Connect with us

MLB

Brad Ziegler Announces Retirement After 11 Seasons

jaden_alexander via Flickr

MLB

Brad Ziegler Announces Retirement

Wednesday morning relief pitcher Brad Ziegler announced his retirement in a statement he tweeted out. The right-handed hurler famous for his submarine style of pitching played for several teams over his 11-year career, most notably the A’s and D-Backs. Ziegler was one of the top relievers in baseball at one point in his career, but very quietly dominated his entire time in the majors.

With 739 career appearances, his ERA never went above 2.80, finishing with an amazing 2.75 ERA. Ziegler appeared in 65 or more games in a season 8 times, appearing in 82 games in the 2018 season with Miami and Arizona. He also finishes with 105 career saves. Something I think is of note, he finished 8th in Rookie of the Year voting in 2008, something that is tough to do as a relief specialist.

In his statement, Ziegler talked about some of his career highlights, including starting his career with 39 scoreless innings; playing for Team USA in the 2009 WBC; his division titles in Arizona and Boston; coming in with bases loaded and no outs and striking out the side on 10 pitches in Fenway. As well, getting to be a part of David Ortiz’s retirement ceremony and getting his 100th career save. But of course one of his top memories is not baseball related, it’s flying with the Blue Angels. Proving he is the class act we all thought, he thanked his family as well as military members he’s met throughout his career.

A great pitcher for the majority of his long career, Brad Ziegler will be missed by many people and teams, as he was one of the few bullpen pieces that was almost always consistent. So congrats to Brad Ziegler on a great career. And also a very happy 39th birthday. The celebration tonight is well earned and will surely be special for him and his family.

 

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

More in MLB