Veteran outfielder Nick Markakis is calling it a career after 15 seasons at the Major League level, he tells David O’Brien and Dan Connolly of The Athletic. The 37-year-old says he made up his mind shortly after the postseason ended and did not pursue any opportunities this winter. “My No. 1 decision and my main focus on this is obviously my kids and my family,” Markakis said, adding that he’s both fortunate and thankful to have been able to play the game as long as he has.
The seventh overall pick back in 2003, Markakis spent fewer than three years in the minors before debuting as a 22-year-old and never looking back. He hit .291/.351/.448 in 147 games and finished sixth in 2006 American League Rookie of the Year voting with the Orioles, setting the stage for a nine-year run of strong play with the organization which originally drafted him.
Baltimore signed Markakis to a six-year, $66MM extension that covered the 2009-14 seasons, keeping him with the O’s for three would-be free agent seasons. Markakis helped the Orioles to playoff berths in 2012 and in 2014, and in total he posted a strong .290/.358/.435 slash through 5966 plate appearances as an Oriole, winning two Gold Gloves along the way.
Free agency took Markakis to his native Georgia, however, as he inked a four-year, $44MM contract to join an up-and-coming Braves club as their primary right fielder. He spent his next (and final) six seasons in Atlanta, batting a combined .283/.357/.402 and making his lone All-Star appearance with the ’18 Braves — a season in which he also took home a Silver Slugger Award and his third career Gold Glove.
Markakis was a workhorse both in Baltimore and Atlanta, averaging 151 games played from his 2006 debut up through the 2019 season. His only two injuries of note were a fractured hamate bone 2012 and a fractured wrist in 2019. He played in all 162 games of the 2018 season — one of seven seasons in which the ultra-durable Markakis played at least 160 games.
All in all, Markakis will wrap up his career as a .288/.357/.423 batter over the life of 9321 plate appearances. He racked up 2388 hits along the way, including 189 home runs, 514 doubles and 22 triples to go along with 66 steals, 1046 runs batted in and 1119 runs scored. Always somewhat of an under-the-radar star, Markakis derived much of his value from strong on-base percentages and terrific defense for much of his career — one that was valued at 28.7 wins above replacement by FanGraphs and 34 WAR by Baseball-Reference. Markakis earned more than $120MM over 15 seasons in the big leagues and will be remembered as a beloved member of two franchises.
Great career!!
Not great, but solid. Made good money and did play well
When you play 15 years, mostly as a starter and make 120 million you have had a great career.
Luc is right. Solid but not great.
34 WAR. 2300+ career hits. I’d go with a great career. You can be a non-HOFer and still be great.
Agreed. Great career. No, he’s not a HOFer or legendary player, but his career is in the 90+ percentile I’d imagine and that would definitely qualify as a great career. To stick around 15 years and collect more than 2300 hits, you’ve had a great career. 34 WAR isn’t anything to sneeze at either
WAR?? hahahahahahaha
@PeteWard8: Are you about to sneeze?
No I am laughing at WAR
Oh, ok.
But if you want to seriously consider Nick’s WAR over his career, consider Nick gathered 17 of his 34 during his first 4 seasons and just 17 over his last 11 seasons. Do you see what I mean? I like Markakis and respect his hitting and he was a good ballplayer but citing WAR doesn’t help him out and in my opinion deserves more credit than this WAR thing is doing for him.
WAR is a useful tool, but it’s only one tool. You seemed to throw it out altogether. I love my hammer and my screwdriver, but they can’t replace my crescent wrench.
I cited what I could gather from his BR page in like 15 seconds.
It’s also funny how the person who said his career wasn’t that great is telling me that he deserves more credit.
Admit I look at the WAR listings and have gone back to decades past out of curiosity but to me its a pretend stat. In its own definition words like infer, adjust, estimate are used. There isn’t any need to guess what would happen if everything was exactly the same for every pitch thrown and every swing and every fielding opportunity because nothing is ever the same. Everyone single action is random and the results are what they are. Pretending it isn’t what it truly is and swearing by it baffles me.
Audrey- I said the WAR doesn’t do his career justice. I said he was solid and not great. I went to school with a girl named Audrey.
Thanks for the anecdote…? Maybe tell Steve Adams to omit the part of the article where he mentioned Markakis’ WAR. It’s a pretend stat after all and baseball is all just based on random actions. I mean, just look at Mike Trout’s career, total randomness!
Audrey- Okay Audrey thank you. Have a nice day.
Solid career overall with a few great seasons.
More doubles than Babe Ruth, Vlad Sr., Reggie Jackson and Rod Carew-that alone denotes a great career.
