Player Retires Mid-Season during playoff race

[malor]

Originally Posted by RchW

I'm having trouble how 4 games left = mid season.

By any chance did he start the day before he quit? If so the timing seems fine. Players don't get paid in the playoffs so no minor league paycheck to entice.

For me anytime during the season is mid-season.

He was scheduled to pitch the 2nd to last game in the regular season and would have been the number 3 starter in the playoff rotation. I had to use a MR as an emergency starter. He only lasted 3 innings and resulted in additional bull pen abuse.


Malor

[malor]

Originally Posted by Padreman

And was he injured at all during the season? Maybe he came back got re-injured was gonna stay out longer like others said his age and being in AAA likely best to retire

He was not injured at this time or during the season. I had already looked for all the obvious reasons for the retirement before posting here.


For me, this pops me out of the game emersion because I view it as a flaw. Now if a long email explaining he needed to donate a kidney or something other than an "I quit" email was received, I would have overlooked it, chalking it up to the story lines.

Malor

[Padreman]

Then I agree this is every odd

[WIUPIKE]

Can you put a screenshot of the players history page for the heck of it.

[malor]

Originally Posted by WIUPIKE

Can you put a screenshot of the players history page for the heck of it.

Here you go. Nothing special to report.


Malor

[Padreman]

Maybe he really really sucked and he knew he did

[thehef]

Originally Posted by malor

He was not injured at this time or during the season. I had already looked for all the obvious reasons for the retirement before posting here.

For me, this pops me out of the game emersion because I view it as a flaw. Now if a long email explaining he needed to donate a kidney or something other than an "I quit" email was received, I would have overlooked it, chalking it up to the story lines.

I agree that an email or news story that offers some clue as to why he abruptly retired at a seemingly odd point in the season would be warranted. That said, lack of such wouldn't pop me out of immersion because I'm sure there are examples of minor-leaguers who up and quit and nobody really knew why. I mean, if Clayton Kershaw quits today, it's going to be a big story, teammates and coaches will be interviewed, and Jim Gray will try to get an exclusive. But if a long-time minor-leaguer quits and doesn't bother to explain why, the story is going to fade away pretty quickly... If OOTP explained it via alien abduction, witchcraft, or time travel, that might ruin the immersion factor for me (or might not). But a minor-leaguer simply retiring mid-season, without explanation, seems within the realm of possibilities.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by buckeye22

After a long career, maybe the chance to play for a minor league championship just wasn't important.

Minor league playoffs don't matter all that much to fans either, judging by how the average attendance compares to regular season games.

[frangipard]

Originally Posted by Scoman

The thing about Mcnally too is ,he was only 116 wins away from 300 . Which was very doable at 32 years old.

Just goes to show that back in the day guys weren't all about numbers like they are now

Those aren't the numbers that make players stick around.

If Dave McNally knew he could have made $10-15 million a year as a veteran innings-eater on a bad team, I suspect he might have found a deep love of the game that kept him going for another couple years.

[alkeiper]

Originally Posted by frangipard

Those aren't the numbers that make players stick around.

If Dave McNally knew he could have made $10-15 million a year as a veteran innings-eater on a bad team, I suspect he might have found a deep love of the game that kept him going for another couple years.

McNally actually had absurd offers to return to pitching. Teams were desperate to get him under contract so he couldn't sue for free agency.