A former Cy Young winner retires from the game. At a gig at Barstool’s Forgive my taking podcast, Jake Arrieta announced his retirement (interview around 56:00). “I haven’t signed the papers yet, man, but I’m done,” Arrieta said. “It’s time for me to retire from the game. Eventually the uniform goes to someone else. It’s really just my time. … Yeah, man, I’m done.”
Arrieta, now 36, is retiring after 12 seasons in MLB. As the Orioles’ fifth-round pick from TCU in 2007, he made it to the majors midway through the 2010 campaign. He spent more than three seasons at Baltimore and never really clicked, although he did have a few opportunities to crack the starting rotation. Arrieta made 69 appearances in Black and Orange, earning a cumulative 5.46 ERA / 4.72 FIP. His strikeout and walk numbers improved later in his stint with the O’s, but the results never panned out and Baltimore traded him to the Cubs in early July 2013.
This deal – which saw Arrieta and Reliever Pedro Strop Head to the North Siders for starters Scott Feldman and backup catcher Steve Clevenger – turned out to be one of the most consequential trades in recent MLB history. Arrieta had decent results all the way with the Cubs, but his peripherals didn’t indicate he was close to a breakout.
But that’s exactly what happened. By 2014, Arrieta had evolved into a top-of-the-rotation starter. He threw 156 2/3 innings with 2.53 ERA balls and placed ninth in NL Cy Young voting. That was an unexpected breakout at the age of 28, but instead of showing signs of regression, Arrieta took his game to another height the next season. In 2015, the right-hander threw a personal best 229 innings with an incredible 1.77 ERA. He led MLB with four complete games and three shutouts for a league-low 5.9 hits per nine frames.
Arrieta had a very strong first half this year with a 2.66 ERA in 121 2/3 innings. Still, it’s the second half of this 2015 season that he will be best remembered for, as he orchestrated one of the most stunning runs of any pitcher in MLB history. After this year’s All-Star break, Arrieta threw 107 1/3 frames and allowed just nine earned runs (0.75 ERA). Opposing hitters hit a paltry .148/.204/.205 line in just under 400 plate appearances during that stretch as the Cubs won 97 games and earned a postseason berth.
During this year’s wild card game, Arrieta continued his run of absolute dominance, throwing an 11 strikeout shutout in this season’s wild card game against the Pirates. He wasn’t as excellent during starts in the NLDS or NLCS, but he had catapulted himself into the upper echelons of starting pitchers. Arrieta won the Cy Young Award that season and would have a third consecutive top ten finish the following season.
In 2016, Arrieta worked on a 3.10 ERA in 197 1/3 frames. He again allowed a league-low 6.3 hits per nine, earning his first All-Star selection in the process. Next Jon Lester and a career-best season off Kyle Hendricks, Arrieta played a key role on the Cubs team that broke their 108-year title drought. Chicago won his two starts during the seven-game triumph over the Indians, during which he threw 11 1/3 innings with three-run ball.
Arrieta stayed in Chicago for one more season. He never regained his otherworldly form from 2014-15, but he still offered mid-rotation production with a 3.53 ERA in 168 1/3 innings. That offseason, he signed a three-year, $75 million guarantee with the Phillies. Arrieta’s first season in Philadelphia was solid as he only allowed fewer than four earned runs per nine in 31 starts.
The past three seasons have proven tough as Arrieta’s pace has trended downward from its peak in the mid-’90s through 2017. He has posted an ERA of 4.64 or better in each of his last three campaigns, including a 7.39 mark in 24 starts between the Cubs and Padres last season. Arrieta returned to the place where he had the most success last winter, but the Cubs released him in August. He struggled in four starts with the brothers, and San Diego let him go just before the end of the regular season.
Apparently, Arrieta’s career didn’t end the way he would have liked. However, there is no question that he has reached a height few players have reached in the recent history of the game. From 2014-16 only future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw defeated Arrietas 2.42 ERA among the qualified starters. He played a pivotal role on Cubs baseball’s most successful teams of the past century and exits the game with a Cy Young and a World Series title. In his 12 years, he won 115 games and batted over 1,400 batters in 1,612 1/3 innings.
Arrieta retires with a career 3.98 ERA, although that mark is inflated by the struggles he endured on each ending. For a period of three to four years he was one of the few top pitchers in the world. MLBTR congratulates him on his excellent run and wishes him well in his retirement.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.