2001 National League Retirements

The baseball torch is passed from season to season and in some cases, from game to game. In 1911, Cy Young pitched his final Major League game, lost 1-0, and ended the final season of his career with a losing record of 7-9 and an ERA of 3.77. Young's opponent that particular day was a first-year pitcher named Grover Alexander who received the win, added to his league leading shutout total, and went on to begin his career with a winning record of 28-13 and an ERA of 2.57.

Bob Gibson, who was easily one of the most intense competitors of all time, gave up a grand slam to the last Major League hitter he faced, Pete LaCock of the Chicago Cubs. Fifteen years passed and when the two faced off during an old-timer's game, Gibson hit LaCock on his back with a fastball.

Babe Ruth summed it up when he responded to a question about retirement by saying, "A ballplayer should quit when it starts to feel as if all the baselines run uphill." Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a comprehensive list of National League League players who hung up their spikes in 2001.

"I'll never make the mistake of being seventy (70) again." - Casey Stengel comment made after being told to quit following the 1960 World Series
 

National League Retirements

2001

50 Geraldo Guzman Arizona Diamondbacks P 29
52 Mike Mohler Arizona Diamondbacks P 33
8 Rob Ryan Arizona Diamondbacks PH 28
2 Juan Sosa Arizona Diamondbacks 3B 26
40 Bobby Witt Arizona Diamondbacks P 38
11 Kurt Abbott Atlanta Braves 2B 32
40 Cory Aldridge Atlanta Braves OF 22
2 Rico Brogna Atlanta Braves 1B 32
11 Ken Caminiti Atlanta Braves 1B 39
23 Bernard Gilkey Atlanta Braves OF 35
14 Dave Martinez Atlanta Braves OF 37
50 Trey Moore Atlanta Braves P 29
51 Chris Seelbach Atlanta Braves P 29
36 Joe Slusarski Atlanta Braves P 35
49, 64 Scott Sobkowiak Atlanta Braves P 24
43 Marc Valdes Atlanta Braves P 30
4 Quilvio Veras Atlanta Braves 2B 31
9 Damon Buford Chicago Cubs OF 31
35 Will Ohman Chicago Cubs P 24
36 Kevin Tapani Chicago Cubs P 38
15 Julio Zuleta Chicago Cubs 1B 27
39 Justin Atchley Cincinnati Reds P 28
36 D.T. Cromer Cincinnati Reds 1B 31
59 Lance Davis Cincinnati Reds P 25
43 Osvaldo Fernandez Cincinnati Reds P 33
38 Pete Harnisch Cincinnati Reds P 35
26 Robin Jennings Cincinnati Reds OF 30
51 Scott MacRae Cincinnati Reds P 27
34 Calvin Pickering Cincinnati Reds PH 25
60 Chris Piersoll Cincinnati Reds P 24
58 Frankie Rodriguez Cincinnati Reds P 29
2 Deion Sanders Cincinnati Reds OF 34
37 Scott Winchester Cincinnati Reds P 29
16 Kimera Bartee Colorado Rockies OF 29
46 Todd Belitz Colorado Rockies P 26
41 Brian Bohanon Colorado Rockies P 33
35 Cliff Brumbaugh Colorado Rockies OF 28
43 Bobby Chouinard Colorado Rockies P 30
54 Tim Christman Colorado Rockies P 27
23 Joe Davenport Colorado Rockies P 26
47 Horacio Estrada Colorado Rockies P 26
30 Robin Jennings Colorado Rockies OF 30
16 Kevin Sefcik Colorado Rockies PH 31
18 Jeff Abbott Florida Marlins OF 29
49 Benito Baez Florida Marlins P 25
29 Ricky Bones Florida Marlins P 33
27 Mike Gulan Florida Marlins 3B 31
4 Lyle Mouton Florida Marlins OF 33
48 Johnny Ruffin Florida Marlins P 30
45 Chuck Smith Florida Marlins P 32
50 Joe Strong Florida Marlins P 39
24 Glen Barker Houston Astros OF 31
47 Kent Bottenfield Houston Astros P 33
20 Tony Eusebio Houston Astros C 35
14 Charlie Hayes Houston Astros 3B 37
59 Tony McKnight Houston Astros P 24
45, 66 Wilfredo Rodriguez Houston Astros P 23
21 Scott Servais Houston Astros C 34
58 Joe Slusarski Houston Astros P 35
