We Got Wood - 45.02 - Wareham Calls it a Career
Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2020 9:54 am
While most of the bad contracts opted to stick around in Portland, the Lumberjacks did get one saving grace this week in terms of flexibility. Just moments after accepting his $5 million player option, Reece Wareham instead opted to retire from professional baseball all together. The 37 year old veteran spent 15 seasons in the BBA with 9 different franchises.
"I think my time has finally come to an end" announced Wareham at a press conference today. "I've watched my playing time with teams diminish over the years. It's a hard reality as a professional athlete to admit you just aren't good enough anymore. My stats, playing time, and the fact I've been on 8 different teams in the last 7 seasons is telling me something. Perhaps I should listen!"
Wareham had some solid seasons over his career, despite the hard fall off of his ability later in his career. With Havana, Wareham was consistently an average of 3 WAR a year guy. He hit for power, topping out at 47 homeruns with Jacksvonville in 2038. He ended his career with 360 homeruns, a solid total for a guy who played in the middle of the infield for most of his career.
Portland had signed Wareham last off-season to a $5 million contract hoping he could secure a spot at 2B, but it wasn't meant to be. Wareham played in just 51 games while posting a career worst -1.3 WAR. This was in large part due to a .108 batting average and .424 OPS.
The departure of Wareham clears of $5 million in cap space for the 2045 season. The club will look to be fiscally responsible with that space.
"I think my time has finally come to an end" announced Wareham at a press conference today. "I've watched my playing time with teams diminish over the years. It's a hard reality as a professional athlete to admit you just aren't good enough anymore. My stats, playing time, and the fact I've been on 8 different teams in the last 7 seasons is telling me something. Perhaps I should listen!"
Wareham had some solid seasons over his career, despite the hard fall off of his ability later in his career. With Havana, Wareham was consistently an average of 3 WAR a year guy. He hit for power, topping out at 47 homeruns with Jacksvonville in 2038. He ended his career with 360 homeruns, a solid total for a guy who played in the middle of the infield for most of his career.
Portland had signed Wareham last off-season to a $5 million contract hoping he could secure a spot at 2B, but it wasn't meant to be. Wareham played in just 51 games while posting a career worst -1.3 WAR. This was in large part due to a .108 batting average and .424 OPS.
The departure of Wareham clears of $5 million in cap space for the 2045 season. The club will look to be fiscally responsible with that space.