Anthony Rizzo hasn’t played this season and hasn’t seemed close to signing, leaving many to think he’d already retired. Rizzo made it official on Wednesday, announcing that his playing career was officially over and that he will retire as a member of the Chicago Cubs. The team has a ceremony planned for Saturday at Wrigley Field to celebrate his career.
Rizzo will reportedly assume an ambassador role with the organization moving forward, which seems like an obvious fit.
Boston originally selected Rizzo in the 6th round of the 2007 Draft out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida (the same HS that was home to the 2018 school shooting). Three years later, Rizzo was traded along with three others to the Padres for first baseman Adrián González. He’d make his debut in San Diego, hitting .151/.281/.242 over his first 153 PA.
San Diego acquired Yonder Alonso in the subsequent offseason to play first base, leaving Rizzo without a place to play, and he would be traded to the Cubs as part of a deal for right-hander Andrew Cashner. Rizzo would spend the next decade on Chicago’s North Side.
Rizzo slashed .272/.372/.489 (130 OPS+) with 276 doubles and 242 home runs over his 10 years in Chicago, while going to three All-Star Games and winning four Gold Glove Awards.
Just five players in Cubs history (Sammy Sosa, Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santo, and Ryne Sandberg) hit more home runs.
Of course, Rizzo also caught the final out of the Cubs’ World Series win in 2016.
With the Cubs falling out of contention and rebuilding their core, Rizzo was traded at the 2021 trade deadline to the Yankees (bringing current Cubs outfielder Kevin Alcántara back in return). Rizzo batted .234/.326/.409 (105 OPS+) in his three seasons in New York before a misdiagnosed concussion effectively ended his ability to hit, adding another 60 homers to his career totals.
Rizzo has, and will, always hold a unique place in my baseball fandom.
Meet Nick Raquet
Even after all these years of being a baseball fan, I’m still a sucker for a good story. Enter, Nick Raquet.
Raquet was a 3rd-round pick by the Nationals in the 2014 Draft. By the end of 2019, he was still toiling away at High-A Potomac before a rough stint in the Arizona Fall League. The next spring, the COVID pandemic canceled the minor league seasons completely, and Raquet opted to leave baseball behind, turning his finance degree from the College of William & Mary into a job with Ernst & Young.
Raquet’s girlfriend, Maggie, was the one who made him realize he missed baseball, as MLB.com’s Doug Miller explains. By 2023, after throwing bullpens on his own at a local field, he joined the independent Atlantic League’s York Revolution. Raquet pitched well enough there to catch the eye of Cardinals scouts, and he’d sign a minor league contract with the team before the 2024 season.
This year, between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis, the left-hander posted a 1.68 ERA over 48.1 IP with 57 strikeouts, prompting the Cardinals to call him up this week. Raquet worked a scoreless inning in each of St. Louis’ games at Seattle on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Chapman’s hitless streak ends
Shea Langeliers led off the 9th inning with a double against Aroldis Chapman. Two batters later, Lawrence Butler singled to right to score Langeliers and give the A’s a 5-4 win against the Red Sox on Wednesday.
Langeliers’ double ended a string of 50 straight batters Chapman had held without a hit. Just twelve pitchers have kept opposing batters hitless for longer streaks since 1974. Dennis Eckersley holds the longest stretch, keeping 71 straight batters hitless in 1977 with the Indians.
Amazingly, Pirates minor league right-hander Brandon Bidois has been putting together an even better streak. Bidois hasn’t allowed a hit since July 29, 18 scoreless innings over 11 appearances, a string of 64 straight batters.
Updating Rio Foster’s status
More details have emerged about the car accident that left Angels minor league outfielder Rio Foster hospitalized last Friday. Foster is listed in critical but stable condition after being ejected from the vehicle during the crash, resulting in multiple skull and facial fractures.
Foster has already undergone one brain surgery and is expected to need additional procedures, according to details shared through a GoFundMe started by Foster’s mother, Iris Cleveland. More than $55,000 has been raised in the first 48 hours, with substantial donations coming from members of the Angels organization: Yusei Kikuchi gave $10,000, Jo Adell gave $5,000, Kyren Paris and Matthew Lugo each gave $1,000, and even the Tyler Skaggs Foundation donated $1,000 to the cause.
Curiously, the Angels organization does not appear to be stepping up to help out one of their own players, who had just been named the club’s minor league player of the month for August on the day of the accident.