Matt Cain Announces Retirement/Appreciation Thread

[SFGRTB]

I had been mulling what Cain would do after this season. Despite not being an "old" player, he does have a lot of miles under his pitching arm and I wasn't sure he'd be able to latch onto another team.

Today, Matt Cain announced he will retire from baseball after this season. This Saturday will be Matt Cain's final start.

 

[calsnowskier]

That is awesome! Now he will officially have his entire career with the Giants.

I hope he takes a year or two off, then comes back as a coach or community liaison or something.

 

[SFGRTB]

Cainer's story goes well beyond the number's, but he was still a damn good pitcher at his peak.

He was the model of consistency, giving you 200 innings, 32 starts, and a low 3 ERA in his prime, every year. Between 2007 and 2012, Cain made every start, pitching 1300 innings, with a 3.18 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and a 2.26 K/BB ratio. And that's just the regular season. Add in the 2010 and 2012 playoffs, where he pitched 51 innings to a 2.10 ERA and 4 wins (the first 17.1 innings being scoreless, which is the 4th best in Giants' history, and 3rd best at the time).

He did it with a fastball that could reach the mid 90s and loved to put it up above the zone. He also had a great curveball and eventually developed a nasty changeup that complimented his fastball perfectly. Speaking of perfection, he did that too against the Houston Astros in 2012.



Cain was the young stud prospect, the tough luck loser, the Horse, the Ace, and the Elder Statesman. And a Giant for life.

 

[SFGRTB]

That is awesome! Now he will officially have his entire career with the Giants.

I hope he takes a year or two off, then comes back as a coach or community liaison or something.

I agree. He's definitely a guy they would want to being back. Class act all around. He's a good guy in interviews too, wonder if he has a future in the media. Selfishly, I would rather see him on the field and front office though

 

[calsnowskier]

I agree. He's definitely a guy they would want to being back. Class act all around. He's a good guy in interviews too, wonder if he has a future in the media. Selfishly, I would rather see him on the field and front office though

I doubt he goes the media route. He has never stuck me as a personality guy.

Of course, living out-of-market, I may have missed a lot of his personality...

 

[SFGRTB]

I doubt he goes the media route. He has never stuck me as a personality guy.

Of course, living out-of-market, I may have missed a lot of his personality...

I think maybe some studio work kinda like Randy Winn, but probably not like MLB Network or ESPN personality, or like booth stuff. He comes off as well spoken and funny, when given the chance. But he was over looked a lot because of guys like Zito, Lincecum, Bumgarner drawing attention for interviews etc.

Whatever he does though, it will be with the Giants.

This may have been talked about already, but I just thought of Vogey too, I'm sure he'll have some sort of position with the Giants. I think he'd be a great guy to have around the minors, serve as a reminder of what it takes sometimes to be a big leaguer.

 

[LHG]

Cains' retirement reminds me how quickly a big league career comes to a close. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago that he was the hot shot prospect coming up through the minors, giving hope for the Giants' future. And that was over 13 years ago. Its been hard to watch guys like him and Lincecum flame out so quickly. Had things not started falling apart in 2013, the Giants would have potentially been talking extension right now.

Cain has been a great part of this team and I will miss having him around. It feels like the end of an era. Maybe his retirement happening at the end of the worst season in the Giants' SF history is appropriate. Time for a new group of Giants to work toward more championships.

 

[Chewbaccer]

Come back home to Dixie, son.

 

[1phlapdown]

He got CAINED! I tried to find career run support numbers but maybe later.

Do pitchers even last 20 years anymore???


oh here it is: 3.98/game

 

[calsnowskier]

He got CAINED! I tried to find career run support numbers but maybe later.

Do pitchers even last 20 years anymore???


oh here it is: 3.98/game

He also led the league in clinched sphincters every year.


Aye yea yea! Ez all good!

 

[LHG]

He also led the league in clinched sphincters every year.


Aye yea yea! Ez all good!

Can you imagine the party at Tito's right now? Now we can finally beat the Dodgers and have a World Championship team, as long as it is all EZ.

 

[stanford the manford]

going to the game saturday, i believe cain is slotted for the start. at least i hope so. many years he was the ace. i was lucky enough to be in attendance for his perfecto, something that'll i'll never forget.

regardless of the game, seeing the hoss in his last start will be worth it. hopefully Boch will let him pinch hit Fri and Sat for the fans. Cain and the fans deserve it....

 

[calsnowskier]

going to the game saturday, i believe cain is slotted for the start. at least i hope so. many years he was the ace. i was lucky enough to be in attendance for his perfecto, something that'll i'll never forget.

regardless of the game, seeing the hoss in his last start will be worth it. hopefully Boch will let him pinch hit Fri and Sat for the fans. Cain and the fans deserve it....

He is scheduled to start on Saturday. That should be a nice event.

 

[LHG]

going to the game saturday, i believe cain is slotted for the start. at least i hope so. many years he was the ace. i was lucky enough to be in attendance for his perfecto, something that'll i'll never forget.

regardless of the game, seeing the hoss in his last start will be worth it. hopefully Boch will let him pinch hit Fri and Sat for the fans. Cain and the fans deserve it....

He is scheduled to start on Saturday. That should be a nice event.

It would at least be ironic if he throws 8 solid innings but gets a no decision in a 3-2 loss.

 

[stanford the manford]

It would at least be ironic if he throws 8 solid innings but gets a no decision in a 3-2 loss.

i'm rooting for another perfecto..... or maybe a deep center grand slam

can one have a perfect game and still lose? that would be the fitting cap on cain's career

 

[calsnowskier]

i'm rooting for another perfecto..... or maybe a deep center grand slam

can one have a perfect game and still lose? that would be the fitting cap on cain's career

Nope. Even if one of your defenders makes an error, it is no longer a perfect game.

IIRC, Sanchez lost his perfecto on an error by Uribe at 3rd.

 

[Stokes1931]

Nope. Even if one of your defenders makes an error, it is no longer a perfect game.

IIRC, Sanchez lost his perfecto on an error by Uribe at 3rd.

However, if any team can lose a perfect game, it is the 2017 Giants.

 

[msgkings322]

Just wanted to stop by the say thanks for the memories, Matty Ice. Great Giant.

 

[calsnowskier]

Assuming Cain truly retires after this year, he will be only the 4th player ever to have at least a 10-year career and spend it all with the Giants.

Who are the other 3?

There are a few others who you think MAY qualify, but don’t really. Bonus points if you can name some of these players (and say why they don’t qualify).

 

[VASFfan]

Assuming Cain truly retires after this year, he will be only the 4th player ever to have at least a 10-year career and spend it all with the Giants.

Who are the other 3?

There are a few others who you think MAY qualify, but don’t really. Bonus points if you can name some of these players (and say why they don’t qualify).

Well, of course the Greatest Player Ever spent his last years with the Mets. And the Dominican Dandy spent some time with the Red Sox (and the Dodgers, I believe, shuddering as I say so). McCovey bounced all over.

Was Robby Thompson one of the three? Maybe?

I'm trying to brainstorm, but I can't even come up with other plausible candidates. All the names I come up with (the Clark's, the Bonds's, etc.) had time with other teams. I'll bet when someone names them, I'll slap my forehead and say, dammit, of COURSE! But who would have been good enough to last that long but all with the Giants???

I assume we're only talking SF Giants, not New York.

I spent a few minutes on the Giants website, watching the last out of Cain's perfect game, over and over again. Got a bit choked up. Will be sad to see Matty go, but he was a solid pitcher, a class act, and now will always be a Giant.