13 Year MLB Veteran Eric Hosmer Announces His Retirement
An All Star. A World Series. 13 year MLB veteran Eric Hosmer announces his retirement from baseball.
The Hosmer turn of events is an interesting one. One of triumphs and highs. Then, there’s almost a villainous low. Nevertheless, no matter how a particular fan views him, Hosmer is leaving the game paid, a champion and with one heck of a story to tell.
Retirement rumors began when Eric Hosmer was released by the Chicago Cubs in May of 2023. No teams seemed to being willing to touch him; and for good reason, he hadn’t played very well. So then, he found himself released, without any playing options. Furthermore, after spending time away from the diamond with his family; the final decision becomes crystal clear. Hosmer decides not to pursue any further MLB playing opportunities. His days of play are over.
Moreover, playing 13 seasons also takes a toll. Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City City Star quotes Hosmer,
“I just didn’t know if my body was ready for all that, didn’t know mentally if I was ready to go back…And if you’re not ready at 110% to compete in this league, then it’s not going to work out.”
Never truer words spoken. Plus, there was a time when Eric and 110 percent went together perfectly in the same sentence. Eric Hosmer was drafted 3rd overall in 2008, won 4 gold gloves, and won a World Series in 2015 with the Kansas City Royals. Then in 2018 he became the first major free agent to come to the San Diego Padres in many years. He cashes in when the Padres made him their first 100 million dollar player; signing him to an 8-year, $144M contract. In fact, the San Diego franchise still owes Hosmer 25-26 million through 2025.
Hosmer’s signing in San Diego signaled the start of the Padres efforts to go from a rebuilding team; to a team ready to try to compete for playoff spots, which they did in 2020 and 2022. However, unlike with the Royals; Hosmer’s time in San Diego didn’t go well. Hosmer hit just .265./325/.411 with 69 HR, 0.3 fWAR in 596 games with the Padres. No bueno.
13 Year MLB Veteran Eric Hosmer Announces His Retirement
Despite his teammates in the clubhouse loving his presence, the San Diegan fans soured on him. Both due to poor performance as well as a perception on the part of many; that he didn’t seem to see a need to change his way of playing. Despite constantly hitting the ball on the ground at a very high rate, Hosmer showed resistance to adapting his swing to hit the ball in the air to get more doubles and homers. Moreover, his defense leads to much frustration as well. Including instances when Hosmer would go into foul territory to catch throws from infielders; oftentimes resulting in the throws hitting the opposing runners. A tactic rarely seen used by a 1st baseman at the MLB level.
The last straw for many of the Friar faithful occurs when Eric was finally traded in August 2022. He invokes his no trade clause to block going to the Washington Nationals. This information ends up going public and results in him going to the Boston Red Sox in another trade which ended up costing the Padres, fan favorite, Luke Voit. Therefore, it’s safe to say that San Diego does not feel the same as Kansas City fans.
One gets to enjoy happy memories. While the other fanbase, gets a highlight reel of painful bloopers. Ah… the life of sports fandom.
Eric Hosmer Retires From Baseball
The Hosmer era in San Diego was a tale of two perspectives. How his teammates viewed him, versus how the fans saw him. You can also make the argument that Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr, and stars like them; either wouldn’t have come to San Diego or wouldn’t have stayed there, if it weren’t for Eric Hosmer coming there first. Signing that big boy contract, attracts other big boy players.
Nevertheless, there is one thing Padres fans can hang onto for comfort. Eric didn’t stay in Boston. And he wasn’t good for the Chicago Cubs either.
Really only the Royals got to enjoy the best of his years. Yet, for KC, getting champion bragging rights would leave a good taste in any fans mouth. And we’re glad they got to enjoy such an amazing experience. However, that leads us to wonder… what went wrong with Eric? Did he get paid and lose his motivation?
Or perhaps, maybe it was the change in location? Let’s face it… It’s never easy for guys to go to new cities and play. Some make the adjustment faster than others; some never at all. However, some have 100 million reasons to settle in with a fabulous beach view and make the most of it. Yet, here we are… with Eric becoming a retiree.
Nonetheless, Hosmer isn’t just planning to be spending his days on the couch watching South Park. He’s got plans. One being starting a podcast. Therefore, so long Eric, the fans shall not forget your career; your 13 year “marriage” and devotion to the game… for better or for worse.
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