Michael Jordan, Brett Favre and Roger Clemens have all been indecisive about retirement. Each has retired, made a comeback, then retired again and made yet another comeback. It got to be rather annoying.
Hopefully, Jim Edmonds doesn't follow the trend of his fellow athletes.
Edmonds, 40, sat out all of the 2009 season after not receiving any enticing offers during the offseason. He ended up latching on to the Brewers prior to the 2010 season, a move that left some people around the sport laughing. By mid-summer, they certainly weren't laughing anymore.
After being traded in August to the Reds for Chris Dickerson, Edmonds finished out what was a surprisingly productive campaign. He hit an impressive .276/.342/.504 in 86 games for both the Brewers and Reds with 11 home runs, 23 doubles and 23 RBIs. Considering his age and the fact that he didn't play at all in 2009, he had a very successful season.
Edmonds is mulling over his options this winter. He could probably receive a few minor league offers if he were to test the market, but is it really worth it at 40 years old? He'll be 41 come the end of June, and he is well past the prime of his career.
Should he choose retirement, it'd be the end of one heck of a career.
Edmonds has played 17 seasons in the Major Leagues with the California/Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds.
He was as pure of a slugger as they come. He had a big, powerful swing that sprayed the ball all over the outfield. If this is really the end, he will have finished his career with 393 home runs, 1199 RBIs, 998 walks and 437 doubles.
Great numbers and nothing at all to sneeze at. But as great of a hitter as he was, that wasn't his game. He was a human highlight reel in center field.
Edmonds was famous for his acrobatic catches in the outfield. Far from a fast guy, he was able to cover a lot of ground by getting good reads and good jumps on the ball coming off of the bat. When he jumped, leapt or dove, you knew he was going to catch the ball.
His defense was recognized with eight Gold Gloves from 1997 to 2005. The only year he didn't win the award was 1999. He was selected for the All-Star Game in 1995, 2000, 2003 and 2005, and he won the Silver Slugger Award in 2004. He's received his share of accolades.
Now, I will admit that I'm not a big proponent of "advanced stats." I'm content judging a player on the basics (games played, hits, runs, home runs, RBIs, batting average, on base percentage, etc.) But to really show Edmonds' value, I'm going to take a look at his career Wins Above Replacement (WAR).
Edmonds has a career WAR of 68.3, seventh among active players. If he were to retire today, he would place 92nd on the all-time list. He may not be considered one of the top 100 players of all time, but his value based on WAR suggests he might be.
All-time ranking aside, Edmonds will retire as one of the best center fielders in recent memory. In fact, ESPN's Rob Neyer ranked him No. 12 on his list of the Top 100 players of the decade. He was a true ballplayer, a stand up guy and a damn good fielder.
Whether he makes the Hall of Fame or not remains to be seen, but regardless, it's been a great career for "Jimmy Ballgame."
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