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Engines' O'Rouke Retires
Powerful slugger calls it a career at 38

INDIANAPOLIS -- In the end, John O'Rourke decided he had no more to give.

"I could stick around," O'Rourke said at a brief press conference today. "But in the end, I've had a good run, a good career. It's time."

O'Rourke retires as the No. 4 home run hitter in Pastime Baseball League history with 247, behind only Dan Brouthers, Sam Thompson and Charley Jones. Those three are 31, 33 and 34, respectively. O'Rourke was 29 when the PBL formed in 2009.

The powerful lefty hit 47 homers in that inaugural season, batting .320 with 112 RBIs. While he would never approach that average again and his patience at the plate declined after that first season, he remained a top run producer. He hit more than 20 homers in each of his first 7 seasons, hitting 40 in 2012 and 42 in 2013.

Jones led the PBL in homers in 2012, but didn't win a league home run title, having been traded from Philadelphia to New Orleans in mid-season, hitting 20 shots for each. He then did similar in 2013, hitting 21 each for New Orleans and Louisville.

The three-time All-Star signed a two-year deal as a free agent with the Milwaukee Bangers before the 2015 season. But after playing only 18 games for Milwaukee, O'Rourke missed the rest of the season after tearing his labrum.

He went .218-21-73 for Milwaukee in 2016 and became a free agent again, this time signing a minor league deal with Indianapolis. He was active for one game.

Pants Rowland, who managed O'Rourke with Philadelphia for three years, praised him.

"This guy was a force, a terror at the plate," Rowland said. "Great teammate, great guy to manage. He was one of the most feared hitters in this league. When they get the PBL's Hall of Fame up and running, this guy should get a call."

Career Batting Stats

Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
2009 Philadelphia - PBL	29	159	557	178	38	4	47	112	104	92	5	4	98	0	1	.320	.418	.655	1.073	76.3
2010 Philadelphia - PBL	30	132	524	139	16	2	27	97	77	47	8	5	124	0	0	.265	.332	.458	.790	10.7
2011 Philadelphia - PBL	31	119	481	135	19	0	29	95	74	33	1	7	98	0	1	.281	.324	.501	.825	12.7
2012 New Orleans - PBL	32	75	300	84	15	0	20	70	54	28	1	5	68	0	0	.280	.338	.530	.868	19.1
2012 Philadelphia - PBL	32	78	310	82	16	1	20	55	47	39	0	1	77	0	1	.265	.346	.516	.862	13.0
2012 Total - PBL	32	153	610	166	31	1	40	125	101	67	1	6	145	0	1	.272	.342	.523	.865	32.1
2013 Louisville - PBL	33	88	356	87	8	0	21	63	44	31	1	8	63	0	1	.244	.301	.444	.744	6.4
2013 New Orleans - PBL	33	74	291	78	12	1	21	59	44	29	0	0	56	0	2	.268	.334	.533	.867	20.4
2013 Total - PBL	33	162	647	165	20	1	42	122	88	60	1	8	119	0	3	.255	.316	.484	.799	26.8
2014 Louisville - PBL	34	154	621	143	19	0	39	109	86	51	1	8	128	1	1	.230	.286	.449	.736	14.0
2015 Milwaukee - PBL	35	18	73	14	4	0	2	7	5	5	0	0	16	0	0	.192	.244	.329	.572	-4.3
2016 Milwaukee - PBL	36	147	518	113	20	1	21	73	58	55	1	10	120	0	0	.218	.289	.382	.672	-3.2
2017 Indianapolis - PBL	37	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	-0.3
Total PBL		1045	4032	1053	167	9	247	740	593	410	18	48	848	1	7	.261	.329	.491	.819	165.0