Ozzie Guillen had a solid career. Mark DeRosa had a solid career. Mike Sciossia had a solid career. Jaque Jones had a solid career.
Markakis had a great career.
If someone actually manages to stay on a major league roster for eight–to-ten + years, and somehow find a way to contribute on a regular basis, while making millions of dollars, they have had a solid career, even if they were just an average player.
Most players don’t even make it to MLB, let alone stay on a team that long.
Markakis was a starter most of his career, for 15 years, and amassed more than 2000 hits. He also has three Gold Gloves and an All-Star appearance. And he’s filthy rich.
That’s not solid. That is a career that the vast majority of players who have worn a uniform don’t come close to achieving.
He’s never going to the Hall, but give the man his due for being one of the most successful players in the long history of MLB, considering how many guys have donned a uniform throughout its history.
I think there’s a difference between having a great career and being a great player. He was a good (and sometimes very good) player, but there’s more to a career than [batting] stats. He was solid all around on the field, respected in the clubhouse, played every day if at all possible, made a boatload of cash, and leaves the game on his terms before the decline got too bad.
In short: good player, great career.
One 18th place MVP vote in 15 seasons. One All Star game. One of the definitions for the word great is- markedly superior in skill. Again I like Nick and respect his hitting ability and he was a good ballplayer. Nick may be a sweetheart of a guy but he wasn’t a great player nor was his career great. Solid is it.
what is i good for……..
My larger point is that while he was not Andre Dawson or Larry Walker, he also was not Josh Fields, Jerry Owens, Charlie Tilson or Jacob May.
It is not easy to even stay in the majors, let alone be a starter for 15 years. Sorry, but that’s a great career, and I’d put it closer to exceptional than solid.
Fair enough maximumvelocity. I understand what you are saying.
Good talk and it took me 2 years to forget Jacob May, thanks for reminding me.
WAR isn’t a stat so much as it’s a valuation of a players total performance.
PeteWard8-
Yeah it’s just so funny isn’t it? So funny that teams and GM’s use the stat to deduce a players overall worth to the team. Just hilarious what fools they all are, huh? I suppose you prefer batting average and RBI’s??
His first 6-7 years were good not great, The last 8 he was basically an average major league starter (which, for 8 years, is still good, don’t get me wrong).
Overall he was an above-average player but I think a lot of you view him with rose-colored goggles and are diminishing the value of the term “great”.
@Pete. WAR had me thinking of what a travesty it was that Kenny Lofton and his 68.4 career WAR received only 3.2% of the hall of fame voting in 2013 and dropped off the ballot his 1st year.
Love that comment. You hit that point hard. Well done.
Being an average-or-better MLB player for 14 consecutive years is a tremendous accomplishment. Most players don’t even last 6 years in the league.
One doesn’t need a great season in order to have had a great career.
Exactly my thoughts. Solid player who had a great career.
Must be a fan of Pete Rose and Tony Gwynn
Great is a much over used word.
Great means Hall of Fame caliber.
Nick Markakis had a fine career,and many worlds better than the journeymen cited.
It is easy to overhype fine players who are also evidently nice guys,especially when they retire.
Great is Johnny Bench,Sandy Koufax,Roberto,Henry Aaron,Willie Mays,etc.
And with all due respect to Nick Markakis,he is not included in the etc.
And let’s not forget his solid post season accomplishments over 27 games:
.198 average
3 RBIs
8 runs scored
dude made more money on mlb contracts than barry bonds lol
dude lol not true Bonds made $188M, $68M more
he would roll out of bed and hit .290. Profesional contact hitter
But batting average and contact don’t matter!!!! Only OBP and power!!!!
I like Markakis. Kind of a throwback in today’s game. Solid career.
He had a good walk rate, I think. He just wasn’t a slugger. I think his defense was fine, too. Maybe it was even underrated.
Completely incorrect. If contact didn’t matter and power did we’d be going hype over guys like Gary Sanchez. Contact matters more than power. Who cares if you can hit 500 foot Homer’s if they’re solo shots, and can’t come through with a clean double when the game is close?
I think BBP was being facetious. At least I hope he was.
Same-Contact and power both matter.You are correct in your assessment of contact.
However,you do not want contact hitters in the 3,4,and 5 spots.
Would you remember Babe Ruth if he was a contact hitter?
Eddie Yost was nicknamed The Walking Man.Is he in the HOF?
Home run hitters can win an even scored game in the late innings with one swing of the bat.
It takes both types to have a truly good hitting baseball team.
With some luck and on the right team he could have reached 3000 hits…… good enough for the HOF.. Great in their book.
No offense, but a lot of players could use that “luck and team” argument. Fred McGriff comes to mind.
