Going Gently

(Image from Lefty's Sports, Burlingame)

[Note: the Dodgers eliminated the Giants from the playoffs on Tuesday.]

As he announces his retirement today, Giants pitcher Jeremy Affeldt thinks about his legacy :

"if I don't see these guys again, if I'm not their teammate, then what did I leave them with?"

Jeremy Affeldt helped San Francisco win three World Series Championships in five years. Very few relief pitchers can point to greater accomplishments. Yet, it's how he says goodbye to his teammates and baseball is what's most important to Jeremy Affeldt.

"I think it [quitting early] would’ve been a travesty and something I would’ve regretted for the rest of my life if I would’ve walked early. But knowing I’m not 100 percent in, every day, is a disrespect to this organization if I were to continue to push it.

“If I had to sign with another organization, it would have been a disrespect to them because I would’ve known walking into it that I wasn’t all in. So this is a time I feel like I can retire with a team that I truly feel I’m a part of. I played for four teams, but if you ask me who I am as a baseball player, I’m a San Francisco Giant, and that’ll never change.”

How many people are "all in" with their jobs, and if they're not, have the luxury of walking away with their principles intact? Like many other baseball players who have said goodbye to the game, Jeremy Affeldt is a lucky guy.

[End note: his Sports Illustrated post, "I'm retiring. Here are five things I won't miss about baseball" is both funny and perceptive.]