I wouldn’t go as far as to call it shocking news, but it certainly caught me off-guard to learn that former Thunder catcher Kyle Anson has retired. The rumor had been floating around for a little while now — first posed in a question in a chat with The Trentonian — and then later brought up to me by a fan who had seen something on a social networking site. Chad Jennings has confirmed the news with Mark Newman.
Anson had spent all four years of his career with the Yankees organization, and all of 2009 as a backstop for the Thunder. Set to turn 27-years-old on April 21st, he hit .227 with two home runs and 24 RBI in 57 games for Trenton last season.
Kyle was one of the more patient hitters on the team, and it shows…he’ll finish with more walks (159) than strikeouts (147) for his career. He was, most likely, the best defensive catcher on the team last season as well.
While the reality of the situation is that Anson probably wasn’t going anywhere in the organization, his spot in it seemed to be safe. He had been invited to big league spring training last season, and was fully expected to return to Double-A in 2010. According to one of his teammates from last season who I contacted in trying to confirm this, Anson was spotted as recently as pre-spring workouts, so this news may come as a surprise to some of the players as well.
Best of luck to Anson in whatever he does down the road.
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
March 16, 2010 at 9:30 am |
darn, i thought he’d at least outlast piliterre in the organization
March 16, 2010 at 11:48 am |
Wow ! He once hit a game winning playoff HR to send the Staten Island Yankees to the Championship ! When I asked him about it last season he denied doing it and his teammates were busting his chops ! Also want to extend my Good Luck wishes to Kyle…
Dave S.
March 16, 2010 at 2:14 pm |
Best of luck Kyle. I saw several of his games over theyears, and he struck me as someone with a solid eye, always willing to take a pitch or 2. I wonder what his career average is for pitches per AB. I’ll bet it’s among the best in the entire organization. He also had a very good throwing arm, but I believe he started out as a 3rd-baseman, so that would explain some of it.
Best of luck in teh future.
March 16, 2010 at 3:05 pm |
[...] 3:09 p.m.: Forgot to mention that minor league catcher Kyle Anson has decided to retire. He was a converted third baseman who always showed a great eye at the plate, but never hit for [...]
March 16, 2010 at 5:18 pm |
[...] Mike Ashmore has the story. [...]
March 16, 2010 at 9:47 pm |
Wow. I guess this isn’t very surprising, but it stands out to me because I actually got to talk to Kyle when he was with Staten Island. He was a funny guy. Good luck to him wherever he goes in life.
March 17, 2010 at 10:15 am |
Good luck to you Kyle. Welcome to the real world and the work force.