Brad Ziegler announced his retirement today
Ziegler, who turns 39 today, did not even pitch in the big leagues until age 28 yet managed to pitch in 11 big league seasons. He made 739 relief appearances with a 2.75 ERA and 105 saves in those seasons, pitching for the Diamondbacks, Athletics, Marlins and Red Sox. While his 2018 season was, by many measures, one of his worst as a big leaguer, it’s not like he couldn’t have carried on if he wanted to: he led the majors in appearances pitching in 82 games. If he wanted to pitch in 2019, I have no doubt he’d have found work.
As it is, however, he’s hanging them up. He released a lengthy statement about that decision a few minutes ago:
Thank you to all my family, friends, and fans. It’s time to move on... pic.twitter.com/tsuTGHM9Dh
— Brad Ziegler (@BradZiegler) October 10, 2018