Josh Willingham announces his retirement

Following an 11 year career in the major leagues, Josh Willingham has announced he will officially retire. There have been rumblings since late summer that this decisions was likely coming from Willingham, but he confirmed it himself on Monday to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.

From Willingham:

"After praying on my decision many times and talking to my wife, my father, and ex-players who have gone through the same process toward the end of their careers, I have decided to retire.I felt like it wouldn’t be fair to myself, and more importantly to the team that was paying me a lot of money to perform at a high level, if there was a chance my dedication would waver – particularly as the season got longer. I’m honored to have played for as many years as I have, and I feel even luckier to walk away on my own terms instead of having the decision made for me."

Crasnick notes that Willingham say that he had received a “substantial offer from a contending club.” Neither he nor his agent, Matt Sosnick, would comment what team that may have been.

Willingham was originally a 17th Round pick by the Florida Marlins in 2000. He’d make his debut with the team four years later. Over the next 11 seasons he’d spent time with the Marlins, Washington Nationals, Oakland A’s, Minnesota Twins, and Kansas City Royals while batting a collective .253/.358/.465. 195 of his 988 career hits were home runs. He had been traded twice before reaching free agency for the first time, capitalizing with a three year, $21 million deal from the Twins that would mark his final contract.