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Sunday, July 25, 2010

ESPN: Ausmus says he’ll retire after season

Or as Eric Karros and his conceptual beach demon hair wavve said yesterday…“I’m not saying Brad Ausmus is much of a hitter, but he does know how to use the bat.”

Confirming what was already widely assumed, Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Brad Ausmus said after Saturday’s 3-2 victory over the New York Mets that he will retire after the season, bringing an end to a 17-year career in the majors that saw him win three Gold Glove awards at baseball’s most physically demanding position.

In Ausmus’ typically understated way, his so-called “announcement’’ was nothing more than an answer to a reporter’s question. It came immediately after he played in his first game in more than three months, catching the first 12 innings of the 13-inning marathon four days after being activated from the 60-day disabled list.

“This year is it,’’ Ausmus said.

Repoz Posted: July 25, 2010 at 01:45 PM | 15 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: announcers, astros, dodgers, media

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1. Rich Posted: July 25, 2010 at 03:53 PM (#3598540)

Losing Ausmus in the expansion draft may not be comparable to trading Buhner for Phelps, but it was not a particularly smart move.

2. Mayor Blomberg Posted: July 25, 2010 at 04:45 PM (#3598548)

he would have been a fine backup for Jorge all these years.

3. Textbook Editor Posted: July 25, 2010 at 06:10 PM (#3598594)

Our long sabermetric nightmare is almost over.

4. hokieneer Posted: July 25, 2010 at 06:33 PM (#3598600)

Is this article 3 years old? Seriously he's still in the majors?

5. Kiko Sakata

Posted: July 25, 2010 at 06:47 PM (#3598607)

Is this article 3 years old? Seriously he's still in the majors?

I seriously thought maybe he had been some team's bullpen coach or a AA manager for a couple of years and was getting out of baseball.

6. Rafael Bellylard: Built like a Molina Posted: July 25, 2010 at 07:26 PM (#3598622)

No post from bbc? She must be in some combination of shock and mourning.

7. base ball chick Posted: July 26, 2010 at 02:53 AM (#3599001)

well, bradley awesomeness retired from the astros 2 years ago

and oh yes i AM hoping he comes back to houston. to coach, manage, sell tickets, wear a surfboard

i would be HAPPY to welcome him back PERSONALLY. perhaps he could teach me to, uh, hang ten

8. Ray (RDP)

Posted: July 26, 2010 at 03:27 AM (#3599017)

I discovered Ausmus was still in the majors about a month ago, so, nyah nyah to all of you.

9. The District Attorney Posted: July 26, 2010 at 03:32 AM (#3599024)

Never saw him announce his retirement.

Seriously, he didn't make a big production of this announcement? No Lebron-esque ESPN special? That's amazing restraint... he must have divested himself of all ego and achieved true enlightenment.

he would have been a fine backup for Jorge all these years.

But then he couldn't have amassed the 1,952 games played that make him a better Hall of Fame candidate than Jorge.

10. Textbook Editor Posted: July 26, 2010 at 04:34 AM (#3599048)

Ausmus might be the HACKING MASS All-Time Catcher, right? Any time someone tries to point out that baseball people have gotten smarter the last several years, you should just say "Brad Ausmus has played 1,952 games." and end the discussion right there.

11. hokieneer Posted: July 26, 2010 at 05:15 AM (#3599055)

Ausmus had a rep for being a great defensive catcher with a great arm. He was a staple in my shallow strat-o league for at least 8-10 years as someone's backup, though SOM is not the final verdict on catcher's defense.

12. The Gurus DO NOT BourbonSamurai Posted: July 26, 2010 at 07:30 AM (#3599067)

Ausmus stole 100 bases over the course of his career, and had 5 seasons with double-digit steals. Huh.

13. Tim Stauffer, Trot Nixon's Coming (Dan Lee) Posted: July 26, 2010 at 08:47 AM (#3599070)

MLB All-Dartmouth team:
C: Brad Ausmus
1B: Mark Johnson
2B: Howard Fahey
3B: Red Rolfe
SS: Chick Maynard
LF: Fred Brown
CF: Chester Emerson
RF: Fred Crolius
SP: Lee Viau
SP: Jim Beattie
SP: Ralph Glaze
SP: Pete Broberg
RP: Mike Remlinger
RP: Chuck Seelbach

Not so good. They'll have to win a lot of 1-0 games behind Viau and Beattie.

14. Avoid running at all times.-S. Paige Posted: July 26, 2010 at 11:08 AM (#3599075)

I admire players like Brad Ausmus, Alex Cora and Miguel Cairo. They probably shouldn't have been major league baseball players for the last few seasons (at least), but they're clearly good organizational soldiers, smart guys who managers and general managers love. There's something to be said for these types. They hung on by force of personality. There's something inspiring about that, like seeing an ugly and non-wealthy guy with a very attractive woman. Except, according to bbc, Ausmus is anything but ugly. Maybe the secret is their good looks?

15. The District Attorney Posted: July 26, 2010 at 07:37 PM (#3599542)

Ausmus might be the HACKING MASS All-Time Catcher, right?

When will everyone finally learn... if the question is futility, the answer is ALWAYS Bill Bergen.

All-time HACKING MASS catchers through 2009:

Bill Bergen (1901-1911): 3228 PA, 395 OPS = 1307.3 ESPN
Bob Boone (1972-1990): 8148 PA, 661 OPS = 1132.6 ESPN
Malachi Kittridge (1890-1906): 4446 PA, 551 OPS = 1107.1 ESPN
Billy Sullivan (1899-1916): 3981 PA, 535 OPS = 1055.0 ESPN
Red Dooin (1902-1916): 4271 PA, 570 OPS = 982.3 ESPN
Pop Snyder (1873-1891): 3737 PA, 553 OPS = 923.0 ESPN
Brad Ausmus (1993-2009): 7030 PA, 669 OPS = 920.9 ESPN

Three players with more HACKING MASS points than Bergen are in the Hall of Fame...

Tommy Corcoran (1890-1907): 9368 PA, 624 OPS = 1648.8 ESPN
Luis Aparicio (1956-1973): 11230 PA, 654 OPS = 1639.6 ESPN
Larry Bowa (1970-1985): 9103 PA, 620 OPS = 1638.5 ESPN
Rabbit Maranville (1912-1935): 11256 PA, 658 OPS = 1598.4 ESPN
George McBride (1901-1920): 6235 PA, 545 OPS = 1589.9 ESPN
Don Kessinger (1964-1979): 8529 PA, 626 OPS = 1484.0 ESPN
Ed Brinkman (1961-1975): 6640 PA, 580 OPS = 1460.8 ESPN
Ozzie Smith (1978-1996): 10778 PA, 665 OPS = 1455.0 ESPN
Mark Belanger (1965-1982): 6602 PA, 580 OPS = 1452.4 ESPN
Alfredo Griffin (1976-1993): 7330 PA, 604 OPS = 1436.7 ESPN
Mickey Doolan (1905-1918): 6598 PA, 585 OPS = 1418.6 ESPN
Bert Campaneris (1964-1983): 9625 PA, 653 OPS = 1414.9 ESPN
Kid Gleason (1888-1912): 8198 PA, 628 OPS = 1410.1 ESPN
Tim Foli (1979-1985): 6573 PA, 592 OPS = 1367.2 ESPN

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ESPN: Ausmus says he’ll retire after season

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