@bham. I think eventually the veterans committee gets McGriff into the HOF. Also congrats to Markakis (kakes) on a nice MLB career. I will admit I was hoping Markakis could hang around long enough to get the magic 3000 hits number. He was probably robbed of around 100 hits last year to Covid.
He was going to get 100 hits in a 60-game season? That would take prime Ichiro, not 36yo Markakis.
@Baumann: Covid = 60 games rather than 162. Add 100 games and he had a decent chance to get an extra 100 hits.
Markakis had over 40 doubles in a season 5 times and ended his career with 514. This is the type of player who is largely over looked in this era. He had a great career both drove in runs and scored them
There have been only 126 players in the history of the game to have more hits than him. He had an excellent career.
since when do you have to have hof career to have a “great career”, give the man his credit he had a great career he lasted 15 years in the mlb mostly as a starter. to me that’s a great career to last 15 at the games highest level when most don’t even hit 10
Meh. I’d go with good. He only had one spike year of a WAR over 7 early in his career. Some argue he missed out on fulfilling his talent. Most of the time he was good for a WAR around 2. So it really was just a fluke season. His OPS+ was never above 120 so it’s not like he was ever dominant. He avoided any major dips until later in his career and that’s when it’s a good time to hang ‘em up. The game is no longer kind and gentle to older players – especially for hitters in the NL. The universal DH would have extended his career another 2-3 maybe even 4 seasons.
Remind me not to invite you to my retirement party. “Well,you were ok…didn’t know you all that well…”
Straight up pro and hope to see him stay in the game, he’s quiet so prob not a manager but hitting instructor is right up his alley. He should really just teach guys how to be a professional, as steady as attitude as they come! Thanks for all you’ve done for Braves country Nick and enjoy retirement, the game will miss you.
only problem i see kakes as a hitting coach is translating what he did that made him great he might not be able to teach. some of the best coaches are those that were players that washed out. a lot of great to hof players have a hard time being instructors because they did what they did because they had the talent to do so. anyhow if kakes wants to coach at some point in the future wish the best and maybe he can teach my birds hit lol.
While I’m not ruling out Markakis someday filling a coach’s spot, I think he is MUCH more likely to just spend time concentrating on family time. I think if he takes any position it would most likely be one where he stays in the Atlanta area and close to his family day in and day out. Maybe something in front office or with the Gwinnett Stripers.
good player hit very well against the miami marlins they could not figure out how to get this guy out
Only on MLBTR can people take offense to a “great career” comment and try to lessen it to good career
15 years of doing anything consistently above average is absolutely a great career. Not many people have that great of a ride not to mention the sheer respect he accumulated among teammates, coaches, and trainers along the way
Cant ask for much more than that
MJ-Only in MLBTR will posters take a very good player and call him great.
Calling someone very good over a long period of time is testament to a sound respect for his body of work.
What do you call the HOF’s then?
Great,Great?Great to the third power?The greatest?
Not sure where you would draw the line.Was Phil Gagliano great because he played many years in MLB?
Watering down the HOF’s adjective is demeaning to them,not to Nick Markakis.
Congrats to markakis on a solid career
Very solid career. As an O’s fan who’s followed him all along I always wished for more power that never came. But the O’s felt a huge void when he left for ATL and never truly replaced his overall presence (in the lineup, in the field and clubhouse) which the data never quite captured.
Thanks Nick and best wishes for what lies ahead.
He really did have a great career. You could argue as well as a handful of players with few all star games yet achieved other awards, a career longevity, and get to 2700+ hits that they could make the HOF.. I truly thought he had some energy to go a few more years and at least contend for that honor but as other bloggers here have mentioned, his production did not look great last year and his body may not have been holding up to do much more. Congrats Nick.
Great brave! Good for him! Really wish we had him back for our bench cause our bench is a different lvl of bad, but he may not wanted to do that. He will get a lot of hate from Braves fans, but he’ll go down as a pretty dang good one overall.
Why do Braves fans hate him?
Answer: They don’t.
They don’t hate him. They hate that Liberty Media is cheap and didn’t go out and get a true 4-hole hitter for years, and instead miscast aging Markakis out there as the power bat year after year.
If they’d let him be the fourth outfielder, pinch-hitter he should’ve been for the last few years, it would’ve been so much better.
The last couple of years he should have been the strong side of a platoon. He always hit righties well.
This is a very fair take, though I see why those outside of Braves Country would think we hate Markakis. Just a case of him being the metaphor for a bunch of suits who don’t show their faces being cheap.
