Veteran knuckleballer R.A. Dickey is considering retiring at the end of the season, he tells David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’ll just be a family decision,” he says. “We have made no official decision at all, but we certainly have had conversations around both coming back or retiring.”
The Braves have an $8MM option or a $500K buyout on Dickey for 2018, but it appears Dickey’s decision will be somewhat independent of the Braves’ decision about whether to pick up that option. (The Braves’ plans aren’t yet clear, although 69% of MLBTR readers feel the Braves should exercise the option after a season in which Dickey ate 190 innings and was generally productive.) GM John Coppolella previously alluded to the fact that Dickey could retire despite the option, and Dickey tells O’Brien he could consider playing elsewhere if the Braves do not retain him (although it would have to be the “perfect spot,” naming Cincinnati and St. Louis as other cities that are reasonably close to his offseason home in Tennessee).
Dickey declined the opportunity to pitch for the Braves in their season finale tomorrow, which means he’ll finish the season with 400 career appearances and 300 career starts — good round numbers to finish his career on, he points out. He has a 4.04 career ERA with 120 wins and the 2012 NL Cy Young award to his credit. He’ll turn 43 next month.
I think they should pick up the option. He’s been serviceable
He declined to pitch tomorrow??? Screw him. Not exactly a team first guy I guess
Or maybe a very team first guy. He is then veteran and would have the first chance. He may have declined so that one of the younger guys get another chance. The glass doesn’t always have to be half empty.
He wanted to give Fried a chance to make another start. He is the ultimate pro and good guy.
Exactly. Pretty stupid comment by big jon
Big jon has not watched 1 baseball game all year …
I agree with you jhuck, I’m definitely of the opinion that he declined to give Fried another chance.
U don’t know anything about dickey bigjon with a comment like that. Not a thing. Whatever u have in ur head about dickey, it’s the polar opposite which is he truth.
Why? The gane has no bearing on anything, he IS 43 and the braves know how he pitches. He is giving the young guys an opportunity to play. I see no problem with it.
i wonder if 7 scoreless innings would have got his career ERA under 4.00?…but yes very unselfish to allow Fried to get another start…i think Dickey comes back to MLB for one more season
No. Too many innings pitched.
I respect Dickey for considering his family no matter what decision they ultimately arrive at. If he wants to pitch I think that the Braves definitely pick up his option.
First time I saw Dickey was a September 2010 game at CBP, even though he was playing for the Mets I always respected his game. I guess it was just the fact that he kept going even though he never really broke out until he was in his mid-thirties. If he retires, I’ll miss watching him play.
Dickey has had a remarkable career. A highly touted and drafted prospect (18th overall out of college), his bonus was cut drastically after it was discovered he was born without an UCL and a lot of people felt his arm would never hold up to a major league workload. He ended up having a pretty great late in life career and, more importantly, has discussed his childhood issues in ways that are inspiring and powerful. A great career and an even greater human being.
The Rangers found R.A. Dickey was missing the Ulnar Collateral Ligament, the primary tissue in the elbow that stabilizes the elbow.
The Rangers then pulled their offer of $810,000 and replaced it with $75,000.
Dickey said that it felt like, “Winning the lottery and then losing the ticket.” and signed for the $75,000 because he did not feel another team would take a shot at him after it was found he was missing a UCL.
After reinventing himself as a Knuckleball pitcher, the rest as they say, is history.
Hey he’s had a great career and it’s his decision
As he should.
Bartolo is god
The Jays could use Dickey back. Good serviceable good innings eater. When his knuckler is dancing, it’s a thing of beauty.
Would be nice 5th starter for Orioles as they/we wait for young pitching to develope-Harvey, Hess, Means, Castro, Akin, Sedlock
Braves could trade with Bosox. Kemp,M.Adams and L.Sims FOR Castillo,Kimbrel,J.Kelly and B.Swihart!