Hello they must be going - Retirements in 2015

[seawolf17]

Mets Guy in Michigan wrote: Maybe an AL team would want him for the box office draw that the march to 3,000 would be. I think AL because he can DH. Maybe a return to Seattle? What about a dreadful team, like the Astros, who I keep forgetting are in the AL now.

Yes, this. I think he'll get a deal with an option or something along those lines.

[Frayed Knot]

Except for Seattle, I can't see him as being much of an attendance draw.
Plus, even if some fan base does embrace his chase to 3K as an act to follow despite his having no history with their franchise for 2,850 of them, I don't see him earning enough PT get to the 3K mark in just one season.

I suspect he'll latch on somewhere, but I doubt it'll be as a full-time player.

[Guest sharpie]

Josh Willilngham hangs it up.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11930503/outfielder-josh-willingham-retiring-baseball-11-year-major-league-career

[G-Fafif]

Willingham shares a distinction with Joe Torre, Glenn Beckert, Chico Walker, Lance Parrish, Dmitri Young and Keith Lockhart -- made the last out of a Mets postseason-berth clincher.

[Edgy MD]

Frayed Knot wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Itchy is a counter, and no doubt would love to somehow chalk up the final 156 hits to get to 3,000 stateside. But with who? Colorady? Arizona? Toronto? Would the Padres pay tribute to Tony Gwynn by signing the Tony Gwynn of Japan as their Outfielder Emeritus? He'll almost certainly need two seasons to get those 156 more hits (that's 50% more than he got in 2014) and at this point he's a singles hitter who doesn't run or play defense as well as he used to. I'm not so sure he'll get a deal for next year much less for two.

Buzz is a-buzzin' about Ichiro possibly getting a two-year offer from Miami.

[Edgy MD]

Dunn, Konerko, and Soriano make it three 400+ HR guys retiring in the same off-season. Bet that's a first. I think I'll take that bet. But... I won't take it when Giambi jumps on board the bye-bye bandwagon and makes it four. Damn, nobody laying their money down. Finishing Up in 2012 Jim Thome: 612 HR Chipper Jones: 468 HR His brother Andruw: 434 HR

Bam, Jason Giambi turns in his cleats, about five years later than expected. 440 homers.

Retires as the active walk leader, a mantle that now falls to A-Rod.

[Frayed Knot]

Andruw, btw, is NOT officially retired (has been playing in Japan the last two years) and has been talking to MLB teams this winter about a stateside job.
If he lands one he'll still be only 38 y/o on Opening Day.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Hated it the minute it was made!

[Edgy MD]

I'll need clarification on that one.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Well the evidence isn't too strong. Looks like I was trying to convince myself we stole away a few better bets than we gave away, indicating to me I felt like the deal worked if Jeremy Reed was better than Endy Chavez and Sean Greene better than Joe Smith. I was wrong on all of that.

[Edgy MD]

I just wasn't clear on what your post was in response to regarding the thread of the thread.

Now I see you were picking up on the Putz trade discussed at the bottom of page one.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

d'oh. Damn Putz trade. And while we're at it, eff Sean Green.

[Frayed Knot]

I'm not dead yet!! -- Barry Zito, last pitched in MLB in 2013, inks a minor league deal back where it all started for him with Oakland.

[G-Fafif]

Don't know that it wasn't all but official given his MLB absence in 2014, but Juan Pierre has made retirement official.

And while I was typing that, he just stole second and took third on Thole's throw.

[Edgy MD]

John Buck, going .320 / .452 / .600 // 1.052, apparently got the word from the team that he nonetheless wasn't going north, and announces his retirement.

I guess one small and shameful part of me was hoping he'd catch on with Florida and give one more vicious pie-ing to Jordany Valdespin.

[Guest d'Kong76]

I don't remember the pie-face thing, but it doesn't
look terribly playful.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

That was like an assault. I'm surprised Jordany's nose didn't break.

And, Buck.

Worthless from about May 15th till the end of the year.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

d'Kong76 wrote: I don't remember the pie-face thing, but it doesn't look terribly playful.

Hell, give or take an Opening Day grand slam, Lagares catch or Byrd walkoff, that may be the ONLY thing I remember about that season.

OE: Apologies, Matt Harvey and the All-Star Game.

[Edgy MD]

Remember it? Hell, I still feel it. I think Jordanny would have went after him but he was too stunned. His English was hard to decipher in that interview before the pie-ing. Afterward, it was little more than gibberish.