Markakis was solid, but his productive years in Atlanta didn’t align with our best years minus 2018. Oftentimes early, he and Freddie were the only true bats in the lineup.
Hate? After that career. I would think Braves fans would commission a statue.
Good career. Enjoy your retirement.
2388 hits and 0 smiles. Joking aside, he was a solid, consistent player if nothing else.
As my favorite Oriole and player you will be missed Cakes. Enjoy retirement!
Kakes
Great underdog player!! so many red sox/baltimore games you came up big against my team.. not sure why you always decided to be a BEAST against boston haha but it was fun watching you for so long, best wishes!
Solid overall player who was well respected in Baltimore and Atlanta, alike. In the post-Ripken years, he was the face of the Orioles until departing to the Braves, who did not miss a beat when Jason Hayward left. Markakis fit right in. In the Hall of Very Good.
Not a HOF but will be on the ballot
Should get a few votes to acknowledge a very solid career.
What a steady competitor – I was also hoping he’d hang around for one more year, but, understandably, his family comes first.
Was devastated when he left Baltimore. One of my all time favorite players. Great career. Glad he made an all star game. Him and Adam Jones roaming eutaw street were great times. I’ll miss watching him play
Classy guy! Best of luck in your retirement!
That’s a bummer. Pre COVID he had a reasonable chance at reaching 3,000 hits without ever even being in that kind of conversation.
How do you figure? He’s 37 years old and averages about 170 hits a year. He would have had to play 3 more years after adding 130 hits to last year’s total and is already retiring
I said PreCOVID. PreCOVID he was 35 and had 2,355 hits. If you go by your average of 170 hits a year, that would have him at 3,000 hits at age 39.
That’s also assuming a team gives him regular playing time. I don’t see many teams giving a corner outfielder who’s approaching 40 regular playing time for 3 straight seasons, especially considering he isn’t necessarily Nelson Cruz.
Sure. But again, I said he had a reasonable chance. I’m not sure why everyone is acting like I said the guy was a lock for 3,000 if he hadn’t retired.. He had played every game in 2019 before getting injured. He was still pretty young and was still a productive player. Without COVID, he only needed to average about 125 hits a season for age 36-40 seasons. Definitely not a lock, but reasonably attainable.
Assuming he keeps up his .288 career, that’s still like 435 at bats each season, which again, I don’t see a team doing that for 3-4 straight seasons. It would also be his age 37-41 seasons since 2020 was his age 36 season.
*cough* Julio Franco for the Braves *cough*
Jeez dude he said “reasonably attainable”. I don’t understand why you’re arguing that?
“It would also be his age 37-41 seasons since 2020 was his age 36 season.”
Man. This has been a painful conversation. Once again, I said pre-covid. Then I said “without COVID he only needed…” so i included ages 36-40 on purpose, because without COVID, 2020 wouldnt have been a shortened season like it was.
Nick Markakis hasn’t been a productive full-time player in two seasons. You can really use any averages at that stage in his career. Having watched him the past few seasons, it was clear he was done. Definitely a leader in the clubhouse, but it was a travesty he was a starting outfielder on a team that had World Series aspirations the previous two years. He might’ve stuck around as mentor on some losing or young clubs (I’d bet the Royals checked in) as a mentor, but he wasn’t a successful regular anymore, as great a overall career he had.
Thats why the HOF is gonna have to change their standards on the HOF. 3k hits/500 HRS standard has dropped to 2500/450 over time. Maybe 500 is still realistic but the players aren’t being used as workhorses anymore and treated more like china dolls in a glass case
There are no numbers/standardss that guarantee HOF election, and I think the electorate is coming around to the idea that players are used differently than in the past. Teams have a better understanding of the value of rest, that occasional days off can help long-term performance.
Which only elevates that achievements of those who did it without rest – like Markakis.
It seems the Hall of Fame voters look at these things: Longevity, market (unfair but reality), career numbers, playoff performance, peak, awards/accolades, and did they cheat. Where Markakis will lose is his his peaks were good-not-great, he played in non-big markets (dumb), and his trophy room is a little bare.
Had he had the same output as a Yankee, he’d probably have a championship, a few more All-Star appearances, more Gold Gloves, and the bonus of wearing pinstripes. I don’t think he’d make it then, but all of that could’ve been the difference between falling off the ballot in years 1-2 and staying on five or more.
A bright spot in the “No Hope” O’s Era. Glad he was part of the return to playoff seasons. He was sorely missed and should have never hit the free agent market. Have a great retirement Nicky!
If there was a Hall of Really Good, he’d be a sure thing.
