Retiring Pitchers

[mp170.6]

Has anyone noticed how many decent pitchers are walking away from MLB well before age 40? 

 

There were several this season alone:  Haren, Buehrle, Affeldt, AJ Burnett.  I believe all of those guys are 35-38.  Roy Halladay said goodbye at 36, Pedro Martinez at 37.  Yes, some of these guys were battling injuries and declining effectiveness, but all of them could have found teams to play a few more years. 

 

Is this the new normal? 

 

[Vegas Halo Fan]

With all of the money that these guys make now, no reason to keep putting themselves through off season training, spring training and the grind of full seasons just to hang on for two or three more years after their skills are diminished. It takes a toll.

[mp170.6]

There's probably no reason to stick around for personal achievements anymore.  Nobody will win 300 games again.  Nobody will break Mariano's saves record.  Nobody except for maybe Kershaw or Felix Hernandez will rank in the Top 20 in strikeouts. 

 

Still, these guys are calling it quits a lot sooner it seems. 

[NJHalo]

AJ Burnett has been retiring for the last 10 years

[mp170.6]

AJ Burnett has been retiring for the last 10 years

 

Oh yeah, I forgot about that...

[ukyah]

at the time of their retirement the two best guys on your list are burnett and buehrle. all those guys retired because their arms were trashed. age is relative to health in sports.

[mp170.6]

at the time of their retirement the two best guys on your list are burnett and buehrle. all those guys retired because their arms were trashed. age is relative to health in sports.

 

Halladay and Pedro could have gotten new contracts with their arms hanging by threads.  Not long-term contracts, but somebody would have given them a chance. 

[ukyah]

Halladay and Pedro could have gotten new contracts with their arms hanging by threads.  Not long-term contracts, but somebody would have given them a chance. 

 

no, they were done. go look at their numbers to end their careers. halladay's arm was falling off and neither could get anybody out anymore. they retired because they were shot. on a related note, i think weaver is very close to doing the same thing, but i don't think he's accepted it yet and that he'll try one more year.

Edited October 6, 2015 by ukyah

[mp170.6]

no, they were done. go look at their numbers to end their careers. halladay's arm was falling off and neither could get anybody out anymore. they retired because they were shot. on a related note, i think weaver is very close to doing the same thing, but i don't think he's accepted it yet and that he'll try one more year.

 

Greg Maddux was washed up a few years before he retired.  He kept getting new contracts to pitch anyway. 

 

John Smoltz got that Red Sox deal while on the DL.  It didn't work out, but that's another story...

[happybat4]

Mark Buehrle was a beast. He fell just short of 200 innings this year. Whats crazy is he only allowed 1 stolen base the last 2 years. He allowed 59 stolen bases his whole career. I cant look up his career pickoffs but I believe he is near 90. He has picked off more people than he has allowed stolen bases.

[Inside Pitch]

Has anyone noticed how many decent pitchers are walking away from MLB well before age 40? 

 

There were several this season alone:  Haren, Buehrle, Affeldt, AJ Burnett.  I believe all of those guys are 35-38.  Roy Halladay said goodbye at 36, Pedro Martinez at 37.  Yes, some of these guys were battling injuries and declining effectiveness, but all of them could have found teams to play a few more years. 

 

Is this the new normal? 

 

Its possible it will be the new normal in a PED free(er) era...  

[DMVol]

Its possible it will be the new normal in a PED free(er) era...  

^^^This^^^....the "new normal" is the old normal, before PED's....guys used to retire in their mid 30's because that's when father time catches up with most baseball players...

[Angel Oracle]

Colon at age 41 still throwing strikes at 90+?

Yeah, that isn't screaming out PEDs.

[Inside Pitch]

Colon at age 41 still throwing strikes at 90+?

Yeah, that isn't screaming out PEDs.

 

Bart really only touches 90 these days -- he typically tops out at 89/89.  So while he may still be able to on occasion hit 90, he's not routinely in the upper 90s and he never comes close to triple digits like he did at times in Cleveland.  He just has some really really crazy control and seems to put his FB wherever he wants.   Basically he's a poor man's Schilling at this point of his career.

[Homebrewer]

Koufax retired at 30, after winning 27 games that season. He struck out 317 in 323 innings.

He said he wanted the use of his left arm to write, brush his teeth, and that kind of stuff, for his remaining years.