A couple of former role players are leaving the game…
- Longtime catcher Chris Stewart has called it quits, Andy Martino of SNY tweets. Stewart entered the pros as a 12th-round pick of the White Sox in 2001 and went on to play with them as well as the Rangers, Yankees, Padres, Giants, Pirates, Braves and Diamondbacks from 2006-18. Although Stewart hit just .230/.297/.291 with nine home runs in 1,334 major league plate appearances, he earned the trust of plenty of teams behind the plate. The 37-year-old threw out 28 percent of would-be base stealers and garnered high marks from Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric.
- Long Island Ducks outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis has also retired, the team announced. The former Met, 31, gave up baseball on the four-year anniversary of his personal masterpiece – a three-home run game against the Diamondbacks on July 12, 2015. Nieuwenheis was a third-round pick of the Mets in 2008 who also went on to see MLB action with the Brewers and Angels. He combined to hit .221/.311/.384 with 31 homers and 20 stolen bases over 1,116 plate appearances from 2012-17. Nieuwenhuis spent a greater amount of time at the Triple-A level, batting .253/.348/.441 with 49 HRs and 27 steals in 1,616 PA.
noooo not Nieuwenhuis
Chris Stewart was a fantastic defensive catcher. Absolute cannon and fabulous blocking skills. He was a also a great bunter.
Could just be me, but I read that Nieuwenhuis stole 27 bases in 1616 stolen base attempts.
Wish both Nieuwenhuis and Stewart the best of luck in retirement. Stewart is a former Giant that has always stuck around for some reason, even though he played one season and was subpar offensively. Guess his defense makes up for it to some extent.
Fair point regarding “stole 27 bases…” I changed the wording. Thanks.
Kirk was one of my favorite players met him one time awesome guy