Retiring in a Different Uniform

by Matt Wells

Since I’m just a 21-year old college student, my memories of baseball take me back to only the early to mid-1990’s.  Back then, I got the notion stuck in my head that I would see some of the greatest players in the game retire wearing a certain uniform.  After all, Mark McGwire retired wearing a Cardinals uniform.  Nolan Ryan retired wearing a Rangers uniform.  I could go on and on with this.

Furthermore, some players retired wearing a certain uniform because they played their whole careers with one team.  Tony Gwynn was forever a Padre.  Cal Ripken, Jr. was forever an Oriole.  Barry Larkin was forever a Red.  I could never picture those guys wearing any other uniform, just like I could never picture any of the players listed below wearing a different uniform.Since the end of the 2005 baseball season, three players have stood out in my mind as players that I would never see putting on a different uniform.  However, they either have or they appear likely to be heading in that direction.

MIKE PIAZZA – He signed a 7 year, $91 million contract with the Mets back then and I figured that, when his contract was up, he was either going to retire or re-up with Mets for one or two years.

Piazza would go on to be, perhaps, the greatest offensive player in Mets history.  A future Hall-of-Famer for sure, Piazza set the all-time homerun mark for catchers while wearing a Mets uniform.  As a Met, Piazza would be an all-star in every year in New York except in 2003.  He would even hit what I consider to be the greatest homerun in Mets history: his two-run homer of Steve Karsay in the first New York Baseball game after September 11th.

Piazza is now a free agent after his 7+ seasons in New York.  The Angels and Padres are interested, and Piazza is interested in them – he started his career on the west coast.  Recent news has Piazza signing a one- or two-year deal with the Padres.  However, I would have bet money that Piazza would be retiring in a Met uniform.  It will be hard to see him wearing anything different.

FRANK THOMAS – This was a player bleeding White Sox black and white since he started his career in Chicago in 1990.  He was the 7th overall pick in the 1989 amateur draft for the Sox, and he would go on to play beside the likes of Albert Belle, Robin Ventura, current manager Ozzie Guillen, to just name a few.

Thomas would be given the nickname “The Big Hurt” and would see everything from sports jerseys to video games sporting his name.  He struck fear into pitchers throughout the 90’s and he would become a household name.  He would go on to blast 448 homeruns in his White Sox career.

Such as the case with Piazza in a Met uniform, I never thought I would see the day where Frank Thomas (THE Frank Thomas) would be wearing something that wasn’t black stripes on a white jersey.  He became expendable when the White Sox re-signed Paul Konerko and added Jim Thome in a trade with the Phillies.  Thomas signed a one-year deal with the Oakland Athletics a few days ago, and he already looks funny in green cap.  I would have put money down that Thomas would retire with the White Sox without ever putting on another uniform.

JEFF BAGWELL – He is widely considered to be one of the most popular Houston Astros of all time.  He has 449 homeruns in Houston (ironically, just one more than Thomas had in Chicago).  Bagwell has always been an offensive machine, and the move to Minute Maid Park a few years back strengthened that machine.

Bagwell seemed that he would forever be a member of the “Killer Bees” – Craig Biggio, Lance Berkman, Derek Bell, etc.   An Astro jersey with the #5 on the back will surely find its way into the rafters in Houston, and Bagwell will someday be in the Hall of Fame.

However, it sure looks now as if Bagwell will not be retiring as an Astro.  Astros owner Drayton McLane has all but pushed Bagwell and his $17 million dollar contract (signed in December 2000) out the door.  Bagwell underwent surgery for an injured right shoulder last year and doctors found a degenerative arthritic condition.  Bagwell is now reduced to lower offensive totals (by Bagwell’s standards) and a throw to first that is more like a lob.  Nobody knows how much pain Bagwell is actually in.

Now, Bagwell’s career may be over; he may decide to retire an Astro.  However, Bagwell, who is now 37, may still have as many as, say, three years left on his baseball career.  In my opinion, he should seek a DH job in the American League.  This would be a job in which he would only get paid to swing the bat – something he can still do.

I know I’ve said it before, but I would have never pictured Bagwell in a uniform that didn’t say “Astros” on across the chest.  If he decides to keep playing, a change in uniform will inevitably happen.

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Piazza, Thomas, and Bagwell are three future Hall-of-Famers, without a doubt.  What they did in New York, Chicago, and Houston (respectively) made them heroes in those cities.  They created moments that the hometown fans will never forget.

But, inevitably, we all move on.  We cannot all stay in one place forever.  The three players I mentioned have all led fabulous careers.  Shockingly, they will be finishing those careers in uniforms that I could not picture them wearing.

I wish them all the best in their new homes (again, Bagwell may just retire, instead).  They surely will not be forgotten for all they accomplished for the cities they became famous in.