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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Jack Wilson to retire

Jack Wilson has retired after 12 seasons in the majors, Dejan Kovacevic reports.

“My wife Julie and our kids and I made that decision together, that this season was going to be my last,” Wilson told Trib Total Media. “We’re retiring officially, right after the Braves win the World Series.”

Wilson, 34, was acquired by Atlanta to be the backup shortstop, but he appeared in only 40 games and batted .169. He went on the disabled list July 15 because of a dislocated pinky finger, then was released by the Braves on Aug. 31.

Wilson is still traveling with the Braves and next week will make his first trip back to Pittsburgh since the Bucs traded him in 2009.

Thanks to Los.

Repoz Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:02 PM | 29 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: pirates

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1. Obi One Kenobi Nil

Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:21 PM (#4245575)

*tumbleweed*

2. Fernigal McGunnigle has become a merry hat Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:22 PM (#4245576)

Wilson made $40 million in his career. Below is a list of players within 500 PAs and 5 points of OPS+, 75% of their games at SS. That's the bad Alex Gonzalez, not Sea Bass.

Rk            Player WAR/pos   PA OPS+ Rfield   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS
1       Eddie Miller    21.8 5817   80     79 .238 .290 .352 .643
2        Jack Wilson    19.6 5339   76    126 .265 .306 .366 .671
3      Bud Harrelson    18.6 5516   76     36 .236 .327 .288 .616
4     Dick Schofield    16.9 4928   73     41 .230 .308 .316 .624
5         Bucky Dent    15.1 5026   74     64 .247 .297 .321 .618
6         Walt Weiss    14.6 5516   78     19 .258 .351 .326 .677
7     Craig Reynolds    11.1 4863   80      6 .256 .291 .345 .636
8    Cristian Guzman    10.0 5785   80    -36 .271 .307 .383 .690
9      Ivan de Jesus     9.5 5193   77    -18 .254 .323 .326 .649
10     Alex Gonzalez     8.8 5528   79      6 .243 .302 .391 .694 

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/25/2012.

3. Athletic Supporter gangnam style Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:27 PM (#4245583)

So what happens if the Braves don't win the World Series?

4. Fernigal McGunnigle has become a merry hat Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:27 PM (#4245585)

And everyone with 800+ games at SS from 2000 to 2012, this time including Sea Bass:

Rk                Player WAR/pos Rfield OPS+   PA   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS
1            Derek Jeter    47.8   -191  116 8966 .312 .380 .443 .823
2          Miguel Tejada    40.1    -37  112 7853 .292 .340 .465 .805
3          Jimmy Rollins    39.2     44   97 8208 .270 .328 .432 .760
4          Rafael Furcal    37.2     64   96 7200 .281 .346 .403 .749
5             Jose Reyes    29.3    -17  107 5518 .291 .341 .440 .781
6         Hanley Ramirez    26.0    -79  128 4387 .298 .371 .496 .867
7         Carlos Guillen    24.2    -45  111 5214 .285 .355 .444 .799
8         Edgar Renteria    24.2     -8   96 6671 .286 .344 .409 .753
9            Jack Wilson    19.6    126   76 5339 .265 .306 .366 .671
10        David Eckstein    18.7    -11   87 5705 .280 .345 .355 .701
11            J.J. Hardy    18.3     63   96 3920 .258 .313 .427 .740
12        Jhonny Peralta    17.8    -28  100 5201 .265 .328 .423 .751
13        Jason Bartlett    17.6     35   91 3517 .271 .336 .366 .702
14       Orlando Cabrera    16.6     -7   84 7543 .273 .318 .388 .707
15          Omar Vizquel    14.6     38   82 6118 .269 .335 .354 .689
16       Cristian Guzman    12.7    -22   83 5329 .275 .311 .392 .703
17            Julio Lugo    12.3    -49   87 5338 .269 .333 .384 .716
18            Juan Uribe    12.0     43   83 5229 .251 .296 .419 .715
19          Adam Everett    10.7    111   66 3070 .242 .294 .346 .640
20         Alex Gonzalez     7.2     32   80 5409 .246 .291 .398 .689
21         Cesar Izturis     4.2     62   64 4537 .255 .294 .323 .617
22         Royce Clayton     0.7    -11   74 3920 .256 .311 .365 .677
23   Yuniesky Betancourt    -3.0    -86   82 3869 .266 .290 .392 .682 

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/25/2012.

By this, among recent long-term shortstops he's the best fielder (non-Adam Everett division), and the worst hitter among the players who provided significant value (again, non-Adam Everett division). Sounds about right.

