First baseman Eric Hosmer hasn’t been on a serious league roster in nearly a 12 months and has now determined to hold up his spikes. He tells John Perrotto of Forbes that he has now formally retired and is pivoting into the media sphere.
Hosmer, now 34, was one in all many high-profile prospects within the Royals’ system, going again nearly a few many years. The membership leaned right into a prolonged interval of tanking within the early components of this century, dropping not less than 87 video games in 9 straight seasons from 2004 to 2012. Over that point, they have been in a position to pile up younger expertise of their farm system due to some robust draft picks. The deepest a part of the rebuild was 2004 to 2007, with the membership dropping not less than 93 video games in every of these campaigns, but in addition getting a top-three decide within the draft for 4 straight years.
These 4 picks have been used on Alex Gordon, Luke Hochevar, Mike Moustakas and Hosmer. These gamers mixed with different kids like Lorenzo Cain, Salvador Pérez and Yordano Ventura to kind a promising younger core that the membership hoped to make use of to return to prominence.
Hosmer hit nicely on his means up the minor league ladder and was thought-about one of many high 10 prospects within the recreation going into 2011. He made a robust debut that 12 months and showcased some tendencies that will go on to outline his profession, specifically a capability to keep away from strikeouts but in addition an incapability to get beneath the ball. He didn’t stroll a lot both, so the ball was typically in play, along with his numbers swaying from 12 months to 12 months relying on whether or not he was discovering holes or not.
He solely struck out in 14.6% of his plate appearances in his rookie season, nicely under that 12 months’s league common of 18.6%. However 49.7% of his balls in play have been pounded into the bottom, noticeably above the 44.4% league common. Regardless, he nonetheless hit 19 house runs and slashed .293/.334/.465 for a wRC+ of 113.
In 2012, he suffered by a sophomore hunch, hitting simply .232/.304/.359 for a wRC+ of 80. A part of that was batted ball luck, as his BABIP dropped to .255 from .314 the 12 months prior. However his grounder charge additionally ticked as much as 53.6% and he solely hit 14 homers. These types of oscillations continued into the subsequent few years. In 2013, his batting common was up at .302 and he hit 17 homers, however then these numbers dipped to .270 and simply 9 lengthy balls in 2014.
Regardless of the challenges for Hosmer within the latter 12 months, the membership’s deliberate return to rivalry lastly clicked in an enormous means. The Royals went all the way in which to the World Collection that 12 months, although they final have been felled by the Giants in seven video games. Hosmer was an enormous a part of that run, as he hit .351/.439/.544 that postseason.
Nearly all the pieces went proper the subsequent 12 months, regardless of Hosmer nonetheless placing 52% of batted balls into the dust. He additionally hit 18 homers and slashed .297/.363/.459 for a wRC+ of 124. The Royals went again to the World Collection and completed the job this time, taking down the Mets in 5 video games to hoist their first trophy since 1985.
The membership slipped close to .500 within the subsequent two seasons because the up-and-down efficiency continued for Hosmer. His bat dipped nearer to league common in 2016, although he rebounded with arguably the very best season of his profession in 2017. His grounder charge was nonetheless very excessive at 55.6%, however he managed to park the ball over the fence 25 instances and slashed .318/.385/.498 for a wRC+ of 135.
That was wonderful timing for a profession 12 months, as that was his platform season for his first journey into free company. Regardless of the inconsistent efficiency, the Padres took an opportunity on him, agreeing to an eight-year, $144MM deal. Along with the offensive questions, his defensive metrics have been by no means robust, regardless of his 4 Gold Glove awards whereas with the Royals. However the Padres had been present process their very own interval of insignificance, having simply completed the seventh of what would ultimately be 9 straight dropping seasons. The signing of Hosmer, the biggest deal in franchise historical past on the time, was meant to sign an finish of the rebuild and a return to relevance.
Sadly, the deal shortly went south, as Hosmer’s bat was round league common for many of his time in San Diego. From 2018 by 2021, he hit .264/.323/.415, translating to a wRC+ of 99. He was typically the topic of commerce rumors in that point, because the Friars seemed to get out from beneath the deal. He was going to be despatched to the Nationals as a part of the deal that despatched Juan Soto to San Diego, however Hosmer had a restricted no-trade clause that allowed him to dam the deal. That deal went by with Luke Voit taking Hosmer’s place, although Hoz was flipped to the Crimson Sox as an alternative, with that membership not coated by his clause. The Padres ate the rest of Hosmer’s contract, other than the league minimal, and included a few prospects with a view to get Jay Groome from Boston.
A stint on the injured checklist on account of some again irritation restricted him to only 14 video games with the Sox after the deal they usually launched him within the offseason to clear a path for prospect Triston Casas. The Cubs took a flier on Hosmer, which was primarily a free look for the reason that Padres have been nonetheless on the hook for his wage. However he hit poorly in 31 video games as a Cub final 12 months, producing a batting line of .234/.280/.330, and was launched in Could. He didn’t latch on elsewhere and has now determined to formally name it a profession.
Although there have been some ups and downs, Hosmer nonetheless has loads of accolades on his ledger, together with 4 Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger Award, an All-Star look and a World Collection ring. He additionally gained the World Baseball Basic with Workforce USA in 2017. He racked up 1,753 hits in his MLB profession, together with 322 doubles, 20 triples and 198 house runs. He scored 812 runs and drove in 893. Baseball Reference lists his profession earnings just below $175MM. We at MLBTR salute Hosmer on a high quality profession and need him the very best in his subsequent steps.