By Jordan Long
The New York Yankees are an American League worst 5-10. They will start a quick two game interleague series with the Atlanta Braves tomorrow looking to end a 5 game losing streak. Yankees’ outfielder and 1st baseman Jay Bruce decided to retire.
Bruce was in his first year as a Yankee. He agreed to a minor league deal before spring training. He could play 1st base and outfield. Bruce ended up making the ball club after 1st baseman Luke Voit tore his meniscus, not the way Bruce wanted to earn a spot.
Bruce started at 1st base for 10 games this year. He totaled 55 putouts and 2 infield assists. He didn’t record an error, but it was a small sample size.
When it came to hitting, Bruce he had 34 plate appearances. He hit a disappointing .118 with 1 home run and 4 RBI’s. Bruce also had 1 double. He was not living up to his standards and decided it was best to walk away from the game.
According to ESPN, Bruce said, “I was so lucky to have set a standard for myself throughout my career that was frankly very good most of the time. And I don’t feel that I’m able to do that, and I think that was the determining factor and in the decision. And I feel good about that decision and I feel thankful honestly to myself that I could be honest enough with myself to understand that it’s time for this chapter to close.”
Besides the New York Yankees, Bruce played for the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, and Philadelphia Phillies. He finishes his 14 year major league career with a .244 batting average with 319 home runs, 32 triples, and 312 doubles. When Bruce was on base, he was a threat to steal a bag with 65 stolen bases. Bruce played in 3 All-Star Games and won 2 Silver Slugger awards for his hitting. He wasn’t known for his glove and never won a Gold Glove Award.
Bruce played in a total of 15 postseason games. The furthest his team advanced was the Division Series which happened 3 times, twice with the Cincinnati Reds in 2010 and 2012 and once in 2017 with Cleveland. Bruce ended up with 52 at bats in the playoffs hitting .208 with 4 home runs, 3 doubles, and 10 RBI’s.
Bruce had a respectable MLB career. In a handful of games this year, Bruce showed he couldn’t play the game at a high level anymore. The only thing missing for him is a World Series ring but there was no guarantee he would win that this season. It was best to walk away. Bruce may never be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but he will be known as an athlete who played the MLB game the right way.
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