http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/05/rafael-furcal-to-retire.html
Royals infielder Rafael Furcal has decided to retire, Jeffrey Flanagan of
MLB.com reports on Twitter. The 37-year-old had been attempting a comeback
bid in the Kansas City organization.
Furcal, who hails from the Dominican Republic, signed with the Braves as an
amateur free agent in 1996. He hit the big leagues with Atlanta at age 22,
won the Rookie of the Year Award, and ultimately spent six years there and
another half dozen with the Dodgers during his prime.
Furcal posted nearly-identical batting lines over each of those stints —
.283/.351/.406 in Atlanta, .284/.348/.409 in Los Angeles — though he
obviously had some ups and downs over his first twelve years. Possessing
surprising pop for his size, Furcal hit over 100 big league long balls and
put up four-straight double digit campaigns.
One thing that never seemed to waver much was Furcal’s value on the bases
and in the field. Both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference credit him with
better than thirty career wins above replacement, in spite of an
approximately league-average bat, based upon those contributions. Furcal
ultimately topped three hundred career steals.
Furcal’s later career was marred by injury. After joining the Cardinals in
the middle of the 2011 campaign, he put up a solid .262/.323/.367 batting
line in 748 plate appearances for St. Louis. But he was forced out of action
late in the tam’s 2012 World Series run with a UCL sprain, and ultimately
underwent Tommy John surgery that caused him to miss all of the following
year.
Though the elbow injury did not prevent Furcal from making a run at a return,
he made just 37 trips to the plate with the Marlins last year before
hamstring issues ended his season. That leg muscle apparently let him down
again in his more recent bid with the Royals, as Flanagan tweets that Furcal
decided to call it quits after another hamstring problem arose.
All said, the somewhat disappointing end to his career does not mar its
excellence. At his best, Furcal was among the most productive players in the
league, and he was at least an above-average regular for much of his career.
MLBTR extends its best wishes as he turns the page.
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多明尼加游擊手-Rafael Furcal宣布退休，
在勇士隊發跡，其後待過道奇、紅雀、馬林魚等隊，
生涯敲出了113轟，有314次盜壘成功，
後期因傷所苦，出賽數大減，更因TJ手術復健錯過了整個2013球季，
去年只在馬林魚隊出賽9場。
小小回顧
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7oEd0PSyOA 單場三支3B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uQNSGynBm8 美技連發
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjN-W64xwg8 unassisted triple play!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MORsrIhzffw 游擊區臂力
Farewell~