12-Year Veteran & 2x All-Star Abruptly Retires At 39
The Pittsburgh Pirates reliever announced his retirement Saturday, immediately after making the first start of his entire 12-year career.
"I don't have anything left. Let's put it that way," Yates said after the game. "I've been running on fumes for a while, and I think it's just time, and it's felt like it's been time for a little while now."
A Career That Ended On His Own Terms
Yates had made 517 consecutive relief appearances before Saturday, and Pittsburgh's decision to hand him the ball as a starter made him the first Pirate in the Modern Era, dating back to 1901, to make his first career start that deep into a relief career.
He threw 1.2 scoreless innings against Detroit, working around two hits in the first before retiring Riley Greene on a groundout and striking out Dillon Dingler in the second.
A sellout Comerica Park crowd of 41,377 gave him a rousing ovation as he walked off the mound for the final time, the same afternoon Tigers legend Justin Verlander made his own final career start in the opposing dugout.
"I caught a glimpse of their dugout clapping. I thought it was neat," Yates said. "I kind of picked out my family in the crowd, and that's kind of when it started settling in. And you get a little emotional in that."
Well-Traveled Career That Included A Batting Title Of His Own
Yates finishes his career with a 32-29 record, a 3.35 ERA, and 101 saves across 12 seasons and eight organizations, including the Rays, Yankees, Angels, Padres, Braves, Rangers, Dodgers, and Pirates.
He earned two All-Star selections and led all of baseball with 41 saves during a dominant 2019 season with San Diego, a year that also produced a career-best 1.19 ERA.
Pittsburgh acquired Yates from the Angels at the August 3 trade deadline, and he thrived down the stretch with the Pirates, posting a 1.80 ERA over 15 appearances before Saturday's emotional finale.
"Truthfully I never wanted to get traded, but the trade was like a blessing in disguise," Yates said. "When I got here, it gave me a little more life in baseball. I was kind of ready to be done prior to the trade deadline, and it just kind of jolted something in me."
Undrafted out of junior college, Yates debuted with Tampa Bay in 2014 at age 27.
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