Having not won a roster spot with the Colorado Rockies this past spring, former Cleveland Indians third baseman Casey Blake has opted to call it a career.
Blake tells the Des Moines Register that, while he has been dragging his feet through most of this year, while he had not announced it yet, he “knew in his heart” that he was done with the game of baseball.
“My wife (Abbie) has been telling people I’m retired, but I’ve kind of been giving her a look,” said Blake. [...] I just decided to shut it down. And I’m okay with the decision.”
Blake, 38, has played parts of 13 seasons in the majors with five teams. Before landing an everyday job with the Indians at age 29, Blake played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins (twice) and the Baltimore Orioles. His best seasons were arguably as a member of the Tribe where he had five straight seasons of at least 17 home runs – including 28 in 2004 – before being dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers for current Indians catcher Carlos Santana.
[Related: When it Comes to Credit, Indians Collectively Pass the Buck]
(All statistics in this article are since 
July 20, 2006 Indians trade RHP Bob Wickman to Atlanta for C Max Ramirez – After reading in Part two what Wickman had done for the organization, there is no point to rehash it again. The Braves were looking for a closer, since John Smoltz had moved back into the rotation, and Wickman was a proven veteran there for the taking.
