While Jeremy Affeldt isn’t going to have a plaque in Cooperstown, nor will he probably even be enshrined in the San Francisco Giants’ own Hall of Fame, the pitcher will certainly be one of the most beloved characters to ever take the mound in The City.
Sadly, he’ll be doing so for the last time this week as Jeremy Affeldt announced his retirement on Thursday morning.
Affeldt, a former starter with the Kansas City Royals and Colorado Rockies, nearly fell out of baseball during the early portion of his career though reinvented himself to become a somewhat dominating relief pitcher with an equally powerful personality.
A clubhouse favorite wherever he landed, Jeremy Affeldt won three World Series championships with the San Francisco Giants – though he might be more proud of his 0.86 postseason ERA which puts him in the likes of talent like Mariano Rivera, Christy Mathewson, Sandy Koufax and Babe Ruth. Not bad company at all.
In leaving the game, I walk away secure in the knowledge that I accomplished almost everything I ever set out to do. I gave it everything I had out there, and I played the game the right way—not necessarily in compliance with some antiquated and silly “code,” but cleanly, and with honor and dedication to my craft. Along the way, I got to play both with Hall of Famers and guys who only got called up to the Show for a cup of coffee. I marched in three world championship parades in San Francisco, proving once again that you don’t have to throw hard to get the best hitters in the world out.
It’s not very often that a relief pitcher gets much attention when he hangs up the cleats, but when Jeremy Affeldt retires, things are different. They’re always a little different with Affeldt.
