After spending nearly two decades in the majors, Matt Stairs has decided to hang em’ up. The 43 year old announced his retirement Wednesday, just days after the Nationals released him.
Stairs was in his first year with Washington and saw his numbers take a nosedive. Primarily used as a pinch hitter, Stairs played in 56 games for the Nationals and only managed a line of .154/.257/.169 with no home runs and 2 RBI’s. The lack of production prompted Washington to cut Stairs and ultimately caused the veteran to decide to end his long career.
Last season, Stairs was a member of the Padres bench and was able to post an OPS of .781 in 78 games for San Diego.
But it was while he was with the Phillies that Stairs last gained national attention. Philadelphia acquired Stairs in August of 2008 from the Blue Jays to add another bat to their bench. That year marked the first time Stairs had seen the post season since 2000 and the slugger made the most of it.
During game 4 of the NLCS against the Dodgers, Stairs hit a decisive 2 run home run in the 8th inning off of Dodgers’ closer Jonathan Broxton to give the Phils a 7-5 victory. Philadelphia won the series in 5 and Stairs went on to collect first and only World Series ring.
Stairs’ best years came as a member of the A’s when from 1997-99 he was able to average over 30 home runs and 90 RBI’s for Oakland. He finished with a career line of .262/.356/.477 with 265 home runs and 899 RBI’s over his 19 seasons.
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