Raul was turning 33 and by today’s standards would be entering his prime earnings year (looking at you A-rod) and nothing indicated the rate of the decline forthcoming. Leading up the to his contract as his batting average shot upwards to .272 while his homerun and RBI totals decreased slightly.
The Pirates came to the plate as most middle of the road teams trying to fill the gap for a one year deal and yes you would think only $1.75 Million for a quality starter would be a great deal however he only played a grand total of 26 games for the Pirates and then picked up for 8 games by the Angels for a grad total of 34 games on the year.
When it’s over it rarely ends slowly or kindly – in his case he walked away to deal with a personal issue rather than continue through the year – Thank you to the Pirates for helping Raul start his walk into the sunset.
