Tuesday morning, Steve Pearce told WEEI Sports Radio Network he's officially retired from baseball after 13 seasons with nine different teams. And, oh my, is his career a lesson in perseverance.
While Pearce, 37, is best known for his 2018 World Series MVP run with the Red Sox, his career started south of Boston, right here in Pittsburgh.
Selected by the Pirates in the eighth round of the 2005 MLB Draft, Pearce made his MLB debut Sept. 1, 2007, against the Brewers in Milwaukee, ringing up two hits in four at-bats. From there, Pearce appeared in 23 games in the 2007 season (the entire month of September), slashing .294/.342/.397 with zero home runs and six RBIs.
After five seasons with the Pirates, Pearce's journey began.
Buckle up.
He signed a minor-league deal with the Twins, who released him in March of 2012, allowing him to sign another minor-league deal, this time with the Yankees. The Yankees promptly traded him to the Orioles, who designated him for assignment in July of 2012. Then, a week later, the Astros claimed Pearce ... only to trade him back to the Yankees for cash considerations in late August 2012. Then, on Sept. 25, 2012, the Yankees designated Pearce for assignment, and the Orioles swooped back in to claim him.
Finally, Pearce found some stability with the Orioles, signing one-year deals in both 2014 and 2015 and appearing in 194 combined games, hitting 36 home runs with a slash line of .258/.335/.494. Those stats, however, were largely bolstered by a strong 2014 campaign in which he hit 21 home runs and batted .293/.373/.556, and his time in Baltimore came to an end after the 2015 season.
The Rays scooped him up, again on a one-year deal, but Tampa traded him in August of 2016 ... back to the Orioles. In December of 2016, Pearce left the Orioles again, signing a two-year deal with the Blue Jays before being traded to the Red Sox in late June of 2018.
There, after all that, Pearce fully found his footing and performed the best work of his career.
After slashing .279/.394/.507 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs in 50 games for the 2018 Red Sox, Pearce came alive in the postseason. He was a steady contributor in the team's ALDS victory over the Yankees and their ALCS win over the Astros, but Pearce elevated his game to a previously unexplored level in the World Series against the Dodgers.
Across five games, Pearce hit .333/.500/.1.167 with three home runs and eight RBIs, striking out zero times in 16 plate appearances. That run includes a standout performance in the team's Game 5 clincher, a 5-1 win, when Pearce went 2-for-4 with two home runs.
That, by far, would represent the peak of Pearce's career, as he appeared in just 29 games for the Red Sox in 2019 due to various injuries. Still, he got to exit the game on his terms and after accomplishing a feat few ever can or will.
Not a bad way to conclude that wild ride, eh?
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