5. Robert in Manhattan Beach Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:32 PM (#4245590)

I'm surprised he doesn't think there is still room for him at the major league level. He just watched a playoff bound team employee Paul Janish (.186/.269/.234) as their everyday shortstop for three months.

6. BourbonSamurai, vassal of the Harpsburg Empire Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:32 PM (#4245591)

Wait...they released him but he still travels with them and stuff? Do they pay for hotels and meals for him? Is that usual?

7. vortex of dissipation Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:33 PM (#4245595)

When he and Josh Wilson were both with the Mariners, it was confusing. Two shortstops named J. Wilson on the same team? Almost as bad as the two Bobby Jones pitching for the Mets.

8. DA Baracus is gritty and hits with RISP Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:35 PM (#4245596)

Wait...they released him but he still travels with them and stuff? Do they pay for hotels and meals for him? Is that usual?

They fixed the glitch. Once he realizes that he's no longer being paid, it'll work itself out.

9. Rickey Fredonia Fudge Duckery Precious Twiddle Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:36 PM (#4245600)

I'm surprised he doesn't think there is still room for him at the major league level. He just watched a playoff bound team employee Paul Janish (.186/.269/.234) as their everyday shortstop for three months.

Unlike Jack Wilson, Paul Janish can still actually defend up the middle. Wilson has no range left and effectively only a 2B backup now.

10. DCA Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:36 PM (#4245601)

11. Bruce Chen's Huge Panamanian Robot Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:39 PM (#4245602)

Wait...they released him but he still travels with them and stuff? Do they pay for hotels and meals for him? Is that usual?

Maybe no one told him he was released.

12. Robert in Manhattan Beach Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:41 PM (#4245604)

That's the bad Alex Gonzalez, not Sea Bass.

But the bad Alex Gonzalez has more career WAR than Sea Bass! It's so confusing!

Here's how I remember them: Alex Gonzalez is Bartman Gonzalez, while Alex Gonzalez is 'The guy whose stint with the Braves was so painful it made me want to not only give up watching baseball but had me longing for a traumatic brain injury to purge every hacktastic memory of him" Gonzalez. Simple, really.

13. Fernigal McGunnigle has become a merry hat Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:48 PM (#4245612)

But the bad Alex Gonzalez has more career WAR than Sea Bass! It's so confusing!

That's entirely because Sea Bass put up -2.4 WAR in his first four years. Once he got acclimated, he became the less-bad Alex Gonzalez.

14. Fernigal McGunnigle has become a merry hat Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:50 PM (#4245614)

Wait...they released him but he still travels with them and stuff? Do they pay for hotels and meals for him? Is that usual?

I wonder if the franchise wants to keep him around as a minor league instructor something, and they're using him as an extra coach for the rest of the season.

15. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: September 25, 2012 at 05:51 PM (#4245615)

Over the last decade or so, I've had a lot of fun watching Jack snag balls deep in the hole and turn them into unexpected outs. He's a good guy, and I hope retirement treats him well.

Some highlights here, if anyone's interested.

16. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: September 25, 2012 at 06:06 PM (#4245620)

If you had asked me when Jack Wilson retired, I would have guessed five years ago.

When he and Josh Wilson were both with the Mariners, it was confusing. Two shortstops named J. Wilson on the same team? Almost as bad as the two Bobby Jones pitching for the Mets.

Or two M. Cabreras leading their leagues in batting. Lucky for us one of them solved that problem.

17. Sweatpants Posted: September 25, 2012 at 06:08 PM (#4245624)

I'm surprised he doesn't think there is still room for him at the major league level. He just watched a playoff bound team employee Paul Janish (.186/.269/.234) as their everyday shortstop for three months.

It probably doesn't help that the Braves traded for Janish because they knew they couldn't live with Wilson as the everyday starter, and, as pathetic as Janish's offense was, Wilson's was even worse (.169/.189/.211, OPS+ of 8).

18. Brian White Posted: September 25, 2012 at 07:08 PM (#4245665)

Unlike Jack Wilson, Paul Janish can still actually defend up the middle. Wilson has no range left and effectively only a 2B backup now.

Yeah, Wilson's defense really went south in a hurry.

Janish was effectively their fourth shortstop option this year. Pastornicky couldn't hack it on defense, Simmons broke his pinky, Wilson turned out to be toast (and hurt). Finding someone for two months to cover for Simmons was a strange situation, since they had absolutely no in-house options, but couldn't give up anything of value to get someone (since they'd only be needed as long as it took Simmons to recover). Paul Janish was actually a pretty nice answer to the problem; his defense almost does make up for his bat.

