Why Did They Retire?

Comparable, to a degree, to yesterday's signing of Santana; one guy took the money, one walked away.

Yeah, I think the market for older DH-types just collapsed. Hideki Matsui was also 35 in 2009, MVP of the WS, nothing but solid years for the Yankees, and there wasn't much of a market for him. Went from making 13M/yr on a multi-year deal to 6M on a one year deal.

here's a guy i just remembered as a ChiSox stalwart, and glancing at his BR page it was wild how great his final season was.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/burnsbr01.shtml

the "why" however was a degenerative hip condition.

also: led the AL in bWAR as a rookie, and finished fifth in the ROY vote.

Not really a why-did-they-retire? candidate, more like a why-did-they-disappear? mystery. Rookie card that showed up on my FB wall:

https://i.postimg.cc/kXf19cgK/reggie.jpg

Madlock's the biggest star, so not a valuable card. But I noticed the bottom right corner: "There was another Reggie Sanders?"

Looked him up. Drafted in the 2nd round in '68, finally got some time in in '74 and played pretty well: 100 AB, .273/.308/.434. Ten percent better than league average, something to build on--and the Tigers were terrible at the time. (Also: hit a HR off Catfish Hunter in his first AB.)

That was it, the entirety of his MLB career. Wikipedia: "He was dealt from the Tigers to the Atlanta Braves for Jack Pierce in an exchange of minor-league first basemen on March 30, 1975. He was selected by the Chicago White Sox from the Braves in the Rule 5 draft on December 5, 1977." But he never had another AB in the majors. He did kick around the minors, and in '77 had a huge year for Durango in the Mexican League (AAA): .320, 28 HR, 119 RBI.

His Wikipedia page gives no explanation.

Shane Mack?

I came across something I wrote in a fanzine in the early '90s about him being underrated, so I looked him up on Baseball Reference.

His career starts slow in San Diego, then flourishes for the next five years in Minnesota. From 1990-94: .309/.375/.479, 130 OPS+, 5.3 WAR per 650 PA. Goes to Japan and has two good years, then comes back and has a good half-season in Boston (.315/.368/.438). Signs with the A's, is immediately traded to Kansas City, and has another good half-season (.280/.345/.449). They let him walk, he signs with San Diego, then retires without ever playing a game. He was 35.

Rusty Greer...Looking at answers for today's grid, the most games played by a Rangers-only player are Greer's 1,027. He was good! 100 RBI three times, .305/.387/.478 for his career, never hit under .270. Retired at 33. So I looked at his Wikipedia page: "Greer's aggressive style of play took a severe toll on his body, and he spent the remainder of his baseball career (i.e., after signing a big contract in 2002) undergoing and recovering from surgeries." He had two non-roster offers before the 2005 season but walked away.