A couple of days after Josh Donaldson announced his retirement from baseball, a former MLB catcher did the same thing on Wednesday.
Mike Zunino, who wore the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, and Cleveland Guardians uniforms in his 11-year career, is calling it quits after an underrated career.
The average MLB catcher doesn’t stay at the highest level for long, but Zunino was able to play for 11 seasons, hit 149 home runs, and retire with 18.3 Wins Above Replacement (fWAR).
His wife Alyssa wrote a heartfelt message for him on Twitter, saying he worked “so hard” to live his dream of being a baseball player and expressing pride and love.
“Worlds can’t express how proud I am of this man. He has worked so hard to live his dream of becoming an MLB player and it has been so much fun to be by his side through it all. He is retiring after 11 seasons in the big leagues. It has been such an amazing ride! Love you babe!” she tweeted.
Worlds can’t express how proud I am of this man. He has worked so hard to live his dream of becoming an MLB player and it has been so much fun to be by his side through it all. He is retiring after 11 seasons in the big leagues. It has been such an amazing ride! Love you babe! pic.twitter.com/TNqfe3WEIH
— Alyssa Zunino (@AlyssaZunino) March 6, 2024
She also posted Zunino’s own goodbye words.
He thanked the three organizations he played for and their fans for the support through the years, in addition to Alyssa, the MLB Players Association, the staff of the squads he played with, his teammates, and even his agents in a classy letter.
Zunino says goodbye with a .199/.271/.406 career line, but plenty of power and some impressive defensive numbers that include 46 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and 70.7 Framing Runs.
He also made two All-Star teams.
He was a solid contributor in many areas of the game, and will be missed.
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