He is the type of player that a manager/franchise would win a lot of games with. Guys like him, Reggie Smith, Dwight Evans…grinder types that are not quite HOF, though an argument can be made for many, especially Dewey, but are/were VERY VERY good, and productive
Reggie Smith has a strong case. He was the best player on the Dodgers’ back-t0-back World Series teams in 77-78.
Loved watching lay out for the catch. One of my favorites. Definitely in the Hall Of Very Good.
An unappreciated player – class act, too.
He had a really solid career. Both teams that had him should have no complaints. Now, he gets to enjoy his family. Nice.
Always enjoyed to see him on the field, such a great defender
Great player. In his prime, Nick Markakis could do a little bit of everything very well. He’s smart to retire, as Covid is making the sport unsafe and weird.
Will miss you man. Good luck on the second half of your career!
Thats why the HOF is gonna have to change their standards on the HOF. 3k hits/500 HRS standard has dropped to 2500/450 over time. Maybe 500 is still realistic but the players aren’t being used as workhorses anymore and treated more like china dolls in a glass case
Kakes defined professional and veteran-presence for the Braves He turned up every day ready to play, never complained, and always worked hard because he knew he had to.
While his baseball-related injuries were few, he had major surgery in December 2014 to repair a herniated disk in his neck and returned to play 156 games in 2015.
Saying Markakis was a great defender in Atlanta is a stretch.
His defense, like his hitting, maximized what he knew he could do; he played within himself, rarely made a positioning mistake, or missed a ball he should catch. His arm wasn’t strong, but he put himself in a position to maximize the effectiveness of his throws.
At the plate, he was a bulldog, a throwback to hitters who refused to give up a PA trying to hit a homer when a base hit was what was needed. He retires with 514 doubles, good for 54th on the all-time list and at number 127 on the all-time hit list.
Kakes did everything you want a player to do, leading the younger players around him by example.
Thanks Kakes, now smile for us.
I remember when I opined that Andrew Benetendi’s ceiling was Kakes, and being assaulted by Red Sox fans, as if Markakis was some kind of bum.
Class act all around, good player. A few miles away from HOF, but as dependable as they come. He made a lot of money, so probably wouldn’t be interested in coaching, but he’d be a good one IMHO. Who knows?; a LOT fewer bus rides in the new minors now.
2,388 base hits
34 career WAR
3 Gold Gloves
$120,232,000 in career earnings
That’ll play.
Enjoy retirement.
@Ducky @Bob you two will appreciate the comparisons between Dewey Evans, Bernie Williams, and Nick Markakis. Guys like that are needed on clubs to win championships.
For some reason the name Vada Pinson popped into my head. Aging myself a bit. Solid ball players.
jeeez, I barely remember him. Royals? Right?
But this does lead to the question of; aren’t you a bit old to be trolling on the internet, sir?
Unfortunately, I remember Vada Pinson…good comparison, too
Different than Pinson in that Vada once appeared to be on a Hall of Fame pace. Pinson had a WAR of 40.2 through his age-26 season (seven full seasons). In his remaining 10 seasons, his WAR was just 14.0. No WAR back then but Pinson’s numbers during his early years were outstanding across the board. He had four 200-hit seasons and led the NL in doubles twice and triples twice.
Pinson one of my favorite players growing up. Everyone liked Pinson. I am a White Sox fan but loved the National League players back then.
Pinson was an excellent player. He was traded to the Cardinals for Bobby Tolan and Wayne Granger. A fine trade for the Reds until Tolan got hurt. The next year Pinson was traded to the Cardinals for another favorite player from the era, Jose Cardenal. Two years after that, he was traded to Cardenal’s second team the Angels for former AL batting champ Alex Johnson, who was in the Reds outfield alongside Pinson in Vada’s final year in Cincinnati.
Re Bobby Tolan. Many years later, he and his family appeared on Family Feud during the Ray Combs era. I pasted a Tolan story below. A troubled soul, as was Alex Johnson during his playing days and, for that matter, Ray Combs. Somehow, this is all related to Nick Markakis’ retirement.
Bobby Tolan story
redlegnation.com/2017/04/02/the-enigma-of-bobby-to…
Sheldon “Chief” Bender is not the As great pitcher but the Reds farm director and number two executive. Still, Bobby Tolan fought him when he was 54 ish I believe. Pretty cowardly.
I remember when Tolan platooned with Dick Allen at 1B for the Phillies in 76 or 77. Danny Ozark loved his platoons.
… coming from someone who identifies with Bucky Dent…. that is amusing! We all remember players before our time… they used to be talked about all the time… now, we just seem to get endless hype on the next phenom.
Well…ya got me there.
But: yeah. I get it.
To some Yankee fans Jasson Dominguez > Bucky Dent (or whomever).
