The Cubs have introduced that Anthony Rizzo will retire as a Cub and might be honored this Saturday at Wrigley Subject because the membership hosts the Rays. He will even function an envoy for the group. Jesse Rogers of ESPN was amongst these to relay the information.
Rizzo, now 36, was half of some totally different organizations in his profession however will all the time be primarily often called a Cub. He spent the majority of his profession, together with basically all of his prime, in Chicago. That stretch noticed him emerge as a core piece because the group turned a daily contender within the final half of the earlier decade. The spotlight got here in 2016, when the Cubs lastly gained the World Sequence, breaking a 108-year drought.
There was discuss of a possible dynasty on Chicago’s north facet after that yr, as that younger core of Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Willson Contreras and Jorge Soler was controllable, inexpensive and formidable. The highest of the rotation appeared set for years, with Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks all squarely of their primes and signed/managed long-term. The Cubs certainly have been aggressive on a yearly foundation for the rest of the last decade, however they fell to the Dodgers within the 2017 NLCS and haven’t superior past the Wild Card spherical of postseason play since.
Earlier than that legendary run, Rizzo needed to go by way of just a few different locations first. He was drafted by the Crimson Sox out of highschool again in 2007. After just a few years in Boston’s minor league system, he was flipped to the Padres as one of many gamers within the December 2010 deal that despatched Adrián González to the Sox.
Rizzo obtained to make his massive league debut with the Friars in 2011 however didn’t hit the bottom operating. He stepped to the plate 153 instances over 49 video games however struck out 30.1% of the time and produced a .141/.281/.242 line.
Going into 2012, the Padres determined to go in a unique course. They despatched Mat Latos to the Reds for 4 gamers, one in every of whom was Yonder Alonso. With Alonso set to cowl first base in San Diego, they then despatched Rizzo and right-hander Zach Cates to the Cubs for righty Andrew Cashner and outfielder Kyung-Min Na.
That gambit clearly didn’t pan out for San Diego. Whereas Cashner had some modest success with the Padres, Alonso by no means discovered his energy stroke at Petco Park and wound up delivering common offense over elements of 4 seasons. Yasmani Grandal, additionally acquired in that swap, struggled in San Diego earlier than being despatched to the Dodgers as a part of the Matt Kemp commerce.
In the meantime, as all that performed out, Rizzo broke out as one of many prime first basemen in Main League Baseball. In elements of 10 seasons with the Cubs from 2012-21, Rizzo batted a mixed .272/.372/.489 with 242 residence runs. He made three All-Star groups, gained 4 Gold Gloves, gained a Silver Slugger and garnered MVP votes in 5 consecutive seasons — together with a pair of consecutive fourth-place finishes in 2015-16, when he posted a mixed .285/.386/.528 batting line (145 wRC+) and belted 63 residence runs (31 in ’15, 32 in ’16). Rizzo struggled within the 2016 NLDS however erupted in each the NLCS and World Sequence, belting three homers and 5 doubles with an OPS north of 1.000 between these two sequence.
As that Cubs core continued to stall out over time, nevertheless, the entrance workplace finally decided there was a necessity for change. Rizzo, Bryant and Baez have been all traded in the summertime of 2021 — Baez to the Mets, Bryant to the Giants and Rizzo to the Yankees. Rizzo hit nicely for the Yankees down the stretch and stepped right into a key management position, all of which satisfied the group to re-sign him to a two-year cope with an possibility for a 3rd season.
Rizzo went on to spend the ultimate three full seasons of his profession within the Bronx, hitting nicely in 2022 earlier than slipping to about common in 2023 and struggling by way of accidents in 2024. His time in New York wasn’t practically as productive, however he logged an total .234/.326/.409 line as a Yankee and popped 32 residence runs in his first full season in pinstripes.
All informed, Rizzo’s wonderful profession will wrap up with a lifetime .261/.361/.467 batting line. He hit 303 residence runs within the majors, scored 922 runs, plated 965 runs and even swiped 72 bases. Rizzo is one in every of simply 164 gamers in main league historical past to succeed in 300 profession residence runs. His 338 doubles rank 352nd all-time, tied with Brady Anderson, Matt Williams, Robin Ventura and the aforementioned Kemp.
Rizzo additionally tallied 241 postseason plate appearances, and whereas his .225/.328/.397 line doesn’t stand as much as his regular-season excellence, that’s skewed by a brutal exhibiting within the 2015 playoffs. Beginning with that NLCS breakout in ’16, Rizzo hit .260/.367/.455 in his closing 180 turns on the plate within the playoffs.
Via an early-career extension with the Cubs and a free-agent deal to re-sign with the Yankees within the 2021-22 offseason, Rizzo earned greater than $127MM in wage over elements of 14 seasons. FanGraphs valued his profession at 35.9 wins above substitute, whereas Baseball-Reference is much more bullish at 40.4 WAR. Rizzo isn’t more likely to be Cooperstown-bound, however he’ll be remembered as a cornerstone piece in an iconic period of Cubs franchise lore and a stable veteran pickup who helped drive some aggressive Yankees golf equipment. Finest needs to Rizzo and his household in regardless of the subsequent chapter holds.
