The San Francisco Giants announced on Monday that former Giants pitcher Ryan Vogelsong will retire with the team on Sunday. The former Giants pitcher will take the mound to celebrate the end of his career before Sunday’s afternoon game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Drafted by the #SFGiants in 1998.
Debuted with the #SFGiants in 2000.
Retires with the #SFGiants in 2017. #VogelStrong | #ForeverGiant pic.twitter.com/MyKNCflnoF— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) September 11, 2017
We will honor Ryan Vogelsong this Sunday, September 17th at @ATTPark at the start of the #SFGiants vs. Diamondbacks game at 1:05pm
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) September 11, 2017
Ryan Vogelsong to Retire as a San Francisco Giant on Sunday
San Francisco drafted Vogelsong in the fifth round of the 1998 draft. Vogelsong continued on to have a 19 year career, including 12 years in the major leagues. The 40-year-old spent his time with the Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates before joining the Minnesota Twins in 2017. He spent four years seeing time in the minors and spent three years overseas playing in Japan.
Vogelsong didn’t make the Twins big league club and hasn’t seen any major or minor league time this season. The last time Vogelsong was in the majors was when he was a member of the Pirates.
Vogelsong made his debut with the Giants in 2000 as a 22-year-old and ultimately struggled through half of the 2001 season before being traded to the Pirates in return for pitcher Jason Schmidt. The Bucs then cut Vogelsong in 2006.
After spending three seasons in the Japanese League, Vogelsong caught the attention of both the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels in 2010, but only saw Triple-A action with both teams. This set the stage for an improbable comeback to the team who drafted him in 1998.
During the 2010-2011 offseason, Vogelsong returned to the Giants on a minor league deal. Few expected Vogey to make the big league club, but the veteran pitcher exceeded expectations and became a key member of the Giants rotation. Vogelsong dazzled when he came back to the majors, tossing 179 2/3 innings with a 2.71 ERA, 7.0 K/9, and a 3.1 BB/9 while putting himself in Cy Young Award conversations and one All-Star nomination.
Vogelsong became a key piece in the Giants 2012 and 2014 playoff rotations. When all was said and done his second tenure resulted in 792 2/3 innings, 3.89 ERA, 7.1 K/9, and 3.1 BB/9, while capturing two World Series rings.
All told, Vogelsong will finish his career with a 61-75 record, with a career 4.48 ERA, 6.8 K/9, and 3.6 BB/9 over 1160 major league innings. What those numbers won’t show is the 2.92 ERA, with a 29-to-16 K/BB ratio over the Giants postseason. Although Vogelsong had his ups and downs through the minors and playing in Japan, he will always be a two-time world champion; and he will always be forever giant.
