On this date in 1993, the Expos signed Vladimir Guerrero as an 18-year-old amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He reached the big leagues three years later and went on to hit .318/.379/.553 during his Hall of Fame caliber career. Here's the latest from around the league…
- John Axford told Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel that he'll have to sign a one-year contract for now, but would very much like to get a multi-year extension done with the Brewers. Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at Axford's extension case earlier today.
- Dodgers assistant GM De Jon Watson told Anthony Jackson of ESPN Los Angeles that the team is working to sign one player from their tryout camp (all Twitter links). Doug Davis and Minnesota Vikings free safety Jarrad Page were among those at the open tryout today. The player will report to minor league camp once signed.
- Scott Boras told reporters (including WEEI.com's Rob Bradford) that he "really didn't let" other teams make offers to the now-retired Jason Varitek. "We didn't want to mislead anybody that he wasn't going to play for them," Boras said of the long-time Red Sox.
- "He's just home," said Boras to reporters (including Bradford) about J.D. Drew. "He hasn't announced anything, but he's there. He hasn't made any decisions. He's home." We heard Drew was "very likely" to retire back in January.
- The Rangers payroll is approaching $127MM, but president and CEO Nolan Ryan told Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News that they won't be forced to dump any salary before the season.
- Omar Vizquel understands that he has to win a spot on the Blue Jays roster in Spring Training, but he told Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com that he doesn't understand why more older players don't do try to do the same. "It's weird to see all these guys retire, and I'm still on the field," said the 44-year-old.
Because 40 year olds don’t want to end their career with a season of WAR of – 1.6
If you’re over 40, and you can still play and be competitive, I doubt you’re playing for stats.
I highly doubt any 40 year plays for stats or money for that matter. They play because they can, because they love to.
Gotta have respect for those kinda guys.
Have you ever in your life heard a player say “man, last season I just wish my WAR was higher”
40 year olds don’t even know what WAR means.
What is WAR good for? Absolutely Nothing!
Say it again!
“It’s weird to see all these guys retire, and I’m still on the field”. I think Jaime Moyer has children older than Omar Vizquel.
good joke. reminds me of the guys i used to play with who thought everything they said was funny.
And you remind me of the a-holes I used to play with.
Omar continues to play because he genuinely loves to play baseball. Most players retire because of their desire to “go out on top” and they often consider a Minor League deal to be insulting. They play with a lot of pride, as is needed when even the most successful fail much more than they succeed.
Kinda funny that as soon as he joins the Blue Jays they go back to the uniforms that they used when he was just starting out in the league.
MLB players have to “announce their retirement” to begin the countdown to HOF consideration. Otherwise, they just fade away, like JD is doing.