28 Bill Spiers Houston Astros PH 35
18 Tim Bogar Los Angeles Dodgers 1B 35
7 Jeff Branson Los Angeles Dodgers 2B 35
44 Phil Hiatt Los Angeles Dodgers 3B 33
26 Brian Johnson Los Angeles Dodgers C 34
30 Gregg Olson Los Angeles Dodgers P 35
36 Angel Pena Los Angeles Dodgers C 27
41 Jeff Shaw Los Angeles Dodgers P 35
56 Rocky Coppinger Milwaukee Brewers P 28
7 Tony Fernandez Milwaukee Brewers 3B 39
53 Gus Gandarillas Milwaukee Brewers P 30
38 Brandon Kolb Milwaukee Brewers P 28
23 Mark Leiter Milwaukee Brewers P 39
50 Jesse Levis Milwaukee Brewers C 34
24 James Mouton Milwaukee Brewers OF 33
9 Elvis Pena Milwaukee Brewers 2B 25
9 Robert Perez Milwaukee Brewers OF 32
26 Kyle Peterson Milwaukee Brewers P 26
31 Paul Rigdon Milwaukee Brewers P 26
22 Devon White Milwaukee Brewers OF 39
50 Matt Blank Montreal Expos P 26
29 Rob Ducey Montreal Expos OF 37
31 Mike Johnson Montreal Expos P 26
16 Terry Jones Montreal Expos OF 31
15 Randy Knorr Montreal Expos C 33
43 Felipe Lira Montreal Expos P 30
56 Troy Mattes Montreal Expos P 26
4 Ryan Minor Montreal Expos 3B 28
46 Bobby Munoz Montreal Expos P 34
29 Chris Peters Montreal Expos P 30
26 Bob Scanlan Montreal Expos P 35
18 Darryl Hamilton New York Mets OF 37
32 Brett Hinchliffe New York Mets P 27
23 Brian Rose New York Mets P 26
30 Jorge Toca New York Mets 1B 27
52 Felipe Crespo Philadelphia Phillies OF 29
2 Rob Ducey Philadelphia Phillies OF 37
29 P.J. Forbes Philadelphia Phillies 2B 34
23 Kevin Jordan Philadelphia Phillies 1B 32
25 Turner Ward Philadelphia Phillies PH 37
50 Andy Barkett Pittsburgh Pirates OF 27
14 Derek Bell Pittsburgh Pirates OF 33
27 Alex Hernandez Pittsburgh Pirates OF 25
51 Rich Loiselle Pittsburgh Pirates P 30
38 Ramon Martinez Pittsburgh Pirates P 34
45 Tony McKnight Pittsburgh Pirates P 24
2 Pat Meares Pittsburgh Pirates 2B 33
31 Omar Olivares Pittsburgh Pirates P 34
36 Billy Taylor Pittsburgh Pirates P 40
7 John Wehner Pittsburgh Pirates 1B 34
38 Don Wengert Pittsburgh Pirates P 32
50 Marc Wilkins Pittsburgh Pirates P 31
26 Mike Darr San Diego Padres OF 26
19 Tony Gwynn San Diego Padres OF 42
59 Junior Herndon San Diego Padres P 23
58 Brett Jodie San Diego Padres P 25
12 Dave Magadan San Diego Padres 3B 39
43 Chuck McElroy San Diego Padres P 34
1 Santiago Perez San Diego Padres OF 26
39 Wascar Serrano San Diego Padres P 23
20 Rick Wilkins San Diego Padres C 34
52 Felipe Crespo San Francisco Giants 1B 29
22 Eric Davis San Francisco Giants OF 40
18 Russ Davis San Francisco Giants 3B 32
26 Mark Gardner San Francisco Giants P 40
18 Jalal Leach San Francisco Giants OF 33
56 Dante Powell San Francisco Giants OF 28
24 Bobby Bonilla St. Louis Cardinals 1B 39
29 Stubby Clapp St. Louis Cardinals 2B 29
65 Chad Hutchinson St. Louis Cardinals P 25
32 Keith McDonald St. Louis Cardinals C 29
25 Mark McGwire St. Louis Cardinals 1B 38
28 Bill Ortega St. Louis Cardinals PH 26
23 Luis Saturria St. Louis Cardinals OF 25
46 Jeff Tabaka St. Louis Cardinals P 38
2001 National League Retirements



Find out which players made their Major League debut in the National League during the 2001 season as this group of players bid farewell to their field's of dreams.

Stan Musial ended his Major League career on September 29, 1963. His final hit was a single during the sixth inning off Jim Maloney which drove in his last RBI (which was Curt Flood).

On September 28, 1960, broadcaster Curt Gowdy uttered, "It's got a chance. It's got a chance. And it's gone!" Those words were used to describe the final at-bat of slugger Ted Williams.