With the 2015 regular season ending, we might have seen the final appearances of several longtime players. Some might end up in the Hall of Fame conversation down the line, some not, but all will be remembered as they head off to their post-baseball lives. Some of these players have declared they are retiring and others seem likely to do so. Here’s a look at some of these players we have cheered or jeered- sometimes both at the same time. In this article, we bid A Fond Farewell to Retiring Players.
A Fond Farewell to Retiring Players
Jeremy Affeldt
Affeldt just announced that this season, his 14th, would be his last. He debuted with the Royals in 2002, and four years later he became exclusively a relief pitcher when he joined the Rockies. He also spent a year with the Reds before going to the Giants, and that’s where he will be remembered. A key part of three Giants World Series winners, Affeldt pitched in 11 postseason series in his career (including 2007 with the Rockies in their lone pennant-winning year). In 31 innings under the bright postseason lights, he had a 0.86 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP. He is 3rd all-time in postseason ERA, a hair better than Babe Ruth (minimum 30 innings pitched).
A.J. Burnett
He debuted as a 22-year-old prospect with the Marlins in 1999, and generally carried a reputation for combining terrific pitching ability with a tendency to unravel on the mound. He once pitched a no-hitter with the Marlins while giving up nine walks. One of many talented players to flee the Marlins over the years, he landed with the Blue Jays. Burnett had 38 Wins in three seasons there, and then he opted out of his contract to sign an even bigger deal with the Yankees. He won the 2009 World Series with them (his sparkling turn in Game 2 is a career highlight), but his fondness for falling apart as soon as there was any pressure got Yankees fans and probably management disgusted until he was sent to the Pirates. He excelled there, and then spent one horrendous (and hernia-affected) season with the Phillies before returning to the Pirates. He made the All-Star team for the first time in 2015 but then was injured for much of the 2nd half. He’s 164-156 for his career with a fairly high 1.33 WHIP. He won a career-high 18 games with the Blue Jays and lost 18 with the Phillies. On any given night, he could be spectacular.
LaTroy Hawkins
He made his debut with the Twins in 1995, where his teammates included Kirby Puckett and Rick Aguilera. He was a closer for some teams and a middle reliever for some others, playing for 12 teams overall. A mid-season trade this year saw him go to the Blue Jays. He’s a survivor. Hawkins was cut by the Yankees in 2008, and seven years later he became the oldest Blue Jay to record a Save. He’s also one of 13 pitchers to get a save against all thirty teams.
Tim Hudson
One of the Athletics vaunted Big 3 of the early 2000’s (along with Barry Zito and Mark Mulder), he went on to many good years with the Braves before spending his final two seasons with the Giants (and winning a World Series ring in 2014). He will retire with 222 Wins and 163 Losses for a cool .625 winning percentage, and had more wins than losses in every season from 1999-2013. One of the game’s top pitchers for a good decade, he has more than 2,000 strikeouts to his credit. He had Tommy John surgery and missed most of the 2009 season. He could have been in the 235-win range without that, but will be in the Hall of Fame discussion in five years regardless.
Aramis Ramirez
A very good player for a very long time, Ramirez will call it a career when this season ends. He started out with the Pirates in 1998 as the then-youngest player in the major leagues, and spent five years on terrible teams there before they traded him to the Cubs in 2003. In 2011 he went to the Brewers as a free agent and was traded back to the Pirates this season, where he got the unique experience of returning there to play for winning team after knowing what it had been like before. Ramirez has 386 home runs and 2,300 hits over his career. He topped 100 RBI seven times and more than 30 home runs four times. He topped 40 doubles three times and even hit 50 with the Brewers in 2012. He only made it to the playoffs three times before 2015, all with the Cubs. However deep into the playoffs the Pirates go this year, Ramirez will no doubt be savoring the experience. He made nearly $150M over his career, much of it very well-earned.
Barry Zito
He had a great career with the A’s from 2000-2006, including three All-Star appearances and the 2002 Cy Young Award. He was 102-63 and a 3.58 ERA with them, was just 28 years old and had a potential Hall of Fame career ahead of him. Then he became a free agent and signed with the Giants. He got $126 million over seven years, the highest-ever contract for a pitcher to that point. Zito was poised for years of success but that’s when it all went south. Whether it was the air on that side of the Bay or the pressure from his contract or what, Zito went 63-80 for the Giants with a 4.62 ERA over the term of his contract. He wasn’t even on the postseason roster when the Giants won the first of their three recent titles in 2010. He spent 2015 in the minors to work his way back after taking the 2014 season off, something that most guys in his position would not have done. He came back to Athletics at the end of the season for a swan song and a fitting (likely) close to his career. For all the hype and early success and huge contract, he has 165 Wins against 143 losses and a 4.02 ERA, and it’s hard not to wonder how it might have been different without that Giants contract. But hey, I wouldn’t have turned down $126 million and neither would you.
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