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 next-to-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 National League League players who hung up their spikes in 1937.
"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
Find out which players made their Major League debut in the National League during the 1937 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).
On July 28, 1976, Blue Moon Odom pitched the final five innings of his Major League career. He was relieved by Francisco Barrios in the sixth inning and the two White Sox combined to pitch a 2-1 no-hitter versus the Oakland Athletics.