I keep in mind precisely the place I used to be when the Kansas Metropolis Royals traded Wil Myers. It was December of 2012, and I used to be within the midst of finding out for my fall semester finals in my senior yr of school. I keep in mind having a dialog concerning the Myers commerce with the one different Royals fanatic in my good friend group. Neither of us favored it; Myers was the very best prospect in baseball, the way forward for the Royals, and to see him traded together with Jake Odorizzi for a good-but-not-great beginning pitcher with solely two years of workforce management appeared foolish. That the Royals had been additionally getting some man named Wade Davis in return was no comfort.
It was just some years in the past. Besides, it wasn’t—it was a dozen years in the past. I’ve graduated, gotten married, modified careers, purchased and moved right into a home, and bought stated home to maneuver right into a second home. My good friend bought his PhD in literature and moved to Texas. And in what appeared to be only a brief few years, Myers’ whole profession occurred proper in entrance of our eyes.
Myers retired simply earlier than Christmas, calling it quits after 11 seasons within the huge leagues. One yr after profitable the American League Rookie of the Yr award in 2013, Myers was then traded to the San Diego Padres, the place he performed the lion’s share of his profession. In a vacuum, Myers was an efficient huge leaguer who turned an All-Star and constantly hit at an above league common clip. However persistent accidents restricted Myers’ taking part in time; Myers averaged 110 video games performed a yr over his profession, and he was restricted to 90 or fewer video games performed seven instances.
From the Royals’ standpoint, the Myers commerce—or, ought to we are saying, the Wade Davis commerce—was a booming success. Kansas Metropolis acquired the very best reliever in baseball over the subsequent 4 years and received the AL pennant with James Shields, the opposite huge piece within the commerce. After Shields left, they received the World Sequence. It’s laborious to argue with that.
However Myers’ profession and the commerce ramifications apart, I used to be struck by information of the announcement. The baseball reasoning made sense, as Myers didn’t play within the huge leagues in 2024 in any respect and was unhealthy in 2023. No, for no matter motive, I used to be struck by the metaphorical influence of the commerce and the passing of time.
As children, we predict our sports activities heroes shall be there without end. On the time, it looks as if it; a dozen years is an eternity to a toddler, and it even represents three-quarters of the lifetime of a school freshman. As we age, we understand that’s simply not true. A dozen years is a very long time, sure, nevertheless it’s additionally only a small portion of a mean human’s time on this earth.
For me particularly, the retirement of gamers like Myers hits laborious. Myers was born barely three months earlier than I used to be, and his taking part in profession is completed. Yearly, fewer and fewer late 80s/early 90s-born gamers are round in baseball. Earlier than lengthy, I’ll be older than simply about each participant within the league.
Father time is undefeated, they are saying, about baseball gamers. It’s true for all of us, too. A profession like Myers’ is one to have a good time. And it’s a reminder to benefit from the moments we’ve with the sport and the gamers we love.
