Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

All-Star Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki Retires

Troy Tulowitzki

Troy Tulowitzki Retires

All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki has announced his retirement. Troy Trevor Tulowitzki, nicknamed “Tulo,” played 13 seasons for three different teams. He ends his career with a .290 batting average, slugging 225 home runs while driving in 780 runs. Tulowitzki made five All-Star teams while winning two Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger awards.

Two-Sport Star in High School

Tulowitzki graduated from Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, California, where he earned six letters in two sports. While twice making second team All-State in baseball, Tulowitzki earned four letters. As a basketball player, Tulowitzki earned two letters, winning league MVP and making second-team All-State. In 2002, Tulowitzki was named Fremont High athlete of the year.

Troy Tulowitzki at Long Beach State

Tulowitzki played three seasons for the famed Long Beach State Dirtbags, where he had a great career. With a batting average of .310, 20 home runs, and 117 RBI, Tulowitzki received many accolades. In 2003 and 2004, he was an All-Big West selection and was a two-time All-Regional Tournament selection. He was the Most Outstanding player in 2004 and played won the gold medal in the World University Baseball Championship in 2004 with Team USA.

Joining the Rockies Minor Leagues

The Colorado Rockies drafted Tulowitzki with the seventh overall pick in the 2005 Major League Draft. He started in Single-A with the Modesto Nuts, where he batted .266 with four home runs and 14 RBI. Tulowitzki only played in 22 games that season. In 2006, Tulowitzki started the season in Double-A with the Tulsa Drillers. In 104 games, he batted .291 with 13 home runs and 61 RBI.

Tulowitzki appeared in the All-Star Futures Game. On August 30th, 2006 Tulowitzki made his Major League Debut against the New York Mets. It took Tulowitzki just 126 minor league games to make the major leagues.

Troy Tulowitzki in the Majors

After having only 96 at-bats in the 2006 season, Tulowitzki kept his rookie status. In 2007, Tulowitzki won a spring training competition with Clint Barnes to be the starting shortstop. Tulowitzki batted .291 with 24 home runs and 99 RBI finishing second, in the Rookie of the Year voting.

With Tulowitzki leading the way, the Rockies played in their first and, thus far, only World Series. After sweeping the Philadelphia Phillies and the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first two rounds, the Rockies got swept themselves by the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. Tulowitzki only managed to hit one home run with three RBI in 45 at-bats during the whole postseason.

Prior to the 2008 season, Tulowitzki signed a six-year contract extension. At the time it was the largest contract for a player with less than two years experience.

In May of 2008, Tulowitzki went on the injured list with a torn left quadriceps tendon. Tulowitzki missed a month and a half. Later on, in July Tulowitzki went on the disabled list when he cut his right hand slamming his bat into the ground in frustration after getting taken out of a game. This injury only cost him two weeks. Playing in only 101 games,  Tulowitzki batted .263 with eight home runs and 46 RBI.

Three Straight All-Star Seasons

After an injury-filled 2008 Tulowitzki went on a three-year tear where he slugged 89 home runs with 292 RBI. These numbers would have been bigger had Tulowitzki hot fractured his wrist after getting hit by a pitch thrown by Minnesota Twins pitcher Alex Burnett. The injury cost him nearly six weeks of the season. During these three years, Tulowitzki was a two-time All-Star, won both his gold gloves and silver slugger awards and was in the top ten of the Most Valuable Player voting all three years.

Big Contract Extension

After the 2010 season, Tulowitzki signed a six-year contract extension. This was on top of the three years already remaining on his current contract. The extension was for 120 million making it the second biggest in Rockies history.

The Injured Years

Starting in the 2012 season, Tulowitzki began dealing with serious injuries for the rest of his Rockies career. On May 30th, Tulowitzki injured his groin and missed the rest of the season. He batted .287 with eight home runs and 27 RBI. In 2013, he suffered a cracked rib that cost him 25 games. He still managed to have a very productive season, batting .312 with 25 home runs and 82 RBI.

In 2014, Tulowitzki started the season on fire, winning the NL Player of the month for April. He was on pace to have his best season when he injured his left hip on July 20th. After having labral repair surgery, once again, Tulowitzki’s season was over. He finished with a .340 batting average with 21 home runs and 52 RBI in just 91 games.

Oh, Canada

In 2015, Tulowitzki stayed healthy long enough for the Rockies to trade him to the Toronto Blue Jays. He was batting .300 with 12 home runs and 53 RBI when the Rockies decided to end his career in Colorado. In his 10-year career with the Rockies, Tulowitzki batted .299 with 188 home runs and 657 RBI.

Upon joining the Blue Jays, Tulowitzki was thrust into a pennant race. His .239 batting average with five home runs and 17 RBI did not light the team on fire. Once again, the injury bug bit Tulowitzki. On September 12th, teammate Kevin Pillar collided with Tulowitzki while chasing a fly ball. As a result of the collision, Tulowitzki suffered a cracked shoulder blade and missed the remainder of the regular season. However, he appeared in all the playoff games that postseason, with the Blue Jays losing in the American League Championship Series to the Kansas City Royals.

In 2016, Tulowitzki batted a career-low .254 but still managed 24 home runs with 79 RBI. Once again, Tulowitzki missed 20 games with an injury to his right quad. In 2017, Tulowitzki was limited to 66 games after two separate stints on the injured list. He missed 31 games after suffering a hamstring injury in April. On July 29th, Tulowitzki was diagnosed with ligament damage to his right ankle, ending his season. Tulowitzki did not play one game in 2018 due to heel spurs. His career in Toronto was over. In three seasons with the Blue Jays, he batted .250 with 36 home runs and 188 RBI.

Released by Toronto

With two years and $38 million left on his contract, the Blue Jays released Tulowitzki. The New York Yankees signed him before the 2019 season for the league minimum. However, after just five games with the Yankees, Tulowitzki hurt his left calf, joining the injured list on April 4th.

On July 25th, Troy Tulowitzki officially retired from Major League Baseball. Over his 13-year career, Tulowitzki was, at times, considered the best shortstop in baseball and one of the top 10 players overall. He will be remembered as being one of the best Colorado Rockies players of all time.

Legacy of Troy Tulowitzki

Where Tulowitzki ranks all-time as a shortstop will be debated. Playing home games in Colorado for ten years does not help his cause. However, Troy Tulowitzki will forever be remembered for having top-tier talent but trouble staying healthy.

Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images

Post Views: 25

Share:

More Posts

Send Us A Message