Seven-time All-Star Michael Young will retire rather than sign with a new team this offseason, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 37-year-old Young had three "good offers," according to Rosenthal, including one from the Dodgers — the last team he played for in his Major League career. Ultimately, Young chose to spend time with his family rather than pursue a 15th Major League season.
Young split the 2013 season between the Phillies and Dodgers after being sent to Philadelphia by the Rangers in an offseason trade last year. That marked the only season of his illustrious career in which he did not don a Texas Rangers uniform. Though his production waned in his final two big league seasons, Young still posted a .249/.335/.395 batting line in 2013, which was slightly above average, as evidenced by his 102 OPS+ and 102 wRC+.
Young will retire with a career batting average of exactly .300 to go along with a .346 on-base percentage and .441 slugging percentage. He mashed 185 homers in his career, scored 1137 runs, drove in 1030 runs and swiped 90 bags in 120 tries. He has more than 3800 career innings at shortstop, second base and third base and also added 884 innings at first base as well. In addition to his versatility, Young brought nearly unparalleled durability to the table. From 2002-13, Young averaged 155 games per season, and though he missed nearly 30 games in 2009, he never landed on the disabled list.
The Rangers got their hands on Young in one of the more lopsided trades of the past 15 years, as they sent Esteban Loaiza to the Blue Jays to land him in a three-player deal. Loaiza went on to post a 4.96 ERA for Toronto over the next two-and-a-half seasons, while Young became a fixture in the Rangers lineup for more than a decade.
In addition to his seven All-Star selections, Young garnered American League MVP votes in five seasons, finishing as high as eighth on two different occasions. Young earned just under $91MM over the course of his career, according to Baseball-Reference. MLBTR wishes him the best of luck and happiness in his post-baseball life.
Damn. I was hoping the Yankees would sign him to play third.