Detroit Tigers Jarrod Saltalamacchia officially announces his retirement

With “The Final Countdown” playing over the loudspeakers at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio, a 33-year-old Jarrod Saltalamacchia does his slow walk out to the plate. He had done this many times in his long career, but the music seemed to be signaling an announcement on the horizon for the catcher in the Detroit Tigers farm system.

That announcement is now official.. After playing parts of 12 seasons in the majors Jarrod Saltalamacchia is retiring. He burst on to the scene in Atlanta with a name that not many could spell, and he leaves the game after a year in the Detroit Tigers farm system with a World Series ring – and the same hard-to-spell name. His career is one that is so much more than meets the eye.

I had the good fortune of getting to see him play with Mud Hens in his final season. As an intern with the team, I got to see some things that not many people get to, and there is little doubt in my mind that anyone in that locker room worked harder.

Saltalamacchia was a first-round selection by the Atlanta Braves in 2003. He was a switch-hitting catcher, and he was good. There were some who thought he could be better than another Braves backstop by the name of Brian McCann. Just by putting a uniform on his 14-letter last name made history.

Half a decade before the 2018 season, Saltalamacchia played in 121 games and hit .273 for the Boston Red Sox. By many accounts, it was his best season in the MLB, and that was his championship year.

Over the next four years, Saltalamacchia had stints with Miami, Arizona, Detroit, and Toronto, each with a limited role. With the 2018 season approaching, Salty agreed to return for a second try with the Detroit Tigers organization. This time around, however, his role would be as a veteran presence in the minors.

With Grayson Greiner on the cusp of being ready for the majors, Salty had to embrace a backup role. He caught every third or fourth day. Once Greiner was called up, Kade Scivicque would arrive and trade off days. For any MLB veteran, it is a tough pill to swallow. It became immediately evident that Saltalamacchia was not a regular MLB veteran.

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There was never a time that I saw Salty shy away from talking with media or fans in Toledo. There never seemed to be a time where imparting his wisdom was too much for him. It could not have been easy, but you would never know by looking at him.

Every game Saltalamacchia would go through his routine. He did what he had to do to get in his zone. Then it came time to warm up, or on his off days help the other catchers get game ready. You could see him running blocking drills in the bullpen, his long curly hair making him easy to spot.

As with any retiring player, Saltalamacchia will have more time to spend with his family. But I will say this – when the dust settles, he would make a fantastic coach for a very lucky organization. Both Greiner and Scivicque were much better catchers for working with Salty. Not to mention there was seldom a player who spent more time with manager Doug Mientkiewicz during games. And I doubt they were just learning how to spell each others names.

That is a long way off. For now, I wish Jarrod Saltalamacchia nothing but the best in his retirement. I hope he enjoys the time off. And I hope we eventually get to see what he can do in coaching circles. He had a career almost as long as his name, and that is something to be celebrated.