Outfielder Cameron Maybin announced his retirement Monday:
“Although my journey as a professional baseball player ends here with the announcement of my retirement, my work in this game is just getting started,” Maybin said in a statement. “I’m excited for what lies ahead, including my work with the Players Alliance in our effort to provide access and opportunity for the next generation of Black ballplayers.”
ESPN.com
Maybin played fifteen seasons, coming up at age 20. He peaked early posting a 4.4 rWAR in 2011, his age 24 season, and a 2.8 rWAR in 2012. Those two seasons made up more than half his career rWAR of 13.5. He is a good example of the value of a low-WAR player to teams. He posted an okay OBP and could play a decent outfield, so he always found a home. He wound up making $38.7 million dollars during his career, not bad for a player of his ability.
His first two Mlb hits were off Roger Clemens in Yankee Stadium, one of them a home run, which must be a pretty cool memory for him.
For me, he’s always been an example of why tanking is not a sure fire recipe for success. A high draft pick, as he was coming up, the word was that he was the next Ken Griffey. Not quite as it turns out. But he did pay off for the Tigers as he and Andrew Miller brought us Miguel Cabrera.
It also brings to mind something you’ve written in the past – even moderate success in the majors at a young age is usually a sign of a really good player. Maybin was in the majors at 20 years old. I would not say he’s anywhere close to being a ‘great’ player, but you can’t extend your career to age 35 without some pretty serious ability
Yes, reaching the majors at a young age is a very good sign, and Maybin did post an excellent season at age 24. I suspect the opposition found a weakness they could exploit, or some injury was more serious than anyone thought at the time.