And what’s more is the character and class of the man. Something that will never show up on a stat line… but couldn’t have higher value. Thanks Nick!
Punched in and punched out, much respect
I think it would be hilarious if a dude who didn’t have a wife and kids retired and said he was going to focus on partying and one night stands.
Sounds like matt harvey,while playing
Ted Theodore Logan…..meet Mike Napoli
Solid career. Will miss seeing him play. Enjoy a well deserved retirement!
Certainly an underrated player for the most part
Now all he has to do is shave his beard and he can walk around anywhere totally unrecognizable.
That dude gets a 5 o clock shadow at 8am.
I thought he had a cervical neck issue. I only bring it up because his return to high level of play was that much more impressive because of it.
Yes, neck surgery. The reason O’s would not sign him to a long=term contract again.. O’s burnt badly on Nolan Reimold and a neck issue that caused him to miss multiple seasons, all on their dime as well as a lawsuit on the team’s care regarding neck treatment.
Played hard every game. Was a part of some great teams.
Time to enjoy being a dad.
Gonna miss you, Nicky. #21
One of few O’s bright spots in the last decade or so, best of luck with retirement.
I hate that the Orioles wasted his early years running out horrible teams. I was upset when they let him walk and he went to Atlanta. A very solid career. I’m just glad he didn’t play out the next couple of years on one-year deals going from team to team.
I still remember when I attended an Orioles @ Angels game at Angels Stadium. A young Erick Aybar was bidding for his first career homerun, and Markakis robbed him of it byeaning into the crowd down the right field line, near the foul pole. As a Halos fan, I appreciated the spectacular play.
Definitely a first ballot in five years
I agree. He will definitely be on the ballot in five years.
….and off the ballot in 6
Class of a player. Enjoy your retirement.
Markakis = Drako from Clash of the Titans : “When I spit in the eyes of the Gods, then I smile.”
Classy player. Respect for those players that know when it’s time to quit the game you love.
What a year 2003 must have been for rookies if that slash placed 6th in A.L. alone
His rookie season was 2006 and yes, the five guys ahead of him, Justin Verlander, Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Liriano, Kenji Johjima and Jered Weaver all did very well, as did Ian Kinsler, who finished 7th.
Tip of the hat to Nick. He was a great player, great arm, and a very consistent bat.
Good article, Steve.
I was really rooting for him to reach 3,000 hits. Underrated player in my opinion. Quietly went about his business.. Hall of Fame may not happen, but I think a number retirement in Baltimore is deserving.
Dayam dog…Heaven got an Angel today. Had dis dude on me fantasy team for the last decade. Good locker room guy for The Arista Cats (my squad). He didn’t play often but when he did he was always good for a hit or two.
Came in 5th the past 4 years in a row although I didn’t like the commissioners ruling on a few, let’s call them, interesting free agent pick ups the past few years. I’m not accusing anyone of cheating, but all I saying is you got to be fair to everyone feel me? RIP Markakis
He didn’t die, he just retired.
I like comping him to Steve Finley. Finley played until he was 42 and had more pop, but Markakis was a more consistent Avg guy. All in all, similar careers of the “very good” category.
One of the most underrated player that ever played this game. Never complained about anything. A real professional. The best for him and his family.
Snit’s useage of Nick irritated me sometimes, but nothing but respect for Nick as a ballplayer. I’m happy he came to play for a few years in Atlanta. The guy is the epitome of class.
Couldn’t have said it better. A pro’s pro.
If there were a way to measure how many WAR a player could help other players achieve, he’d rank pretty high.
Sparkakis!
Sorry he never played for the Yankees.
“Native Georgia?” I thought he was from Long Island.
According to B-Ref he grew up in Woodstock, Ga. He just looks like a Long Islander.
Maybe the most underrated player of his generation. Always was a big fan of his, especially when I got to watch him a lot when he was with Baltimore. He’s definitely “Hall of Very Good” worthy.
A little bit like Bobby Abreu. Very good, complied some nice stats, not really close to HOF level but probably a step or two down.
Take care of that family Nick. You can hang em up knowing you left it all on the field. Great to hear solid professional stories like this. We need more of them.
Raising my chilled glass…cheers
Happy Retirement Nick!
Decent career and wealthier than the Queen of England. Markakis never won a meaningful game in his life but what a life he has. Now he can “retire” and enjoy that 15 years of “work”.
What’s with all the backhanded compliments? Jealous? He pursued his dream and was wildly successful. How about this? Nick Markakis has accomplished more at age 37 than you will in your entire life. Enjoy your bitterness.
@Joe- If Mike Trout’s team fortunes don’t change, will you have the conviction to post the same comment upon his retirement?
