NEW YORK, NY - JULY 09: Derek Jeter #2 of the New York Yankees celebrates at home with teammates Jorge Posada #20, Mariano Rivera #42, Alex Rodriguez #13 and Curtis Granderson #14 after hitting a solo home run in the third inning for career hit 3000 while playing against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on July 9, 2011 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images)
There have been a lot of players to don the New York Yankees pinstripes. Some of them have long-lasting careers with the Yankees, some of them just have a cup of coffee in the Bronx. One of the latter just announced his retirement from professional baseball today.
Playing 36 games for the Yankees in 2013, Mark Reynolds announced his retirement on Sirius XM. While being a late season acquisition from the Indians, Reynolds faired respectably at third base in a season that was tumultuous at best for the Yankees at that position (this was the season that A-Rod was found guilty in the Biogenesis scandal, and initially suspended for more than a full season of baseball).
Reynolds had the dubious honor of leading the league in strikeouts from 2008 to 2011. Personifying the modern approach to hitting, Reynolds retires with almost 700 more strikeouts than hits, with one-fourth of his hits being home runs. He also had three seasons batting below the Mendoza line, including his abbreviated final season in Colorado, with his best season coming two seasons earlier in Colorado. He would spend a season in-between in Washington.
Reynold’s decision came during the current sports shutdown in the wake of the coronavirus. When asked about his decision to retire, Reynolds cited the time he’s been able to spend with his family during this shutdown:
“With all that’s going on and with everything, I’ve been really enjoying time with the family. It’s time for me to move on and find something else to do.”
It’s worth noting that Reynolds was also a free agent during all of this.
While his career statistics certainly don’t jump out at you, teams could be desperate to sign someone like Reynolds by what would be the halfway point this 2020 season, or even sign him to a minor league deal by the time teams broke from camp to kick start their campaigns. And while Reynolds was closer to 40 than most teams prefer, what would this mean for players similar to Reynolds, who hasn’t had the opportunity to have a career even half as long as he had? Certainly, some players hoping for a deeper playing reel to improve their stock before this year’s draft are going to be looked over, due to the fact all spring sports were canceled in college.
Whatever may end up happening, Reynold’s decision may usher in a swath of players who would rather move on from sports now, rather than hang around hoping they can rebound from last year. Because we still don’t know when that will be.
This post was published on 2020-04-11 09:15
