12 years of Major League Baseball veteran Nick Ahmed Announced his retirement from baseball. Ahmed made the announcement on social media earlier today. Ahmed is a two-time Gold Glove Award winner who has played for the Rattlers, Giants, Dodgers, Padres and Rangers in his Grand Slam.
“As long as I remember, all I want to do is play baseball.” Ahmed said in the announcement. “I had to realize my childhood dream and play baseball for a long time! After 15 professional seasons and over a decade of major leagues, I officially hung up the spike and retired baseball…I will always love baseball games. I’m excited for the next chapter and provide the best opportunity for our game!”
The 35-year-old is a second-round draft pick at the University of Connecticut. He was traded to Arizona as part of bringing back to the outfielder Justin Upton And infielder Chris Johnson Prior to the 2013 season, his major league debuted with the Diamondbacks in the second year. He only participated in 25 games that year, but in 2015, he took over Didi Gregorius As a regular shortstop for the team. Ahmed’s .226/.275/.359 diagonal line (66 WRC+) wasn’t anything worth going home in that rookie season, but he was a brilliant defender for high jumps, saving +8 of his defensive runs in his rookie season.
Throughout 2016 and 17 seasons, Ahmed had only 143 games, but he reappeared in 2018 to get a healthy enough game to resume games regularly. That 28-year-old season brought Ahmed to the top. His .234/.290/.411 (85 WRC+) slash line remains below average, but this is still a significant improvement in previous seasons. However, what is even more impressive is his defensive growth. Ahmed held a defensive season in 2018, with a shocking +34 knockout round above average with a defensive score of +25. His gloves are by far the most valuable person in baseball– Not just shortstop, but in any position. Ahmed followed suit and performed well or better in 2019.
Although his +17 OAA and +14 Drs aren’t as otherworldly as last season, they’re still elite. This time, Ahmed’s strong defense was backed by about the league’s average offense, releasing 91 WRC+ and smashing a career-high 19 home runs. Ahmed’s outstanding performance continued until the 2020 season was shortened, when he released the 96 WRC+ with typical excellent defense. Starting from 2018-2020, Ahmed Carlos Correa and the defensive wizard Andrelton Simmons.
Unfortunately for Ahmed, his offense will return to Earth when 2021 releases 66 WRC+. Although his defense is still elite, the injury in 2022 is limited to 17 games. His offense has dropped further in 2023, and by September his defensive value is not enough to justify his roster Jordan Lawlar On the roster, spend more playing time on future shortstops Geraldo Perdomo. Ahmed split the 2024 season between the Giants, Dodgers and Padres and played 71 games as a bench and injured substitute for his three long-term division rivals before ending his career with five games this year’s Rangers members.
Ahmed appeared together in 964 games in his major league career with a .233/.286/.370 diagonal line. Since Statcast began tracking Stat in 2016, he has collected +118 OAA Francisco Lindor Throughout the history of the data. He also completed his career as +80 DRS, with Ahmed having ranked 11th overall and second in shortstop since his debut in the 2014 season. MLBTR joins the rest of the baseball world to congratulate Ahmed on his career and wish him all the best in whatever comes next.
