...I remember Munson being kind of a lovable grump), key position on more than one World Series winner, team leader. Puckett also almost won a ROY (3rd) and almost won an MVP (2nd). Puckett's career bWAR was a little better than the other two (51.2), but his HOF case was also the subject of some debate. Puckett got in first try, Munson drew less than 10%. Not sure why.

Bill James answered an e-mail about Posey today: "I thought Mauer was an obvious Hall of Famer. I don't know that I ever really studied it; I just thought it was obvious. Molina, in my mind, crossed the Hall of Fame threshold this season, 2021; I thought it was debatable whether he was a Hall of Famer or not until this season, but I thought that this season settled the issue.

Posey I think is in the gray area, and I guess I will need to think about it for a year or so before I reach any clear opinion about it, or maybe I never will. He's not an obvious Hall of Famer. And Munson I don't think is a legitimate Hall of Fame candidate, and I don't believe he has any business being in the Hall of Fame discussion."

Typically perverse.

(xpost) Very true. It's probably as simple as that.

There was also, I think, if you look at Munson's last two seasons, the perception that decline was underway.

In 2019, the Modern Era committee didn't come close to voting Munson in, although he *was* on the (bottom of the) list of ten guys they considered. But I think that shows it's not just about the preferences of 1980s voters.

I'm back to not getting it, then. Sabremetrically, he does well (5.2 bWAR/162 games), and at the time, he was admired and famous (ranked higher among catchers than Fisk and Simmons, I think--after Bench--though maybe I'm not remembering that right).

For what it's worth: Munson started the AS game in '74/75/76, Fisk started in '73/77/78. So I guess they were perceived--at least among the fans who voted--as equals.

It's wild to look at the damage Fisk did as an old guy. And he was still playing 100 games at catcher at age 43.

James got some follow-up on his Munson dismissal today. I know I've posted about this a few times already...The e-mail is polite and carefully laid out, even pointing out that James himself once ranked Munson as the 7th greatest catcher ever in peak value. James's response kind of amazes me.

Of Munson, you say: "I don' t think he is a legitimate Hall of Fame candidate, and I don't believe he has any business being in the Hall of Fame discussion." I'm a bit baffled by this (and no, I'm not, and have never been, a Yankee fan). Looking objectively, he's 15th among C's in WAR, 12th in Jay Jaffe's JAWS system (which is focused on HOF worthiness). 200+ win shares in a career tragically cut short. A ROY, an MVP, 7 time All Star, got MVP votes in 7 seasons. Hit .357 in 30 playoff games. Was the Captain of a legendary team. In your historical Abstract you have him 7th in peak value as of that time.

Given the above, maybe not a HOF'er but not even "in the discussion" seems very harsh. Can you elaborate? If not, I'm just curious, do you make any allowances for the career cut short by a plane crash or do you think that's not relevant?
Asked by: Steve

Answered: 11/6/2021
No disrespect, but I don't think I am obligated to use the same value systems that other people use.

James' career value is dropping like a rock.

Stupid reader, why would anyone think win shares are a value system Bill James would use? I mean, sure, James invented them and framed the Abstract entirely around them...

No QO to Kershaw. Is he hanging em up?$

Yet more Posey-Munson stuff from David Schoenfield (who also compares Posey to Puckett):

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/32545582/where-buster-posey-stands-all-great-catchers

How bad is Kershaw's health? (I guess not making a qualifying offer maybe answers that.) Have to believe someone will take a chance on him. If that is it, the Koufax parallels never end...

the reddit brain trust seemed to think there's decent odds of him having a multi-year deal soon – but i dunno why you wouldn't still offer up a QO.

Because the org knows he doesnt want to leave

I think Dave Fleming dug up an even better point of comparison for Posey than Munson: Mickey Cochrane.

https://www.billjamesonline.com/the_ballad_of_buster_posey/

Really enjoyed that, thanks for sharing

*not* qualifying kershaw did him a favor, i suspect (other than that it's vaguely insulting)

-if healthy, he *might* be worth $18.4M for one year on the free agent market, but it's questionable, as is his arm
-could be wrong, but i doubt he needs the money
-so i assume he wants years
-had he been qualified, other teams would have had to give up a top draft pick to sign an aging unhealthy pitcher
-now he can sign a lengthier, lower-per-year deal with anyone, with no penalties
-if he really wants to stay with the dodgers, he -- unlike, say, greinke -- will totally take a lesser offer as long as it has the years

otoh god only knows what free agent compensation will be like after rob manfred destroys baseball

Joakim Soria

for some reason i have always thought Soria was 35 and on the brink of retirement. since like 2010. i have no idea why. but he's 37 now, and now retired.

dude had a hell of a career for a reliever.

https://theathletic.com/news/royals-reliever-wade-davis-retires-leaves-as-world-series-champ-and-3-time-all-star/C50bQGC2cmTc/

Dominant in 2014-15: 139.1 IP, 0.97 ERA, 71 hits, 7.3 bWAR.

i wonder what his career would have been like if he'd been used as a reliever from the get-go.

Mysterious Fish, the greatest Japanese baseball mascot of all-time, just announced his retirement. RIP to a legend. cc: @mondomascots https://t.co/zkMRgWcoW5 pic.twitter.com/l0bVn8jAFx

— Eric Casey (@EricCasey) December 5, 2021

andrew romine, who put up 0.6 bWAR over parts of 11 seasons

That’s a type of accomplishment I guess.

as mark twain wrote, you have to be kind of good to suck badly that bad for that long

on the bright side, he's the best player in his family. brother austin is at -0.5 over parts of 10 seasons and their dad kevin was -1.4 over parts of seven

i wonder if they like to talk WAR around the kitchen table during the holidays

kyle seager, age 34

wow, what? wasn't expecting that.

three-time detroit tiger cameron maybin

jon lester

melky cabrera

Travis Snider, who last played in MLB in 2015.

top-10 prospect in 2008-9; career bWAR of 4.3. solid season with the pirates in 2014 tho!

The guy was an absolute beast in the minor. Vlad-like stats and then totally crumbled in the majors. Probably the biggest bust in jays history?

People sometimes ask me.. What is it like to play "Pro Baseball"?

Retirement has brought up a lot of different emotions and memories for me. It's given space to think.

16 seasons in professional baseball. Here is a thread on where it has taken me..

— Travis Snider (@Lunchboxhero45) January 15, 2022

I have felt on top of the world. I have felt all alone.

This fucking sport, amirite?

francisco liriano, 38

at three years and $39m, he was the recipient of what is still the pittsburgh pirates’ largest-ever free agent deal; a year and a half into it they had to give the blue jays two prospects just to take him off their hands

One of those prospects, Reese McGuire, was pretty great his first two seasons/150 AB; nothing since, although still with the Jays.

and better known for something else

Parking lot? I'd forgotten!