Outfielder Mike Cameron has notified the Nationals that he will retire, according to the team's official Twitter account. Cameron also drew interest from the Indians this winter before signing a minor league deal with Washington in December.
The 39-year-old was designated for assignment by the Red Sox in June before being dealt to the Marlins. In total, Cameron hit just .203/.285/.359 in 269 combined plate appearances and saw his season come to an end when he was released by the Marlins for conduct detrimental to the team.
In 17 big league seasons, Cameron hit .249/.338/.444 with 278 home runs for eight different clubs. According to Baseball Reference, the centerfielder earned more than $76MM over the course of his career.
Oh, Mike Cameron, one of those Mets who was always irrationally disliked by fans for no reason at all.
Godspeed in whatever you do next, Cammy. We’ll always have 2004.
I’ll always remember that awesome collision with Beltran in 05.
Hey, I liked Mike Cameron.
We were very honored to have Mike in San Diego for a few years. Did a great job patrolling Petco’s center field. Letting him get away was a mistake by the Padres. Hope he has a great retirement.
dang they’re just dropping like flies this offseason aren’t they?
Mike was a class act, role model for young athletes, and funny
He’s part of a great trivia question, He was the centerpiece for the Ken Griffey Junior trade
And as an added bonus, he then went on to perform much better than Griffey ever would again.
He was also traded by the White Sox for Paul Konerko.
oh please he retired in 2010 when he signed that contract with the Sox…
He’ll always be underrated because he put up some low batting averages, struck out a lot, and played so many years in bad hitters parks like Seattle, Shea, and San Diego. He may not have been a superstar, but he hit for power and played excellent centerfield defense for a long time.
What was his conduct deemed “detrimental to the team” that got him released last year? The story above references it, but the link doesn’t mention anything about it. He always seemed like a good team player.
I believe it had something to do with his behavior on a team flight-maybe some unacceptable words spoken to a flight attendant-that angered the Marlins management. Maybe one of the Marlins fans can enlighten us….
Had power, had speed, played amazing defence in the outfield. Plus made a good chunk of change along the way. Good for him. Have a great retirement.
To be honest, I am kinda glad he retired. He is past his prime. I am glad he realized it when he did. This might mean that Harper is up in the major sooner than later.
Bye! Must have started swinging that bat, pulled something and knew with a minor league deal that was it. This was a strange signing by the Nats anyway.
Saw him as a kid with the White Sox. Good player. We got Paulie K. for him.
Very nice career. Sit back with a tall one and light up a cigar – you have earned it.
PS – I know you are better than Rios right now.
That trade worked out well for both teams. Would have worked out better if the Reds had just held onto Cameron, but it’s kind of cool that two young player were traded for each other and both panned out.
You cann’t blame a guy for sticking in there as long as possible. Credit should be given to him for making the difficult decision to hang it up. Ballplayers are competitors and it’s hard for them to leave the game. Good decision by Mike.
Well put…. I’m almost 30 and haven’t played ball since high school, and still think about trying out for a team. I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to admit that you can’t play at the highest level anymore.
Good luck to him and to all of the other official retiree’s we’ve seen this off-season.
One of my favorite non-star players to watch. Fun D, nice swing. I’ll remember him fondly.
Very good defensive outfielder with a good eye who hit 25 jacks a year. Plus he had a 4 homerun game. Overal nice career Mike Cameron
Great Met! Great Career!
It was fun having him as a Brewer for a couple years. Solid bat, good glove and veteran presence. Untuck ’em!
Noooooo…I love Mike Cameron..He wasn’t always the best but I loved him especially when he was in Milwaukee!
Always a joy to watch. Will miss seeing him play.
His a great example for toolsy young players out of the draft. The ones that have worked I mean.
Well there goes Ankiel/Bernadina’s platoon partner
I think he’s top 5 or 6 on the all-time strikeout list. With only 278 HRS. I think he just past Mike Schmidt, with about 250 less HRS.
Mike Cameron was the man.
Are u talking about Wakefield I agree
His point is, rather than wishing him well on a great career you complained that he played too long. It’s a classless thing to say. This isn’t an argument about what he did in the last two years, it’s respecting a guy who put a lot of time into this sport and is now ready to call it a career.
Regardless, Congrats Mike on a great career and good luck in everything you do!
“That was the most gruesome perfect storm I’ve ever seen in baseball.”
Player vs player.. Could go with beltre vs Ells also.. beltre didn’t miss a beat and Ells missed an entire season (2010) with broken ribs and then one of the worst collisions would be Bobby V crashing into that awful chain link fence the Angels used to have, destroying his knee for good and the career as well of the best young prospect they had at the time.
It’s easy to be nice but apparently it’s not in you.
You made my point.
Obviously.
If you have nothing nice to say, simply don’t say anything. I loved watching Cameron play. Although he was no superstar, he left it all on the field everytime he played. We’re gonna miss you.
Well when you insult a guy, what do you expect?
Correct, no opinions for you. In the future, let the ring do the talking.
Because a guy retires he’s a scumbag? Yeah that makes sense. Oh by the way smart one you have Rick Ankiel as a stopgap CF, ever think of that?
You don’t deserve baseball.
Most Nats fans really like Ankiel. If he stays healthy enough to swing the bat well he will be in CF all year. If you watched Nats games last year you would see why we like him. He just needs to hit a little more and I think he will.
Well living in Michigan I saw Ankiel play a few games on MLB Network games they did with Washington but that’s it not enough to see him consistently. But a good question (if you’re a Nats fan) is if Harper breaks camp and they move Werth to center what becomes of Ankiel? That’s why i was thinking he’d be stopgap CF.