The Player 'Bullied' Into Retirement By Yankee Fans

With spring training getting in full swing I figured to highlight a former Yankee who was acquired before the preseason activities began and would be later bullied into retirement basically by Yankee fans.

On February 13th, 2021, the New York Yankees signed the lefty-bat of Jay Bruce to a minor league deal. The 33-year-old Bruce would be 34 in the upcoming April, but at this point of his career he has shown to be on a career decline. The goal of adding Bruce was to add a lefty in a heavy right-leaning lineup to be DH or also provide first base help or even an outfield platoon slot. 

At the highs of early March, Bruce was slashing .400/.471/.867 and owned a 1.338 OPS. All seemed great for Bruce, who made New York’s opening day roster, but just over a month later he would announce retirement.

Bruce would only appear in 10 games for March before his retirement announcement on April 18th, 2021. In 39 plate appearances, Jay Bruce posted a -0.4 WAR and had a .118 average (3-for-34). His five walks didn’t do much to help his OBP, which was a career-low of .231.

Bruce’s lack of consistency drew a lot of backlash from the New York loyalists. Frankly Jay Bruce may be still to this day one of the most hated-on Yankees players by his own fanbase. Bruce himself saw himself fading, mentioning that upon retiring a key factor to the decision was consistent underperformance.

“[I] Felt like I wasn’t able to do it at a level that was acceptable for myself,” said Bruce, who had a 20 minute meeting with manager Aaron Boone prior to the official announcement.

Yankee fans rejoiced when Bruce announced his retirement. A bitter end to someone who was honored to wear pinstripes.

Bruce said in a previous statement calling being a Yankee a "dream" opportunity to play for a storied franchise and sign the clubhouse wall. Bruce got to ride into the Bronx sunset as a Yankee and forfeited over $1 million in salary.

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