1989 American League Retirements

The baseball torch is passed from season to season and in some cases, from game to game. In 1911, Cy Young pitched his final Major League game, lost 1-0, and ended the final season of his career with a losing record of 7-9 and an ERA of 3.77. Young's opponent that particular day was a first-year pitcher named Grover Alexander who received the win, added to his league leading shutout total, and went on to begin his career with a winning record of 28-13 and an ERA of 2.57.

Bob Gibson, who was easily one of the most intense competitors of all time, gave up a grand slam to the last Major League hitter he faced, Pete LaCock of the Chicago Cubs. Fifteen years passed and when the two faced off during an old-timer's game, Gibson hit LaCock on his back with a fastball.

Babe Ruth summed it up when he responded to a question about retirement by saying, "A ballplayer should quit when it starts to feel as if all the baselines run uphill." Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a comprehensive list of American League League players who hung up their spikes in 1989.

"You start chasing a ball and your brain immediately commands your body to: Run forward. Bend. Scoop up the ball. Peg it to the infield. Then your body says, 'Who, me?'" - Retirement comment made by Joe DiMaggio
 

American League Retirements

1989

35, 43 Francisco Melendez Baltimore Orioles 1B 26
6 Keith Moreland Baltimore Orioles DH 36
28 Jim Traber Baltimore Orioles 1B 28
14 Jim Rice Boston Red Sox DH 37
41 Mike Smithson Boston Red Sox P 35
46 Bob Stanley Boston Red Sox P 35
19, 20 Dana Williams Boston Red Sox OF 27
20 Tony Armas California Angels OF 36
8 Brian Brady California Angels OF 27
9 Glenn Hoffman California Angels SS 31
35 Jeff Bittiger Chicago White Sox P 28
15 Jerry Hairston Chicago White Sox DH 38
27, 54 Jack Hardy Chicago White Sox P 30
49 Tom McCarthy Chicago White Sox P 28
23 Luis Aguayo Cleveland Indians 3B 31
15 Neil Allen Cleveland Indians P 32
38, 22 Keith Atherton Cleveland Indians P 31
31 Pete Dalena Cleveland Indians DH 29
37 Steve Davis Cleveland Indians P 29
24 Denny Gonzalez Cleveland Indians 3B 26
22 Brad Havens Cleveland Indians P 30
38 Dave Hengel Cleveland Indians OF 28
66 Mark Higgins Cleveland Indians 1B 26
1 Tommy Hinzo Cleveland Indians 2B 25
33 Pat Keedy Cleveland Indians OF 32
76 Tom Magrann Cleveland Indians C 26
27 Joe Skalski Cleveland Indians P 25
36 Tim Stoddard Cleveland Indians P 37
34 Ed Wojna Cleveland Indians P 29
44 Mike Young Cleveland Indians DH 30
19 Doyle Alexander Detroit Tigers P 39
42 Dave Beard Detroit Tigers P 30
41 Randy Bockus Detroit Tigers P 29
35 Chris Brown Detroit Tigers 3B 28
43 Jeff Datz Detroit Tigers C 30
55 Brad Havens Detroit Tigers P 30
21 Willie Hernandez Detroit Tigers P 35
38 Shawn Holman Detroit Tigers P 25
27 Charles Hudson Detroit Tigers P 31
10 Keith Moreland Detroit Tigers DH 36
16 Dave Palmer Detroit Tigers P 32
17 Al Pedrique Detroit Tigers 3B 29
18 Ramon Pena Detroit Tigers P 28
10 Rob Richie Detroit Tigers OF 24
43 Mike Trujillo Detroit Tigers P 30
36 Frank Williams Detroit Tigers P 32
45 Bob Buchanan Kansas City Royals P 29
3 Brad Wellman Kansas City Royals 2B 30
17 Matt Winters Kansas City Royals OF 30
3 Juan Castillo Milwaukee Brewers 2B 28
48 Bryan Clutterbuck Milwaukee Brewers P 30
25 Dave Engle Milwaukee Brewers 1B 33
11 La Vel Freeman Milwaukee Brewers DH 27
36 Ray Krawczyk Milwaukee Brewers P 30
23 Joey Meyer Milwaukee Brewers DH 28
28 Jeff Peterek Milwaukee Brewers P 26
46 German Gonzalez Minnesota Twins P 28
15 Tim Laudner Minnesota Twins C 31
18 Shane Rawley Minnesota Twins P 34
20 Vic Rodriguez Minnesota Twins 3B 28
36 Steve Shields Minnesota Twins P 31
27 Lee Tunnell Minnesota Twins P 29
33 Bob Brower New York Yankees OF 30
34 Bob Davidson New York Yankees P 27
25 Tommy John New York Yankees P 47
64 Steve Kiefer New York Yankees 3B 29
24 Marcus Lawton New York Yankees OF 24
45 Kevin Mmahat New York Yankees P 25
33 Scott Nielsen New York Yankees P 31
34 Don Schulze New York Yankees P 27
30 Larry Arndt Oakland Athletics 1B 27
23 Chris Bando Oakland Athletics C 34
11, 27 Billy Beane Oakland Athletics OF 28
46 Bill Dawley Oakland Athletics P 32
17 Glenn Hubbard Oakland Athletics 2B 32
3 Dick Scott Oakland Athletics SS 27
53 Brian Snyder Oakland Athletics P 32
14 Mickey Brantley Seattle Mariners OF 28
52 Luis DeLeon Seattle Mariners P 31
29 Bruce Fields Seattle Mariners OF 29
35 Bill McGuire Seattle Mariners C 26
51 Rey Quinones Seattle Mariners SS 26
37 Julio Solano Seattle Mariners P 30
34 Steve Trout Seattle Mariners P 32
54 Jim Wilson Seattle Mariners DH 29
41 Clint Zavaras Seattle Mariners P 23
25 Buddy Bell Texas Rangers DH 38
10 Jim Sundberg Texas Rangers C 39
54 Paul Wilmet Texas Rangers P 31
34 Kevin Batiste Toronto Blue Jays OF 23
9 Bob Brenly Toronto Blue Jays DH 36
38 De Wayne Buice Toronto Blue Jays P 32
13 Lee Mazzilli Toronto Blue Jays DH 35
33 Alex Sanchez Toronto Blue Jays P 24
1989 American League Retirements



Find out which players made their Major League debut in the American League during the 1989 season as this group of players bid farewell to their field's of dreams.

Stan Musial ended his Major League career on September 29, 1963. His final hit was a single during the sixth inning off Jim Maloney which drove in his last RBI (which was Curt Flood).

Goose Goslin played for eighteen seasons and averaged one-hundred twenty-seven games played per season. In 1938, during his final at-bat, he twisted his back and was replaced at the plate by a pinch-hitter for the first time in his Major League career.