Brian Fuentes retires

[Cowtipper]

Reliever Brian Fuentes, who briefly played for the Cardinals last season before suddenly abandoning the team for unspecified reasons, announced yesterday that he has decided to retire.

Fuentes told the Merced Sun-Star, his hometown paper, that he left the Redbirds because it was the farthest from his family that he ever played and he simply missed them too much to continue.

Read more here: http://www.bnd.com/2012/11/15/239566...#storylink=cpy

Though he wasn't very impressive toward the end of his career, Fuentes was a four time All-Star in his prime. In 2009, he led the league in saves and he finished with 204 for his career.

[chicagowhitesox1173]

You gotta really love your family to walk away from being a MLB player.

[GiambiJuice]

You gotta really love your family to walk away from being a MLB player.

Unless you're Andy Pettitte, in which case you get so sick of them after one year away from the game that you unretire.

[UnderPressure]

Wait, he just straight up abandoned his team? Wow. Family man or not, that was so unprofessional. You miss your family? Dude, plenty of players are so far away from home...players from Latin American countries and Japan... If he missed his family so much, why didn't he move them to his place in St. Louis? And then they all move back to Merced in the offseason.

[Blackout]

Wait, he just straight up abandoned his team? Wow. Family man or not, that was so unprofessional. You miss your family? Dude, plenty of players are so far away from home...players from Latin American countries and Japan... If he missed his family so much, why didn't he move them to his place in St. Louis? And then they all move back to Merced in the offseason.

maybe there are no houses for sale?

[PlanetZoltan]

maybe there are no houses for sale?

Maybe he couldnt get approved for a loan?

[Rich the Giants fan]

Wait, he just straight up abandoned his team? Wow. Family man or not, that was so unprofessional. You miss your family? Dude, plenty of players are so far away from home...players from Latin American countries and Japan... If he missed his family so much, why didn't he move them to his place in St. Louis? And then they all move back to Merced in the offseason.

Maybe his kids were in school and he didn't want to just uproot them? Dude, it's a game. Not life. Sure, it's his job but is it more important than family? Family should always come first.

[UnderPressure]

He played in Colorado before. Sure, Denver is technically closer to California than St. Louis is, but it's not like he could just drive back home to Merced and arrive there in just a matter of minutes. Like I said, plenty of players are based in cities that are far away from their hometowns, distances that are much longer than Merced to St. Louis. Why is Fuentes so affected all of a sudden?

[Cowtipper]

While I understand your point, UnderPressure, none of can know what went on in Fuentes' mind. Perhaps he sees that his children are growing up and he's missing out on it now more than ever. Or he's just gotten tired of the grind of major league baseball. We can't tell what his thought processes are.

[Zito75]

Maybe Fuentes isn't as big as a jerk as I thought. I still don't regret turning him into security for crashing that gate with his truck at Spring Training.

[StanTheMan]

The ridiculous posts here are both confusing and appalling.

He is allowed to leave his current job at any time for virtually any reason, especially a personal choice relating to family. What he has done does not violate his contract in any way, in fact, I'll bet my prized Rawlings Trap-Eze Web Glove that language surrounding what just took place is IN the contract. But..... Does his contract stipulate he is to act as though he is in North Korea? Behind the Iron Curtain? Communist Russia?

Good Lord.