MLB: Three Players Who Should Retire in 2017

Over the last several years, MLB has seen some of its most iconic players hang their cleats up. Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and David Ortiz have all retired recently. With the new trend of announcing retirements a year early, who are some players who need to retire this calendar year?

Admittedly, I am not a big fan of the recent trend of announcing retirement a year in advance. Yes, it is awesome to see these players get their proper farewells and receive gifts, but it eliminates the mystique of retirement. It is very hard to “ride off into the sunset” with the mindset that you must announce a year in advance. Look at David Ortiz. He could have easily hung around another season or two with a reduced workload and rode off into the sunset. Bringing in Chris Sale has made the Red Sox my favorites to win it all, and Ortiz may be missing out on that.

Plus, nobody wants to be the Brett Favre of baseball and continually announce false retirements. While it is entertaining and funny to some extent, these players are only jeopardizing their legacies. As cynical as my thoughts sound, I am not entirely against the trend. No, I do not like it, but at the least it does allow the player to focus on playing and not contemplate whether or not to hang it up. It does bring in more fans, and does give that player more exposure and comfort.

However, the topic for discussion at hand is which players should call it quits in 2017. Whether it be for age or lack of production, it may be in the best interest for these three guys to retire this year.