Randy Winn's Close Calls

Randy Winn Retires After 13 Seasons Of Playoff-Less Baseball

I think everybody had to know it was coming, and after Randy Winn was recently released by the Orioles after having signed with them on a minor league contract, the veteran outfielder has now decided to announce his retirement from the game.

Performance-wise, Winn's career was long but not especially exceptional. He managed a career line of .284/.343/.416 over nearly 7,000 trips to the plate, with 110 home runs and 863 runs scored. He ranks 221st all-time in doubles and 98th all-time in putouts as an outfielder, and this paragraph I think says a lot about what Winn was as a player. He was durable, and he was reliable, but he was never the true star of a team.

However, what makes Winn stand out in my mind are two bits of trivia. Nevermind how much time he spent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. in 2002, Winn was dealt to Seattle, becoming the rare player to get traded to another team in exchange for a manager (Lou Piniella). And until his retirement, Winn was also the active leader in games played without appearing in the playoffs. Winn played in 1,717 Major League games, and while he spent time in 2010 with the Yankees and Cardinals, the Yankees dropped him, and the Cardinals collapsed.

With Winn gone, the new active leader in games played without making the playoffs is Adam Dunn, at 1,448. Behind him you'll find Vernon Wells (1,393) and Jack Wilson (1,251).