Branden Kline has Retired

[murph]

Sorry if this was posted elsewhere and I did not see it.  Sort of surprising, isn't it?

 

Branden Kline has announced his retirement from baseball.

Kline is only 29 years old, but he wrote on his personal Instagram page Wednesday that he is "looking forward to spending more time with my family and being more involved in spiritual matters." The former second-round pick finishes with a career 5.48 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, and 41/22 K/BB ratio in 46 total major league innings.

Source: Branden Kline on Instagram

Jan 13, 2021, 9:35 AM ET

 

A little more from the Baltimore Sun:  https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-branden-kline-retires-20210113-hoiizqiijvhytltd3ppn2iqtwy-story.html

 

[Tony-OH]

Good luck to Brandon in his future endeavors. He always was a stand up guy and showed a lot of perseverance in returning from significant injuries to pitch in the big leagues.

[HowAboutThat]

I think I remember an interview with him, and he was very impressive. I hope he earned enough money to establish a grubstake for future endeavors. And he had 41 Ks in the bigs. That is a legit source of pride.

[Moose Milligan]

I hope he finds what he's looking for.

[wildcard]

I have been in Branden's corner since he signed.  We graduated from the same high school many, many years apart.   Sorry to see him give it up.   I thought he could make it as a reliever.  But I guess at 29 his options became limited with MLB organizations.

[Frobby]

I’m a little surprised the threw in the towel, but he’s probably more of a realist than most players in his position.  Good luck to Branden in his future endeavors.   

[Just Regular]

Good luck Brandon.   Doubled up Steve on the Oriole Kline rWAR leader list.   Wahoowa!

[Frobby]

Kline goes into more detail about his decision to retire: https://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2021/01/kline-explains-his-reasons-for-retiring.html

[Aristotelian]

On 1/13/2021 at 12:43 PM, Moose Milligan said:

I hope he finds what he's looking for.

 

7 hours ago, Frobby said:

Kline goes into more detail about his decision to retire: https://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2021/01/kline-explains-his-reasons-for-retiring.html

Indeed. I can't say I can recall a player quitting for spiritual reasons. Hope it works out for him. Any chance he could spiritually mentor Chris Davis? 

[Moose Milligan]

6 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

 

Indeed. I can't say I can recall a player quitting for spiritual reasons. Hope it works out for him. Any chance he could spiritually mentor Chris Davis? 

I think Chris Davis' God is the almighty dollar.  

[Tony-OH]

18 hours ago, Frobby said:

Kline goes into more detail about his decision to retire: https://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2021/01/kline-explains-his-reasons-for-retiring.html

He's just a very impressive young man who will no doubt end up doing great things outside of baseball. You can teach a young man better mechanics or how to spin a ball better, but you can not teach a young man the kind of moral courage and compass that Kline obviously has inside. 

I will certainly be rooting for him.

[Tony-OH]

10 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

 

Indeed. I can't say I can recall a player quitting for spiritual reasons. Hope it works out for him. Any chance he could spiritually mentor Chris Davis? 

 

4 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

I think Chris Davis' God is the almighty dollar.  

Let's keep this positive and about Kline and his decision.  We have lots of posts to discuss Davis. Thanks.

[wildcard]

15 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

 

Indeed. I can't say I can recall a player quitting for spiritual reasons. Hope it works out for him. Any chance he could spiritually mentor Chris Davis? 

Brings to mind Pat Kelly.

https://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=9606

[Aristotelian]

11 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Brings to mind Pat Kelly.

https://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=9606

At least that guy played a full career. I can't imagine working so hard to get to the big leagues, actually make it, and then decide, "Nah, this isn't working for me spiritually."  

[Frobby]

6 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

At least that guy played a full career. I can't imagine working so hard to get to the big leagues, actually make it, and then decide, "Nah, this isn't working for me spiritually."  

Well, the O’s did DFA him.   It’s not like he had a sure path to a major league roster spot next year.    I don’t at all doubt his spiritual nature, but my guess is he’d have made a different decision if he was a presumptive member of our 25-man roster going into the season.