Rafael Furcal second former All-Star to retire in-season
After a career that saw him be everything from a top prospect in the Atlanta Braves’ organization to Rookie of the Year to a three-time All-Star, Rafael Furcal announced he is hanging his cleats for good. The 37-year-old played within five different organizations since his debut season that helped usher in a new millennium for Major League Baseball.
The comeback bid of Rafael Furcal has ended.He is retiring. #Royals
— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) May 19, 2015
Furcal’s retirement while with the Royals’ Double-A affiliate is the second such instance of a former All-Star walking away from the game amidst an active season in the minors. After being traded from the San Diego Padres to Atlanta before Opening Day, Carlos Quentin officially announced his retirement on May 1 after being claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners.
Quentin, 32, obviously saw his designation to Triple-A Tacoma as a sign his best days were behind him. He was an All-Star in 2008 and 2011 with the White Sox, his finest season as a pro coming in that ’08 year when he hit .288-36-100. Like Quentin, Furcal spent a significant portion of the latter half of his career on the disabled list.
Signed as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic by the Braves, Furcal took home NL ROY honors in 2000 by hitting an impressive .294/.394/.392 as a leadoff hitter for standouts like Chipper Jones, Andres Galarraga and Andruw Jones in Atlanta’s lineup. The freshman finished third on the team in runs scored with 87 and led the club in stolen bases with 40, even though he only appeared in 131 games.
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Furcal’s consistency defensively and offensively at an above average level of play is all most managers could ask for form their shortstop. His total zone fielding (Rtot) in 14 seasons at shortstop is 33, equating to a Rtot/yr of three and a career dWAR of 14.4.
For the first eight seasons of his career, Furcal averaged 139 games played with a .284/.349/.407 slash line. He averaged 94 runs per season and 31 stolen bases during that same stretch. As primarily a leadoff man, the 113 home runs he belted over his entire career was just a bonus.
His time with the Dodgers (2006-11) and Cardinals (2011-12) brought less individual accolades, though he did earn his final All-Star appearance in 2012. But from the catalogue of memorable life moments, Furcal’s only World Series title in 2011 with St. Louis must rank up there with just about everything else spectacular in his life.
Rafael Furcal’s lifetime WAR of 39.0 is the second highest of any active MLB shortstop behind only Jimmy Rollins (46.6) and is the 32nd best mark overall. His WAR number ranks 45th amongst the best shortstops to ever play the game. While it may not have been a prolific career worthy of Cooperstown enshrinement, Furcal cemented himself as one of the finer all-around infielders of his generation in the 21st century.