MLB: Three Players Who Should Retire in 2017

2. Bartolo Colon

I don’t want Bartolo to retire, you don’t want Bartolo to retire, Bartolo himself likely doesn’t want to retire. However, the fact of the matter is that Colon will be turning 44 years old, the same age as my father, this calendar year. Despite still managing to be an effective pitcher, father time catches up to everyone, and it is time for Colon. Honestly, he will probably stick around with some minor league deals or bullpen stints, but to avoid any future tarnishing of his legend, Colon should retire in 2017.

The crazy part about Bartolo Colon is he has only gotten better with age. Very early in his career he was fantastic, consistently putting together 4.0+ WAR seasons. Then there was a dry stretch, and in the last six seasons Colon has had a resurgence. In fact, Colon ranks 23rd in WAR for pitchers in that stretch, which is all the more impressive as that was during his late 30s and early 40s.

Skill certainly isn’t the justification for Colon’s retirement, but age is. As David Ortiz showed us, there is nothing wrong with going out on a stellar season – instead of a dud like Derek Jeter‘s last season. As much as we all will hate to see him go, Bartolo Colon should retire as a Brave in 2017.