Despite contract offers from three teams, free agent infielder Michael Young intends to retire in order to spend more time with his family, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.
Michael Young decides to retire
After parts of 14 seasons in the majors, infielder Michael Young plans to retire.
Christopher Hanewinckel-US PRESSWIRE
The Rangers announced they will hold a press conference for Young’s retirement announcement on Friday, as he will retire with the team for which he played 13 of his 14 MLB seasons.
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Young, 37, played 147 games for the Phillies and Dodgers in 2013, but spent his entire career with the Rangers before last season. Despite below average defensive numbers, Young was versatile and played more than 3,800 innings at second base, shortstop, and third base in his career, while also logging more than 800 at first.
He was incredibly durable, playing in fewer than 145 games just once after becoming a regular even as he aged and moved around the diamond. Young was known for his gap-to-gap approach, big hits during All-Star Games, and professional demeanor.
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His best season at the plate came in 2005, when he hit .331/.385/.513 in 732 plate appearances, but his .322/.374/.518 line in 2009 was close, albeit in only 593 trips to the plate. He had three or four very nice years at the plate, but mostly made his living with a consistently average bat, good baserunning instincts, and reliability. For his career, his .300/.346/.441 slash line leaves him about four percentage points better than the average hitter during his era after accounting for the fact that he played so many home games at the hitter friendly Ballpark in Arlington.
Despite a rough final two seasons (-1.8 WAR according to FanGraphs), Young will likely receive a very warm welcome when he returns to Texas for whatever ceremony the Rangers have in mind.
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