19. Rickey Fredonia Fudge Duckery Precious Twiddle Posted: September 25, 2012 at 07:19 PM (#4245672)

Janish was effectively their fourth shortstop option this year. Pastornicky couldn't hack it on defense, Simmons broke his pinky, Wilson turned out to be toast (and hurt).

And to the sub-thread about his time with the Mariners, at least at the start of the season the Braves had Josh Wilson parked at AAA Gwinnett, though he never was called up.

20. AROM Posted: September 25, 2012 at 08:24 PM (#4245706)

"Here's how I remember them: Alex Gonzalez is Bartman Gonzalez, while Alex Gonzalez is 'The guy whose stint with the Braves was so painful it made me want to not only give up watching baseball but had me longing for a traumatic brain injury to purge every hacktastic memory of him" Gonzalez. Simple, really."

Alex Gonzalez is the one who booted the DP grounder after Bartman. Alex Gonzalez is the one who was waiting to bat later in the inning.

21. Walt Davis Posted: September 25, 2012 at 08:48 PM (#4245728)

I may lose faith in God. One of the greatest things about baseball is that Alex Gonazalez ia Alex Gonzalez's #1 career comp but, alas, Alex Gonzalez is not Alex Gonzalez's #1 career comp.

22. haven Posted: September 25, 2012 at 09:15 PM (#4245750)

I don't have the fond memories of Wilson that Vlad has...... As a Pirates fan I never liked him at all. I honestly don't know if he's a good guy, but I do hope retirement treats him well.

23. the Hugh Jorgan returns Posted: September 25, 2012 at 09:55 PM (#4245778)

Wilson made $40 million in his career.

I do hope retirement treats him well.

If he's invested the money wisely and derives all future income from investments and pays the Romney tax rate, I suggest he'll be fine, thank you very much.

24. Kiko Sakata

Posted: September 25, 2012 at 10:19 PM (#4245794)

Alex Gonzalez is the one who booted the DP grounder after Bartman. Alex Gonzalez is the one who was waiting to bat later in the inning.

This is pretty much where my memory of them ends. Sea Bass played for the Marlins; the other Alex Gonzalez was a Cub. I know that one or the other have played for the Reds, Blue Jays, Braves, and probably a half-dozen other teams, and I couldn't for the life of me tell you which one played for which of those teams.

25. MM1f Posted: September 25, 2012 at 10:23 PM (#4245798)

FWIW, Paul Janish is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL shortstop.

As for Wilson, I'll always remember him for being the butt of a chuckle worthy line in an early BPro Annual, when Wilson was a Cardinals' prospect, that read something like: Jack Wilson was a star soccer player in high school, which makes sense because he booted a lot of balls at shortstop last year.

26. MM1f Posted: September 25, 2012 at 10:26 PM (#4245804)

If he's invested the money wisely and derives all future income from investments and pays the Romney tax rate, I suggest he'll be fine, thank you very much.

Vince Young says "What?"

27. MM1f Posted: September 25, 2012 at 10:37 PM (#4245811)

This is pretty much where my memory of them ends. Sea Bass played for the Marlins; the other Alex Gonzalez was a Cub. I know that one or the other have played for the Reds, Blue Jays, Braves, and probably a half-dozen other teams, and I couldn't for the life of me tell you which one played for which of those teams.

Alex Gonzalez (Sea Bass).: .247/.292/.399 = .691 OPS and 81 OPS+. Averaged 1 homer per 36.1 at-bats.
Alex Gonzalez (Jays/Cubs): .243/.302/.391 = .694 OPS and 79 OPS+. Averaged 1 homer per 36.3 at-bats.

Not sure if MLB teams bothered to tell 'em apart either. They are the same player, after all.

28. Crispix Attacks 2: Swag Airlines Posted: September 25, 2012 at 10:53 PM (#4245818)

The older Alex Gonzalez (Jays/Cubs) is American, the younger one is from Venezuela. However the non-American one is the one with the catchy nickname, obtained from Kevin Millar when he was on the Marlins. Marlins -> Fish -> Sea Bass.

However, the non-Marlins one is the one who grew up in Miami!

I know the older one is the one who was on the Phillies because he was totally washed up at that time. He made Abraham Nunez look like Derek Jeter. Whereas the younger one is still going 6 years later.

29. The John Wetland Memorial Death (CoB) Posted: September 25, 2012 at 11:00 PM (#4245822)

Don't know how long he had it for, but the last couple of years Jack Wilson had a ++ 'stache, "Megan's Law" division ...

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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Jack Wilson to retire

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