You’re speaking as if Nick had a say in constructing those teams, which he didn’t. He played the game the right way and posted some good numbers, which is all he could control. I hate when winning becomes a barometer of success in team sports for an athlete because some of that is out of their hands.
He was on 5 playoff teams in 15 years. There are guys that go their whole career without making the playoffs let alone 5 times and a few of the 5 times his teams got the LCS of their respective league.
Vert good and solid, nut certainly not great. WAR is a bogus stat IMHO. For someone to play as a regular for 15 years he certainly is more than a common player.
But not nut
Solid player, good “baseball guy.” Congrats Nick, it’ll be interesting to see if he comes back as a coach at some point.
Didnt he have a serious neck/back injury that lead to his free agency? The Braves signing of him was super critical by everyone at the time.
He was a gamer.. enjoy retirement, Nick.
Aww why couldn’t it have been ender? All joking aside Markakis was one of my favorite players. Wish nothing but the best for the guy, a true proffesional
2006 was the greatest rookie all star team ever. Many players came from the Marlins but not all
C Russell Martin
C Kenji Johjima
1B Prince Fielder
2B Dan Uggla
3B Ryan Zimmerman
SS Hanley Ramirez
LF Josh Willingham
CF Melky Cabrera
RF Nick Markakis
SP Justin Verlander
SP Francisco Liriano
SP Jared Weaver
SP Anibal Sanchez
SP Josh Johnson
RP Jonathan Papelbon
RP Takoshi Saito
RP Jonathan Broxton
RP Joel Zumaya
RP Adam Wainwright
Wow thanks for pointing that out, that’s something I never really paid attention too.
Wow you are making me long for the old days of 15 years ago. So many great names there, all with their own styles of play and personalities. That is when ESPN sports center and baseball tonight were much watch TV every night.
I’d say great career. Seemed like he never had an unproductive season over a long time
Had it not been for some unfortunate injuries and COVID, Nick had a slight chance at 3,000 hits which would have made a HOF vote interesting.
Great teamate: mlb.nbcsports.com/2018/03/05/nick-markakis-threate…
I played against this guy at a junior college in GA. He hit the longest home run off one of our starters I have ever seen. Pretty sure it went over the lights.
A solid player the Mets had no interest! What else is new
Love Markakis…. will never forget that 3HR game in his rookie season…. guy was sick… and mad respect for his longevity, consistency, and durability… a true professional
A few years ago I thought he had a long shot at 3000 hits, and what a lightning bolt he’d be when it came to HOF.
He’s in the hall of really good. Not as good as mattingly, Dave parker, Hernandez. He’s a hair below Dwight Evans, IMO.
The manager after Snitker
Quality player over a long career, and one of the best Dugout names of all time.
A great player, Always hit a double when it was needed. THANK YOU NICK
Wow. I didn’t realize he had that many hits. Excluding the years 2020 (C0vid), 2019 (wrist fracture) and 2012 (Broken hamate), he averaged 176 hits each year. He is 612 hits away from 3000. If age is factored and we say he averages 155 hits the next 4 years, he gets that milestone and a Hall of Fame ticket. Damn, that would hard for athlete to pass up. He would be 41/42 in four years though and Father time is undefeated.
He was always an underrated player IMO.
Funniest thing about NM was how Braves fans started talking him up as a HOFer when their teams had been so bad for so long that they didn’t know what a HOFer looked like.
No they didn’t. If anything they complained about him. When and where did you see that? I’m just curious
Look up the word Plate Discipline in the encyclopedia and there’s a picture of NICK MARKAKIS
Seeing these guys retire always makes me sad, but Markakis had a real solid career. Always reliable.
Markakis was solid but you forget the neck injury he had when he signed with the braves as a free agent. Limited his power for a bit but still hit doubles.
WAR stats are overrated.
WAR is absolutely overrated and I find it to be the most overrated statistic in baseball, with batting average in a close second.
WAR is a Thumbnail, like OPS . It’s a way of looking at one stat and getting a feel for whether a player had a bad year, adecent year or a great year. If you don’t read too much into it, it’s fine.
I’d rather have Markakis on my team than harold baines. Or pee wee reese or tony lazzeri.
I’d also take Barry bonds and pete rose too.
I think I will start my own hall of fame.
Mount Olympus of Baseball
The home to the 12 greatest players ever.
C Johnny Bench
1B Lou Gehrig
2B Rogers Hornsby
SS Alex Rodriguez
3B Mike Schmidt
LF Ted Williams
CF Willie Mays
RF Babe Ruth
Pitchers
Young
Mathewson
Johnson
Alexander
You must be a Yankee fan if you have A-Roid on that list.
