Troy Tulowitzki leaves a lot of “What Ifs” post-retirement

Troy Tulowitzki was destined to be a Yankee.  He wore #2 through his entire career to honor Derek Jeter, and he always stated he wanted to be a Yankee.  Unfortunately when he did become a Yankee his body had already broken, and Troy Tulowitzki was just a shell of his former All-Star self.

Tulo retired last week after years of battling multiple injuries.  He finishes his career with a .290 career average, 1,391 hits, 225 HRs and 780 RBIs.  He was a five time All-Star, two time Gold Glove winner, and finished second for Rookie of the Year.

He was also one of the biggest what-if stories in baseball.  Who knows if he ever could have reproduced his two best years of 2010 and 2011 (.315/27 HR/95 RBI in 2010) (.302/30 HR/105 RBI in 2011).  However, what we do know is that Tulo’s body let him down almost his entire career.

Only three times in his 13 year career did he ever play more than 140 games.  In fact, excluding his rookie year he played 101 or less games in seven of those seasons.  He was always supremely talented but a combination of bad luck or bad breaks (no pun intended) derailed his career.

From what everyone in baseball has said, Tulowitzki was always the consummate professional, working with guys on their infield skillset, trying so hard to get healthy and always having a positive attitude.  Unfortunately, there are very few careers that conclude with a storybook ending.

Thank you Tulo for always wanting to be a Yankee, and for becoming one even if it was for a brief five game period.  You were a fantastic player and all Yankee fans wish you the best in your future endeavors.