Veteran first baseman Justin Bour introduced his retirement, saying on his official Twitter feed that “tright here comes a time in each participant’s profession once they realize it’s time to hold them up. As we speak is that day for me. Thanks baseball and everybody that helped me alongside the best way.” Bour will grasp up the cleats at age 34, and after hitting .253/.337/.457 with 92 profession residence runs over 1950 plate appearances and 559 large league video games with the Marlins, Phillies, and Angels.
Bour’s profession started as a Twenty fifth-round choose for the Cubs within the 2009 draft, although the Marlins took Bour away from Chicago within the 2013 Rule 5 draft. That choice opened the door for Bour’s MLB debut in 2014, and finally his function because the Marlins’ new common first baseman. Retaining his rookie eligibility into the 2015 marketing campaign, Bour completed fifth in NL Rookie Of The 12 months voting that season after a 23-homer efficiency.
All informed, Bour hit .262/.346/.470 with 83 residence runs over 1726 PA with Miami from 2014-18, till the Fish dealt him to the Phillies in August 2018. Bour was one in all a number of notable Marlins gamers traded round that interval because the franchise went by way of one more fireplace sale, although Bour’s offensive numbers additionally began to dip in 2018. As a primary base-only participant with out a lot success towards left-handed pitching, Bour’s limitations labored towards him for wage arbitration functions, because the Phillies selected to non-tender him following the 2018 season on account of his rising price ticket.
The Angels signed Bour to a free agent deal however he struggled in Anaheim, enjoying in solely 52 video games with the Halos in 2019. This marked Bour’s final stint within the majors, and other than a 33-game stretch with the Giants’ Triple-A group in 2021, Bour spent his final three professional seasons principally enjoying in overseas leagues. The primary baseman noticed time in Japan (with the Hanshin Tigers), South Korea (the LG Twins), and in Mexico (Diablos Rojos del México).
Bour is “wanting ahead to giving again to the sport that has given me a lot,” and his first steps in retirement will probably be to spend extra time along with his household and to complete his diploma at George Mason College. We at MLB Commerce Rumors congratulate Bour on a wonderful profession, and we want him all the perfect in his subsequent steps.