I disagree. Yankee fans don’t like Arod. I don’t know why other fans think we do. He is a stain on our pinstriped history.
Now if ESPN would realize this as well and get him off the freaking Sunday night broadcast already.
Yeah, because I don’t like him, even though he was once my favorite player. As I don’t condone cheaters, I took down just about all of the A-Rod stuff I had down in the bedroom I had in the house that I used to live in when the Biogenesis stuff came out. I still have that ball signed by him, though.
I’d take Aaron over Ruth in RF. I can’t stand here and say Ruth wasn’t an all-time great in his era, but it was an easier game when he played. The competition wasn’t as stiff, and Aaron faced pitches Ruth never saw.
I’m not a big fan of A-Rod, either. I get the pick based on numbers, though. I’d be tempted to take Ozzie Smith for his defense.
I cant stand arod. But who had a better career? Smith for defense, but overall? I was tempted to go with Ripken, but its Mount Olympus of Baseball, not players I like most.
I also thought of Aaron. But compare the career to Ruth. Schmidt or Brett or Robinson? Hornsby was hard too because nobody in my lifetime ever saw him play.
Hopefully Lindor kicks Arod out.
That was fun… MLBTR should pick a Mount Olympus team for each team. That would be interesting. Probably something they should do in the offseason.
Greatest player at each position and then 4 pitchers.
A guy like Markakis has the potential to be on 2 teams. He wouldn’t replace Aaron, he’s probably behind Frank Robinson too…
He was an underrated player all of his career.
Markakis was very underrated as a player. But true baseball fans appreciate how good he was. Let the fake fans calculate WAR.
His numbers were great enough and I’d argue he should still be a Baltimore legend. He served a greater purpose in his career than just his hit and WAR totals. He ushered in a great era of baseball in a city that was lacking identity and a true hope. Without him and Adam Jones being consistent cornerstones for the orioles to build on they may have never had the 5 year run that they did. Great career Kakes!
I think anytime someone retires we need to ask, was he the greatest right handed hitter in Orioles history?
Lets give that one to Cal Ripken or Brooks Robinson.
If you don’t weight longevity with the Orioles too heavily, probably Frank Robinson.
If that’s what we are asking, Markakis wouldnt make the top 10.
Lol
When you’re able to retire without any major injury taking you out of the game, and you played 15 yrs and collected almost 120 million, I’d say you had a great career, and oh yeah he is only 37 yrs old. I’m sure he has investments so he should be fine.
Fine career, and maybe now I won’t be confused all the time about which one is Markakis and which one is Moustakis.
Good luck in retirement Nick. You gave us a show on the field now go catch one with your family
One of my favorite non-Royals. Always enjoyed watching him play. Professional in his approach every day. Sort of a RF version of Alex Gordon (but better hitter over the second half of his career).
Very solid career. Career WAR of 34 … best among all 2003 draft picks. And 3 of the 6 players picked ahead of him never even made the majors.
Tony B,
Check Ian Kinsler in the 17th round – 55.2 WAR.
One of my favorite players of the era. Great career, wish he could have had a couple more solid years to get to 3000 hits but thats ok. Don’t think he’ll make HOF, maybe veterans committee way down the line. But still a great player and all around good guy.
Loved this guy growing up. Dude could just hit and hit and hit.
I see markakis driving around in his McLaren quite regularly.
Very nice guy.
Lot of morons on here trying to act like the word great is reserved for Babe Ruth. Nick had a great career. No reasonable person would argue that he had a HOF career, but he quietly put together a great career, characterized by consistent production and solid defense. Not HOF tier but a tier or two below. Played until he was 37 and made $120 million in the process. Sounds pretty great to me lol
Pls stop-Lots of differences of opinion here.
The only moron here,though,is you,moron.
Live up to your name,and please stop.
Without the please.Just stop,and quit showing your intelligence level,or lack thereof.
Lol
What did he say that was incorrect?
I think solid yet unspectacular, while seriously overpaid is a fair assessment.
Not a fan of either the O’s or the Braves but this guy was always a likable figure on both teams. Undercover was always a solid player
Man, miss this guy already. When he came up to the plate in a tight situation, you just felt like he was roping one down the RF line. Who’s slotting over?
A nice, solid career for Markakis. Now he can go and relax in retirement for a while before becoming assistant GM for the Diamondbacks
Absolutely a retirement I did not wanna see happen. Such a great teammate and representative for this organization to have had. I would like to see him make a comeback at some point this year if the opportunity presents itself with the Braves.
Good Lord do people get hung up on semantics for no real good/great reason at all.