Jim Edmonds is probably going to retire, according to Reds GM Walt Jocketty, blogs John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Edmonds has been contemplating whether he'd return in 2011 after playing well (.276/.342/.504) in 86 games with the Brewers and Reds in 2010. Unsatisfied with contract offers after the 2008 season, he sat out all of 2009.
Despite Edmond's surprisingly solid effort in 2010, it's unlikely that his retirement will have much of a ripple effect on any rosters. He might only have gotten a minor-league deal this offseason, anyway, as he did last offseason from the Brewers.
If this is the end for Edmonds, it will have been a heck of a career. In 17 seasons, he's hit .284/.376/.527, claimed eight Gold Gloves and won a World Series with the Cardinals in 2006.
Best Cf Ever!!!!! Greatest there ever was, Greatest there ever will be!
Are you on crack or just retarded? I think you’re forgetting someone, you may not have heard of him before….his name is Willie Mays…..
plus jim edmonds is rumored to have been on steroids. too bad the report will never be released…
i never heard of this… his name wasn’t on the mitchell report or canseco’s book or anything. Where did you get that rumor from.
its just common sense. any player who hit 40 or more hrs in a season in his playing time should be a subject of suspicion
Yep, Babe Ruth was a juicer.
That’s one of the stupidest comments I’ve ever seen on MLBTR.
you absolute dumbasses i said “IN HIS PLAYING TIME” thats mid 1990’s to mid 2000’s
So, let me get this right. Players hit 40+ homers in the pre steroid era without suspicion but now “ANY player” who hit 40+ while Jim Edmonds was playing is tainted.
I’ll stick with my original opinion.
I agree with flick. The most retarded thing I may have ever heard.
So lemme get this straight, any player that hit 40 or more home runs during the 90’s did steroids? That explains why Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza were such great players! Thanks for the info! /sarcasm
that was stupid.
Its kinda sad tho, if he did or didnt he will most likely never get a fair shake. I also think TLR is the biggest liar in the game, so god only knows what Edmonds did when he came from Anaheim.
Any player period, you do not have to be big and strong to be on steroids. An athletic defender using to keep trim, a soft tossing innings eater using it to endure the grind, or any player out there using it to stay healthy over their career. EVERYONE is suspect.
U r rite
For real? Anyone who makes a comment that stupid makes me suspicious.
That’s not common sense. That’s irrational distrust. And blanket accusations are rookie league. Corroborate your argument with legit sources/info, please.
since when has Pujols been on the juice??
You can’t just make that statement because you’ve been so jaded by media and Bonds (not entirely him, but I view him as a symbol of the era). Power jumps like his happen all the time. I seriously doubt Bautista used steroids this season; the guy has a major uppercut in his swing that didn’t appear until the last couple of seasons, and he plays in an incredibly hitter friendly park in Toronto. Some guys just figure it out for a season or seem to catch fire. If Andres Torres has a down year, I won’t point the finger and say he was on ‘roids, I’ll just say that the pitchers figured him out. Baseball’s all about adjustments and some guys just can’t make em.
Rumored by whom? The number 1 search result in google for Jim Edmonds and steroids is an article on Bleacher Report which cites evidence such as: he played on the same team as Mark McGwire and pretty much nothing else. It’s bleacher report for christsakes. This is the equivalent of me saying Obama had an affair with Sasquatch ’cause a completely horrible and utterly useless website says it might have happened.
ummmmm..
no
Edmonds would probably still be better than whatever AZ is going to throw in LF next year.
My favorite Cardinal/baseball player of all-time. I hope he’ll be seen hanging out around Busch Stadium a lot this year like he was in 2009! Baseball just isn’t the same to me without Jimmy Ballgame!
Jim Edmonds wasn’t even the top CF of his era. Andruw Jones was the best defensively and Ken Griffey Jr was the top offensive CF. This should not be considered a put down, just to be mentioned in the same sentence as Andruw and Griffey would be enough for me.
griffey’s era was the 1990s. He wasn’t that good in the 2000s, especially the earlier parts where edmonds was raking it up. They played in different era’s…Jim was the best offensively in his.
I dont know if you can call a 5 year period an “era”
thats true, but those 5 years were some of the peak offensive/defensive output in Center Field in a very very long time. I’m not trying to make a case that he is a HOF player or anything(because he isn’t) but Griffey and Edmonds were in different times of the game IMO.
Actually I think that he is a HOFer. If Jim Rice got in then Edmonds should be a no-brainer. It may not work out like that, though.
Wasn’t better than Andruw Jones. Not even close.
did i say he was? And perhaps you need to look at the numbers again, i would defnitely say it was close.
Yes, you did: “Jim was the best offensively in his.” Ergo, you are saying Edmonds was better offensively than Jones in his ‘era.’ We could debate the semantics of ‘close’ but since you are confused about what you said I will just go ahead and assume you don’t actually think Edmonds was better than Jones.
