Josh Willingham has announced that he will officially retire after playing a 11 seasons in the majors. Willingham told ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, “I felt like it wouldn’t be fair to myself, and more importantly to the team that was paying me a lot of money to perform at a high level, if there was a chance my dedication would waver — particularly as the season got longer. I’m honored to have played for as many years as I have, and I feel even luckier to walk away on my own terms instead of having the decision made for me.”
Josh Willingham didn’t become a major leaguer until he was 27 years-old with the Marlins in 2004, one year after the won the World Series. Willingham never won a World Series and was one game away of winning this year with the Royals.
Willingham is a native of Florence, Alabama playing his college ball at the University of North Alabama. He played on five different teams in his major league career with those teams being Kansas City, Minnesota, Washington, Oakland, and Florida (now Miami). He finished with a career batting average of .253 with 195 home runs and 632 RBIs.
