12/21/24
January 18, 2011
Kansas City Royals' Gil Meche announces retirement: For the longest time, Gil Meche assumed he’d be pitching this season. Despite shoulder problems that have limited his effectiveness for the last 19 months, Meche said the thought of retirement had never even crossed his mind, until this past December. It suddenly hit him that even with his recent move to the bullpen, the odds of him making it through the season were highly unlikely. He kept thinking: did he really want to be the guy on the disabled list making $12 million? The answer was no. Tuesday, the highest-paid player in Royals history made it official, announcing his retirement and walked away from $12.4 million he was due this season. “It’s just the right thing to do,” said Meche, who’s not seeking a settlement from the club. “I’m not trying to look good. I just know I wouldn’t be able to handle it if I got hurt again and wouldn’t be able to play.” “It's very unique,” said Royals g.m. Dayton Moore, who admitted he’s never heard of a player leaving this much money on the table in retirement. “There are a lot of risks in this game, and any time you give a long-term contract, you take on a risk. Gil had every right to finish off the final year of this contract, and he chose not to.”
posted by tommytrump to baseball at 10:35 PM - 7 comments
If only other athletes would follow Gil Meche's example.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 11:36 PM on January 18, 2011
If only other athletes would follow Gil Meche's example.
. . . then owners would probably charge less for tickets and concessions. not
posted by graymatters at 12:38 AM on January 19, 2011
Why would cutting their costs cause owners to lower their prices? They'd pocket the difference and laugh all the way to the bank... just like they do when they extort a new stadium out of local city/state legislatures.
Gil Meche will always be noteworthy for his unusual similarity to the name "Gil Gamesh", the fictional Sidd Finch-like pitcher in Philp Roth's "The Great American Novel".
posted by hincandenza at 02:23 AM on January 19, 2011
When Ryne Sandberg walked away from his contract a few years ago, initially the word was that he said he wasn't worth that kind of money no matter how good he was and had a hard time rationalizing it.
IIRC, I think the money was around 7 mil annually, and was one of the top deals at the time.
Later, it turned out that there was a divorce and other personal factors involved.
But I remember being thrilled over the prospect that finally someone had become overwhelmed by the nauseating amount of money being paid out to players. Even better that it was a recipient.
I haven't seen many Royals games in since I don't know when, but if the reports of the misuse and overuse of Meche's arm are correct, I think he's entitled to at least a part of the money he walked away from. (Just on an ethical basis. I'm not worried about his bank balance not being what it could be.)
posted by beaverboard at 08:16 AM on January 19, 2011
Why would cutting their costs cause owners to lower their prices?
I think the "not" indicates his feeling on the matter. As for Gil Gamesh, well, he wasn't the first guy with the name.
posted by yerfatma at 09:10 AM on January 19, 2011
Given the state of the Royals for 2012, Meche should win the team MVP for simply saving KC so much money.
posted by grum@work at 04:40 PM on January 19, 2011
Wow, I'm impressed that an athlete took that route. Can't say that I'd walk away from that kind of money.
Of course, hard to feel sorry for the guy, he did take home $40 some million prior to this year.