I don’t know how you can make the argument that Andruw was better offensively than Edmonds. During his peak (1995-2005) Edmonds hit: .293/.388/.554 for a .942 OPS and a 141 OPS+. During his peak (1997-2006) Andruw hit .268/.346/.506 for a .852 OPS and a 117 OPS+. Edmonds did every thing offensively better than Andruw. He hit for a higher average, he drew more walks, and he hit for more power. Now defense is another story and defense is the reason why you can argue that Andruw is the better all around player. However it is pretty clear who is the superior hitter. It’s Edmonds.
Well said.
Jim is still better
I think any reasonable person would suggest a guy who a career OPS 80 points higher than another player in the same era was “better” than the other player. Edmonds tops Jones by about 9 WAR for his career and Andruw Jones has racked up more career plate appearances. Look, Andruw Jones was almost certainly a better fielder. Was he soooo much better at fielding than Edmonds to close an enormous gap in hitting ability?
Look Junior, you don’t take Barry Bond statistics seriously, do you? Why Edmonds then? Now do you see why Andruw was better?
No
Jones’s D >>>>>> Edmond’s D
Edmonds’ bat >>>>>>>> Jone’s bat
if it wasn’t for a fluke of 8 yrs of injury filled seasons.. Griffey Jr. would have passed Hank Aaron by now.. and it would have been legit unlike others.
Uhh….Jones was better defensively, but not even close offensively. He posted a career OPS about 90 points higher and an OBP about 50 points higher. I don’t think Andruw Jones was better at all. And if we accept that Edmonds was better than Jones, we could easily say Edmonds was the best center fielder in baseball from 2000-2004, a not insignificant span.
He would be a great fit for the Dodgers
Yes, because they need ANOTHER outfielder. They have Thames, Gibbons, Eithier, Kemp and Paul… hm let’s add ONE more.
“They have Thames, Gibbons, Eithier, Kemp and Paul”
Thanks for proving my point. Edmonds would be a massive upgrade over Gibbons.
They could have had Edmonds all offseason. He may be an upgrade but that’s a stretch. He’s very injury prone at this point in his career.
All I’m saying is they shouldn’t be comfortable at all with Gibbons as the LH part of that platoon.
I guess when the other options are named Gwynn, Gibbons, and Thames, you may sadly have a point.
hehe.
Did Brett Farve report this ?
What I don’t understand is that there are “multiple teams interested in aaron miles”, but no one seems to be interested in Jimmy after the more than solid half season he put up last year. Especially considering the crap many teams are going to be trotting out in center this coming season (like that offensive black hole that is currently the Brewer’s starting center fielder).
Plus, he’s younger than Thome and has a similar skill set with the bat. Left-handed, aging power hitter. I can’t believe Edmonds didn’t throw his name into the DH hat early in the offseason. With the right contract demands he could have hooked on somewhere, no doubt.
Ur rite
youtube.com/watch?v=JNcM7g9SQ3w
Who remembers that crazy catch in center? One of the best plays I’ve ever seen. Definitely the best Centerfielder I’ve ever seen, with young Andruw Jones being a close second.
Absolutely one of the best.. Reed Johnson while on the Cubs made a dead sprint diving catch as well, Reeds was the greatest in Cubs recent diving plays and Edmonds made the greatest Anaheim/California Angels dive in history
1. I love Jim Edmonds
2. Edmonds was a *much* better hitter than Andruw Jones
3. Jim Edmonds was an excellent defensive center fielder
But no, Edmonds was not better than Jones defensively, nor was it particular close. He made some amazing looking catches than Andruw Jones wouldn’t have to dive for. Not a knock against Jimmy, a career 9 WAR defensive outfielder. Jim Edmodns was a gold glove center fielder. Andruw Jones was kind Ozzie Smith caliber center fielder.
Iremeber the catch
Tris Speaker >>>>>>>>>Jones, Griffey
Edmonds is a guy I never liked. Too much of a showboat. However, as his career wound down I did find myself starting to appreciate his career. He really was a pretty good player. I’ve heard his name mentioned as a potential HOF’er, I think by Rob Neyer and perhaps others. I’m not sure how I would vote on him but I think he’s certainly got a chance given the position he played.
You’re a Cubs fan. You have every reason not to like him. He had some great years in St. Louis.
Yeah but i felt that way about him as far back as when he was with the Angels. Sure, I *REALLY* didn’t like the guy when he was with the Cardinals, but that was mostly because I already didn’t care for him. I actually like Pujols as a player, it’s hard not to appreciate his brilliance, but Edmonds has always been annoying. He’s like the on field version of an off field Curt Schilling. Whatever they’re doing, you just wish they would stop.
Id say more than anything I just respect the guy for his balls to the wall 100% of the time playing as hard as he can. A lot of players today don’t give it 100% but Jim Edmonds went after everything as hard as he could in the outfield.
