04/25/24
February 05, 2013
Cy Young Winner Brandon Webb Retires at 33: Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb, the National League Cy Young award winner in 2006 and runner up the next two seasons, has announced his retirement from baseball at age 33. Webb last pitched on the opening day of the 2009 season against the Colorado Rockies, leaving after four innings with shoulder discomfort. Two comeback attempts and shoulder surgeries later, he's throwing in the towel. "I was at the top of my game, at the top of the game and then it was just suddenly over," Webb said. Baseball writer Rob Neyer says Webb threw "one of the most devastating sinking fastballs that anyone has ever seen."
Honestly, I had totally forgot about him.
Red Sox fans haven't, mainly because since the team went in the crapper, he was annually held up as "Maybe he comes back and turns into an ace again". I think he replaced Ben Sheets in the role; not sure who takes over now. These stories always make me feel so bad, like Moonlight Graham in Field of Dreams, "It was like coming this close to your dreams... and then watch them brush past you like strangers in a crowd."
posted by yerfatma at 04:23 PM on February 05, 2013
He made $31,000,000 in his career, won over 20 games in one season, won a Cy Young award, and joins an insanely amazing list of pitchers to finish in the top 3 in Cy Young award voting three years in a row:
Sandy Koufax
Warren Spahn
Fergie Jenkins
Catfish Hunter
Jim Palmer
Steve Carlton
Tom Glavine
Pedro Martinez
Greg Maddux
Roger Clemens
Randy Johnson
Brandon Webb
That's 6 HOF'ers, 5 more highly-probable HOF'ers, and Brandon Webb.
That's a hell of a career.
posted by grum@work at 07:37 PM on February 05, 2013
Add Chris Carpenter to the list. He seems to be done too.
Not grums list, the retired list
posted by Debo270 at 09:26 AM on February 06, 2013
If I told you a team had Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay in its rotation, you'd probably assume that was a winning team, right?
What if I told you they combined for 243 innings of 7.48 ERA? Now you assume they were a losing team.
Except, this team finished with 83 wins, thanks to the only 20-game winning season of David Wells career (4.11 ERA, however) and and an MVP-level performance from Carlos Delgado (.344/.470/.664).
posted by grum@work at 11:59 AM on February 06, 2013
Honestly, I had totally forgot about him.
Pitching a baseball over many years is very tough on a human arm.