rolling retirees: 2018 and beyond

That salami he smacked off Kelly was unforgettable.

Looking at his career box, has to be one of the most consistent hitters of recent times--had a great 2019 season that jumps out, but everything else more or less resides in this range that's just consistently solid. I never really followed him, but he was great to watch during the Senators' WS run.

good player, world series mvp, great career

always weird to look at a solid player's JAWS and see that they're nowhere close to the Hall but are nevertheless like the 56th-greatest second baseman of all time

daniel murphy

goodnight, ya jerk

dustin pedroia

Definitely one for a parallel People You Thought Were Retired but Aren't thread. He looked like a very good HOF bet coming out of 2016.

you think? he was never the same player he was in those first two years where he won ROY & MVP. just kind of a gradual decline with more and more injuries pilling up.

i'm trying to think who else won MVP right after a ROY debut. i know there's at least one or two more.

i looked it up. one i really should have remembered and the other i don't blame myself for forgetting.

All speculation now, but I think he was headed there, yeah. At the end of his age-32 season:

-- an MVP and a ROY
-- two WS titles
-- perceived as the "team leader" (along with Ortiz) on the second one
-- a middle infielder with 1,700 hits, 130 HR, and a .300 lifetime BA; probably headed for 2,500+/200+
-- 50 bWAR, probably headed for 65-70

Cano was regarded as the best second baseman in the game during his decade-long peak, but he was next best, I think (I may be forgetting someone).

(xpost) That's a good trivia question...Pujols arrived during Bonds's heyday, so I don't think it was him.

did jacoby ellsbury ever officially retire?

You're right, Clem – he didn't "decline" so much as kind of have a moderately up-down, all-star calibre streak for a while there before the injuries piled up.

did jacoby ellsbury ever officially retire?

― mookieproof, Monday, February 1, 2021 9:38 AM (twenty-eight minutes ago)

No because he is still is eligible for a $5M buyout for 2021 (the final year of his contract).

i'm trying to think who else won MVP right after a ROY debut. i know there's at least one or two more.

― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Monday, February 1, 2021 8:31 AM (one hour ago)

I guessed 3 (the most recent ones), but missed a super obvious one.

Pedroia was durable until the knee injury in 2017 and was averaging about 5.5 WAR per year. He was definitely building a solid HOF case. Regardless, he had a great career.

Take away those scare-quotes around team leader--force of habit from all those years of Morbius looking over my shoulder.

rip some of the worst facial hair in baseball

frickin lasers tho

End of an era

Tim Tebow is retiring from professional baseball. https://t.co/9C09gJKK7K

— New York Mets (@Mets) February 18, 2021

lol

it's hard not to think of morbs right now

can't believe tim tebow gave up on himself; presumably god let him know that there were other plans for him

he'll always be a 2018 eastern league all-star

brian dozier

nick markakis

Damn, I was kinda hoping Markakis would stick around for the March to 3000!

Legend

had no idea he had so many hits! someone on reddit said he was "hall of very good", which i didn't think i agree with, but damn was he good at a lot of things and consistent af.

he was a good player! and i think we can afford to be generous with our hall of very good bids

heyrookie_youweregood.jpg

big respect to markakis for busting out his 2nd best season in 162 games in 2018 with the barves, at 35, 10 years after his young heyday with the orioles

sorry, 3rd best (by fWAR)

I think it was his only all star season?

wow, yeah so i looked into that a bit. 2018 was his all-star year, but 2007/2008 (his 2nd/3rd year) were his best years as a young man in Baltimore. In 2008 he lost out to Red Sok J.D. Drew who was ok, but well behind in fWAR in 2007/2008 (4.8 to 11.7). There were 6 Red Sox on the AS team that year. In conclusion the all-star game is stupid

Yeah, Kansas City All-Stars from a few years ago was a stain on the all-star brand as well

led the AL in bWAR in 2008 and didn't get a single MVP vote

was both a doubles machine and an outfield assist machine, the two funnest kinds of machinery

gio gonzalez

he was pretty bad last year and has always walked too many guys but i guess i'm a little surprised. possibly a victim of the three-batter rule? (not that his splits are that vast)

jay bruce, after today’s game

is this a prediction?

I see, he’s retiring after the game. Odd timing.

pittsburgh’s own neil walker

jordan zimmermann

Guy I thought was playing--Edwin Encarnación--isn't; has he retired? Guy I thought was retired--Aaron Sanchez--is in San Francisco, pitching reasonably well so far.

edwin hasn’t retired, but no one has signed him. he was pretty bad last year, and the lack of NL DH hurts him

Give him a month.

Tyler Flowers has decided to retire. He played the past few seasons with two degenerative discs in his back and developed another while preparing to resume his career with the Braves in a few weeks. He’ll always be remembered for revolutionizing the art of pitch framing.

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 14, 2021

Chris Davis. O's will still pay the remainder of his salary though. Worst contract ever?