Athletics reliever Trevor May arguably had the best season of his MLB career in 2023, but there will be no encore in 2024.
The 34-year-old right-handed pitcher officially announced his MLB retirement during a Twitch live stream on Monday.
"So in 2008, for those of you that don't know, I was drafted at 18 years old," May told his subscribers in a two-hour live stream. "I'm now 34 years old. Sixteen seasons. Ten major league seasons, and I am officially announcing my retirement from professional baseball. I am no longer playing baseball. I don't know why some of you guys are booing and are not happy. But I am happy. Look at me. Look at the smile on my face."
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May pitched parts of six MLB seasons with the Minnesota Twins before spending two years with the New York Mets. Last offseason, he signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the A's and he outpitched his career numbers during a trying 2023 season for the Oakland franchise.
Entering the season with a career 4.35 ERA, May posted a 3.28 ERA in 49 appearances. By the end of the season, he became the A's closer and saved 21 games.
May clearly showed he still could be an effective MLB pitcher moving forward, but he made it known Monday this was the right decision for him.
"I know that deep down I could play, I could physically do it," May said. "You're told this whole thing growing up that you play until you can't play anymore. You play until your body falls apart. And I've always rejected that idea. That's stupid, in my opinion. I didn't want that. I don't want that at all. I want to go out on my own terms. I want to go out with my body intact. I still feel terrible. Everything hurts. It's hurting more and more and more now, now that I've kind of let myself relax, I'm like 'Whoa. This is crazy.'"
Oakland Athletics
May stated that his retirement decision has been a long time coming and that those close to him knew which way he was leaning.
For May, there's so much more outside of baseball that he wants to pursue.
"I have to be honest with you," May said. "Since the day I was drafted, I don't want to say dreaded, but not looked forward to reporting to spring training only because I really enjoy a lot of other stuff. And I enjoy my offseason and having time to do stuff that I enjoy and being around people I like. I've constantly had to move away from my family. I had to go to Florida for 15 years, which is far away from my family as can be. I have not been very close with my parents. I have not been very close with my siblings.
"The only person I get to spend a lot of time with is [his wife] Kate and I hate that. I hated it. I have a thousand things I want to do. A million things. Anyone that's been here knows, that like, everything that I do outside of the game has just lit me up and I really, really enjoy doing it. I love talking pitching, I love talking about the game, I love teaching people about the game of baseball. This is not the end of my relationship with baseball. If anything, I'm going to do more stuff now with the game.
"I want to go out on my own terms and the way that baseball usually works, something that you should understand is, vast majority of guys retire because the game and the powers that be say you're not good enough to play anymore. And watching yourself slowly decline until you're fighting to just be relevant and have a job sounds awful, especially when I enjoy all the other stuff so much more."
May made $27,349,289 in career earnings, per Spotrac, and the final $125,000 came in his last MLB appearance with the A's.
By closing out the A's second-to-last game of the 2023 season, May finished 35 of the 49 games he appeared in, reaching one of the incentives written into his contract.
"I chose the A's on purpose," May said. "I know I've said that, but I really did. That situation, I knew it was going to happen and I chose it anyway because I wanted to make meaningful connections with my teammates and I wanted to make meaningful connections with fans and with people in the game and not worry about everything being under a microscope. Like, if I failed, I would always retreat into my shell and I wouldn't get to be the person that I am. I was always guarding the person that I was fully because of the game.
"I think I got everything I wanted out of this year. I think I got everything I wanted and more. I love those guys in the clubhouse. I love the A's organization. I love the people that I met who I got to hang out with. They all know. I announced it in the clubhouse for all the coaches on the last day. That last outing, I got my last outing for an incentive bonus that I didn't think I'd get. I got it and the guys helped me get it."
While May expressed his love for the A's organization on several occasions during his live stream Monday, he also had some very critical words for team owner John Fisher, who is trying to move the team from Oakland to Las Vegas.
May, knowing he doesn't have to worry about any future MLB contracts, didn't bite his tongue when it came to Fisher.
"Now that it's official, to the A's organization and every single person part of it, I love all of you," May said. "Every single one of you. Except for one guy and we all know who that guy is. Sell the team, dude. I tried to get a sell shirt. I didn't get here fast enough. Just sell it, man. Let someone who actually takes pride in the things they own, own something. There are actually people who give a s*** about the game. Let them do it. Take mommy and daddy's money somewhere else. Dork.
"And also, if you're going to be a greedy f***, own it. There's nothing weaker than being afraid of cameras. That was one thing I struggled with this year, was just not eviscerating that guy. Do whatever you're going to do bro. You're a billionaire. They exist. You have all this power. You shouldn't have any because you haven't earned any of it. But whatever. It is what it is. Reality is you got handed everything you have. And now you're too soft to take any responsibility for anything you're doing. Yeah, whatever. Oakland is Oakland. You can make all the cases, 'It's not a great city.' But you're putting hundreds, if not thousands of people out of work that have worked somewhere for decades and you haven't acknowledged that at all.
"So, just be better. That's all we're asking. Just be a human being. Because this is just a billionaire keeping up with the Joneses. He sees all the billionaires' big yachts and he wants a yacht too and that's what this is about. And it's that stupid. It's that dumb. It's that dumb. Don't spend money on your team. Do whatever you want with your team. It's your team. But own it. You don't have to rationalize things. Just own it. That's all I want. Just own this s***."
May had an up-and-down season with the A's, which included an IL stint to deal with anxiety. His ERA rose to as high as 12.00 but he got it down to the third-lowest of his MLB career.
And now May gets to ride off into the sunset on his own terms, leaving with a parting shot for Fisher.