Lar at Wezen-Ball reflects on the presumptive end of Tom Glavine's career by looking at how other first-ballot Hall of Famers -- a club Glavine will almost certainly join -- ended theirs:
With everyone talking about the Braves and Tom Glavine this week, and how unfair the whole situation seems to be, it's good to remember that there are many all-time greats whose careers ended in a similar (or worse) way than Glavine's seems to have ended. It's the sad nature of the game, though, especially as players like Tom Glavine or even Tom Seaver age beyond the ability for their bodies to come back from injury.
Still, as true as that may be, we shouldn't fret. Yes, we all remember Willie Mays falling down in the outfield as a New York Met or Dave Winfield failing to make the postseason roster in his final year, but that's neither the lasting image nor the last feelings that we have of these greats. Instead, we remember their power and their grace and their energy and their attitude from back in their prime. That's why, when you think of Babe Ruth, you see him swinging for the fences in Yankee Stadium or leaning on a bat grinning, and why you see Willie Mays running out to centerfield to catch that ball when you think of the Say Hey Kid.
Before reaching that conclusion, Lar runs through excerpts from the final game stories of multiple legends. Eye-opening stuff for those of you who think of Reggie Jackson as a Yankee, Dennis Eckersley as an Athletic, and Steve Carlton as a Phillie.
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We remember other greats who finished their careers by NOT changing clubs, or trying to 'hang on'. Cal Ripken, Carl Yastrzemski, and Stan Musial come to mind. They went out with style.
What do you think Yaz would have done if the Sox thought he was done in 1979? Or if the Orioles released Ripken right after he broke Gehrig's record? Or Musial was traded by the Cards to the Yankees in 1958? They all would have kept playing, I can guarantee you.
Sure, we can say "they never would have done that," but the fact is that it takes both the team and the player to make a single-team career, so calling it a matter of "style" is unfair to the guys who just want to play ball, even after their primary employer lets them go.
This may be a reach, but I find it a telling omission that Craig Biggio goes unmentioned by Doc W. There was very little difference between the end of his career and the end of Ripken's (a long stretch of average hitting punctuated by two years of below-average hitting), yet Biggio's left a bad taste in many mouths for some reason. What was the difference? And if Doc W and those who think like him can't identify a difference, why should the rest of us take their opinions seriously?
craig biggio was the consumate professional. he played where they asked him to. he hustled on every play. he was loyal. a lost art.
That has nothing to do with my point, and I don't know if it's even supposed to. Biggio was a great player who hung on past his expiration date. I don't begrudge him that at all. In fact, as others (Joe Posnanski) have pointed out, the very qualities that made him work hard enough to make the most out of his arguably limited physical endowments likely caused him to keep playing with greatly diminished skills.
To sort of pick a nit, though, I guarantee you that I can find an example of Biggio dogging it on a play. The very idea that some players never do so is ridiculous.
Jackie Robinson hung 'em up instead of reporting to the Giants after being traded. Sure, it's not the norm, and Robinson was a remarkable individual, but it's not unheard of for guys to retire instead of finding a new team.