Veteran reliever Brad Ziegler has announced his retirement from the game of baseball (Twitter link). The submariner, who chose the occasion of his 39th birthday to spread the news, has appeared in 11 MLB seasons and compiled over seven hundred innings on the hill.
It has certainly been quite a run for a player who got his start as a 20th-round draft pick and did not touch the majors until his age-28 season. As Ziegler himself notes in his announcement, his outlook was dubious at best when he was transformed from a marginal starting pitching prospect into a drop-down reliever.
As it turns out, Ziegler has led all relievers in baseball in innings pitched and appearances since making his debut in 2008. Despite working in the mid-eighties with his signature sinker, Ziegler befuddled MLB hitters all along the way.
It didn’t take long for Ziegler to announce his presence once he finally did debut. He spun a record-setting 39 scoreless frames for the Athletics in his rookie campaign.
Inevitably, the league adjusted somewhat. And Ziegler was always somewhat limited by his lack of swing-and-miss stuff. But he proceeded to reel off an amazing span of productive campaigns in Oakland and then (after a mid-2011 trade) with the Diamondbacks. From 2008 through 2016, Ziegler tossed nearly six hundred frames while maintaining a 2.44 ERA and picking up 85 saves.
The end of that stretch of excellence, of course, did not come with either of those organizations. Ziegler was shipped from Arizona to the Red Sox at the 2016 trade deadline, leading to a quality run down the stretch in Boston.
Ziegler ended up carrying that momentum into free agency, landing a two-year, $16MM deal from the Marlins. Things didn’t go as hoped, but Ziegler did figure out a way to turn things around in 2018. He threw well enough in the run-up to the deadline that he landed back in Arizona to finish out his career.
Ultimately, Ziegler will be remembered for being a highly-respected, consistent, and exceedingly durable reliever. He led all of baseball, in fact, with 82 appearances in his final campaign. Ziegler also notably tallied more than one hundred career saves.
Above all else, though, his absurd 66.7% career groundball rate sets a mark that future hurlers of his ilk will be measured by. That stands as a record for the modern era in which such statistics are available. (You can safely ignore the first name on that list, as it’s based only on a one-appearance sample in 2002, the first year that GB% is computed.)
It is not yet known what Ziegler will pursue next, but the long-time player’s union representative will surely have his choice of opportunities in and around the game of baseball. MLBTR congratulates him on an excellent career and wishes him the best of luck in his future endeavors. (For the record, this offer still stands!)
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
one of the most underrated and consistent setup guys around. 2.44 ERA and 1.68 ERA+ 2008-2016
He was a very good closer in his time in Arizona as well
Congrats on a great career
Forever a Diamondback. Thank you for many years of excitement.
Always loved his ability to dominate with his delivery and without the velocity or strikeout totals most back of the bullpen arms require. Congrats!
Late bloomer. He was 28 by the time he made his MLB debut. Impressive 11 year career. Hats off to him.
He was a great ‘merican and loved the troops as well.
good goy
He met his 2nd wife at spring training for A’s, divorced his first wife soon after who he also had a young daughter with. Good pitcher, shady situation
Oh please////seriously GTFO with this nonsense.
Asfan…please stay in the basement!
Figured he would pitch one more season with the Dbacks. He had a great career there. Probably didn’t want to be part of the rebuild.
Maybe the Cardinals will finally stop pursuing him now….
All Indians fans are sad, as he was on the bargain bullpen hunting list for 2019. Need to sign 15 guys to the bullpen. Time to move on to Zach Duke….
Please take him. If Dipoto re-signs him, I’ll cry.
Oh, to retire at 39 years old – well played, sir.
Good dude – called it at right time..
Not sure anybody would have predicted a guy who debuted at 28 years old with such a funky delivery would last three years, let alone eleven. Congrats on a great career.
Short time with Red Sox but good job
Goodnight sweet prince.
Good way to end an honorable career, enjoy your retirement.
Saw him shut down the Halos many a time. Ground ball after ground ball.
Happy trails in retirement.
I saw Ziegler interviewed a lot while he was in Boston, and always came away impressed; a thinking guy’s kind of player. That, combined with his Union experience (and experience knocking around quite a bit in his younger days), seems to speak to a FO job, maybe in Player Development.
I have no idea if he wants or needs the job (he’s made his money), but it strikes me that he’d be a real asset for any organization. And who knows? You can “come downstairs” and become a pretty good field manager (see Craig Consul/A.J.Hinch, etc.).
Bright guy…hope he sticks in the game.
He should invest in his family’s traditional business and teach Americans how to build solid, lasting houses, instead of their usual wooden sheds.
The Middle High German name “Ziegler” abbreviates “Ziegelbrenner” (brick burner). Modern bricks are essential in designing and constructing eco-friendly low-energy buildings.
Go for it, Brad!
I think my head just exploded
Tip of the cap to BZ! Worked at his craft for years, finally broke through, and made the most of it
Nice career – finished with 13 bWAR, which is actually pretty good for a reliever (for comparison, Trevor Hoffman had 28 WAR, and he’s in the Hall of Fame). For 38 million dollars, he was a very valuable asset, and he’s also a terrific example of how analytics can be more useful than scouting with unorthodox pitchers; because Ziegler threw in the 80s he was basically ignored by a lot of organizations- heck, he was released by the Phillies less than a year after they drafted him. Good career and it’s always fun to watch a submariner.