Yeah, that’s my big problem with Edmonds. Showboat, show off, whatever you want to call him. He made it look great when he should have been making it look easy. The end of that video says it all, he didn’t jump up and start his trot back to the dugout. He sits there, letting everyone have enough time to soak in his greatness. Junior would have gotten up and headed for the dugout. So would Andruw, Willie and about 95% of most major leaguers. I guess when you do things for attention you have to ham it up when you’re getting it.
This comment has made me laugh multiple times.
Reading this made me laugh after laughing at the other comment
Perhaps a Soriano “hop” would make you appreciate him more?
I think Jim Edmonds is absolutely a Hall of Famer. He is a top 10 centerfielder of all time. It’s true that Andruw Jones was better defensively but it is not really fair to compare anyone to Andruw as he has a good case for best defensive centerfielder of all time.
Edmonds, however, was much better than Andruw with the bat. Edmonds hit .284/.376/.527 good for a 132 OPS+ while Andruw has hit .256/.338/.488 good for a 111 OPS+. Most people don’t really know how good Edmonds was with the bat because of his Gold Glove defense but the fact is that I think any player that puts up a .900 OPS while playing Gold Glove defense at a premium position deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.
Just for the record I think both of them belong in the Hall of Fame.
Agreed on the hofer but they should both wait longer than goose did
Anyone who thinks Edmonds is even close to Andruw is insane. I feel like it is a classic case of people wanting the “less talented” guy to “try hard” and become great. Jones would catch basically everything Edmonds would easily, instead of by diving. However, Edmonds was a very good player, but not in the same LEAGUE as Jones
Now surely you want more form any player than defense? Even a centerfielder. The fact is that Edmonds was a better hitter than Andruw. While Andruw was better with the glove than Edmonds. To me the difference in hitting means that they are in the same league. If you mean that they were not in the same league defensively I agree with you though.
its like comparing Tulowitzki and Ramirez.
I’m sure most people would argue that Tulowitzki is the better shortstop. But offensively, Hanley is still better than Tulowitzki
Tulo and Hanley are much closer offensively than Edmonds and Jones ever were and Edmonds was a Gold Glove player while Hanley is most definitely not.
I like how people argue Edmonds diving when everyone knew jones would slow down just so he could dive.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. If anything, the knock on Jones was that he didn’t dive enough (and he didn’t need to be because his instincts and range were so amazing that he was able to turn most fly balls into routine plays). In fact it is remarkable that he won so many Gold Gloves given his low volume of spectacular diving catches. And that isn’t me criticizing Jones, but the evaluation process the media tends to use for selecting GG winers (see Nate McLouth).
“Jim Edmods Likely To Retire”. We’ve sort of known that for the past 5 months or so
Andruw Jones’ defense over his career has just been incredible. Edmonds defense was good, not great, with some flashy grabs. However, Edmonds consistently put up OBPs over 400 while playing good defense at a premium position. I think he gets into the hall but he’ll have to wait.
he should sign a contract with the Pirates get traded in July to the Astros…. point being he would have played for all 6 NL Central teams. it would be a shame if he did that, all hendry had to do was give him a minor league contract after 2008 but no he was an idiot and said he didn’t need him, I’m sorry but 65+rbi and 19 hrs is a huge need and bonus for the Cubs anytime.. the Cubs will not exceed more then one player over 25 this year.. pending if Colvin rightfully gets his starting job in LF
There was a great article on BeyondtheBoxscore titled “Jim Edmonds: No Doubt Hall of Famer”. Sounds absurd until you realize he was probably better than Duke Snider and one of the ten greatest center fielders of all time. How many plus defensive center fielders can you name with a career OPS over .900?
I would love to see Edmonds play one more year, hit some of those milestones. He is 1 RBI short of 1200, 2 BBs short of 1000, 51 Hs short of 2000, and 7 HRs short of 400.
I find it curious that the Rays signed Johnny Damon for what they did instead of trying to sign Jim Edmonds who, it would appear, is a much better offensive threat and still can play the outfield.
Hall. Of. Famer. And I dare anybody to argue against that.
Agree
Thanks for the AMAZING memories Jimmy Ball Game. Especially contributing a whole heck of a lot in establishing the Cards as a NL powerhouse for so long.
I will miss Jimmy Ballgame!
As an Astros fan, I always feared Jim Edmonds more than any hitter in the Cardinals lineup including Albert Pujols. Edmonds was always money, and I think the best defensive centerfielder in the game when he was at his peak.
Sad to see him go
Sad he was good and made some of the best catches ever made
I know
He should be in the hof
I say Jim is better but I am 10 but I follow baseball better than any other 10 year old. I did not get to see Andrew when he was at best
It was a pleasure to watch Edmonds, he was just an absoloute beast in his prime. Good luck Jimmy