The curious case of Garrett Barrett

Habsfan18 · 02-03-2015, 05:52 PM

I decided to sim my own fictional MLB history starting in 1901 and going through 2015. I looked into leaderboards, and this guy is the all-time leader in batting average.

I noticed that he played from 1924 and retired in 1936. Thing is though, his last MLB game was in 1932. This guy was the best player in the game throughout his entire career yet he was done in the Majors at 30? He played a few more seasons in the Minors and that was that. He didn't suffer a career ending injury. His ratings just seemed to drop once he turned 30.

I'm doing some research, and a lot of guys appear to drop quite noticeably once they enter their 30's. Is this normal?

Also, I'm noticing many players who played in the 20's and 30's retired young, and only played 10 years or so in the Majors. Is it normal that the players back in those days didn't have long careers? I guess I'm just used to great players having 15+ year careers in the Majors. It's odd to see stars only having careers that listed 8-10 seasons.

Not even just those years. A lot of guys appear to retire in their early 30's. Good players, at that.

What do you guys think?

TomVeal · 02-03-2015, 08:31 PM

I see that 1929 was the last year in which he played essentially full-time. Perhaps the stock market crash affected him psychologically, and he lost the will to compete.

02-03-2015, 05:52 PM	#1
Habsfan18 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Canada Posts: 2,249	The curious case of Garrett Barrett I decided to sim my own fictional MLB history starting in 1901 and going through 2015. I looked into leaderboards, and this guy is the all-time leader in batting average. I noticed that he played from 1924 and retired in 1936. Thing is though, his last MLB game was in 1932. This guy was the best player in the game throughout his entire career yet he was done in the Majors at 30? He played a few more seasons in the Minors and that was that. He didn't suffer a career ending injury. His ratings just seemed to drop once he turned 30. I'm doing some research, and a lot of guys appear to drop quite noticeably once they enter their 30's. Is this normal? Also, I'm noticing many players who played in the 20's and 30's retired young, and only played 10 years or so in the Majors. Is it normal that the players back in those days didn't have long careers? I guess I'm just used to great players having 15+ year careers in the Majors. It's odd to see stars only having careers that listed 8-10 seasons. Not even just those years. A lot of guys appear to retire in their early 30's. Good players, at that. What do you guys think? Attached Images Last edited by Habsfan18; 02-03-2015 at 07:56 PM.

02-03-2015, 08:31 PM	#2
TomVeal All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Spanaway, Washington Posts: 1,242	I see that 1929 was the last year in which he played essentially full-time. Perhaps the stock market crash affected him psychologically, and he lost the will to compete.