2004 Topps Total, Jarrod Washburn

#470 Jarrod Washburn

I had no idea that Jarrod Washburn had retired. I was looking over his stats prior to writing this and I thought it was strange that Baseball Almanac did not have his 2010 stats up yet. So, I visited Wikipedia and it was there that I found that Jarrod became a free agent after 2009 and no one signed him. According to the site, Jarrod's retirement was announced in an interview in May by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh school paper. That seems like a strange outlet for announcing your retirement. No wonder I never heard about it.

I got this card signed at a Royals game in September of 2008. Jarrod was with the Mariners at the time and I was able to get this card signed by the visiting team's dugout. Jarrod signed two out of the three cards I had of him.

Jarrod mever made an All Star team, but he had some good seasons over his twelve year career. His best year was the 2002 season, the year he and the Angels won the World Series. He finished that season with an 18-6 record, a 3.16 ERA, and 139 strikeouts, all career highs (wins, ERA, and Ks). Unfortnately for Jarrod, his great season didn't extend into the Fall Classic, where he went 0-2 with a 9.31 ERA. But, he still got his ring.

Last season, Jarrod was pitching well when he was traded by the Mariners to the Tigers at the trade deadline. With Seattle, Jarrod was 8-6 with a 2.64 ERA over 20 starts. Things turned for the worse after the trade and he went 1-3 with a 7.33 ERA over 8 starts. Maybe some teams thought he was pitching hurt in Detroit and that is why they stayed away from him during the offseason. I can't think of any other reason not to sign a left-handed veteran pitcher.