Shawn Green Retires

by achengy on Feb 28, 2008 1:45 PM EST in Toronto Blue Jays News

I haven't posted in ages but I'm able to squeeze some time to talk about an important retirement. Shawn Green #23 on on our Top 40 All-Time Greatest Blue Jays List has called it quits at seemingly young age 35 according to the New York Post

I don't really know how to feel about Shawn Green. When he was a Jay I was a huge supporter. There was something in my memories of skinny dude that can whack the ball like it's no tomorrow (Adam Lind kind of reminds me of him) and he added at least 20 steals. The moments I remember were 1998 where he became a 30-30 guy and topping that the following season with 42 jacks and earning himself an all-star appearance. In the end he spent only 5 seasons with us and I would've wished it to be 10 or 15 seasons as a Blue Jay because he was one of my favorite Jays at the time. Everyone probably heard about the trade involving him and Raul Mondesi which will always be a tough pill to swallow. He was pretty good for the Dodgers later making rounds with Arizona and the Mets. He earned himself a gaudy $100 million over his career. He ended up with a fine career line of 283/.355/.494 and 328 home runs. Not bad at all.

I didn't really know what was going on around contract negotiations or why Shawn Green was traded at the time but I always remembered the trade and how it was discussed a ton. I always looked up his statistics randomly at times during the season just to see how Shawn was doing. In a cruel way I wished for him to struggle to make the Jays look good for trading him and how him wanting out.

I guess I can forgive Shawn Green now that he has officially called it quits (still feeling a little bit bitter). Leaving the Jays at such a young age and being such a great player to watch, it was a bitter pill to swallow to see him having success with the Dodgers. 35 years old seems like an early retirement age these days and I'm sure he could've put in a few seasons as a platoon or pinch hitter but alas he has decided to call it quits and we at Bluebird Banter wish him the best.

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very nice sendoff

I always liked Green too. It's interesting he chose to retire now, as he had a pretty effective year last season. But I guess no one was offering him a starting role.

It's funny, I remember Mondesi as a complete disaster but looking at his stats he was okay the first year.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Feb 28, 2008 7:13 PM EST reply actions

Retiring Early

Rob Neyer made an interesting point about player retirement. Common sense might dictate that the relatively recent advent of egregiously high player salaries would lead to a sharp increase in early retirements, but that hasn't really been the case. So either greed or a true love for the game/spotlight must be the real motivation behind players' longevity.

by mark w on Feb 28, 2008 8:55 PM EST reply actions

Green remains in my heart.

I always liked Green too. I can remember going to the SkyDome and purchasing his card on a plaque the final year he was a Jay. He was well respected around the league and a nice guy. I am glad he had a good career, he deserved it. And yeah, Raul Mondesi was a bum for the most part after this trade. Another gem by Gord Ash.

by Quinton on Feb 29, 2008 1:50 PM EST reply actions