All-star player Nolan Arenado made an unusual statement about his future. The St. Louis Cardinals infielder said in an interview that he plans to play until he’s 38.
Afterwards, he will hang up his cleats to spend time with his young family.
Have the luxury of ending your career in your own way
Typically, athletes cling to their careers and want to play as long as possible. Like the boxer who always has one last fight in his body, professional athletes always have one last good season to offer.
The hour of retirement is often forced, whether by the accumulation of injuries or even a lack of employment. If neither team submits a contract offer, retirement chooses the player and not the other way around, sort of!
In Arenado’s case, even though he’s still performing and uninjured, he still plans to retire from action at age 38. To justify himself, he said that at this age, his daughter will be old enough to see him play. The latter was born in August 2022. In addition, he will want to devote himself to his young family.
A project that can change
In fact, this is all very well. However, I doubt very much that the man who will be 32 years old on April 16 will really tell himself that he only has seven seasons left on the clock.
The protagonist of this text still admitted that this plan could change depending on injuries, his performance on the field and multiple factors. In other words, it is a project, but this project is not set in stone.
Contractually, he still has five seasons left on his contract. If he sticks to his plan, he should sign, at the end of his current contract, a two-year contract, or two one-season contracts. It is true that money is not a problem in his case. However, the love of the game, the camaraderie in the locker room and the desire to win keep the guys clinging to their careers.
If he still doesn’t have a championship ring, he will surely be tempted to get one to end a great career, in my opinion!
A strong man
The man who is considered by many to be the best third baseman in MLB describes himself as intense in terms of his approach to the game. If he is as intense as he says he is, maybe there is an element no answer as to why he wants to retire relatively young, unlike his former teammates Pujols, Molina and Wainwright.
He is the first to admit that it affects him. He admits that he must learn to relax! Maybe all this intensity haunts him and affects him in his daily life and retirement will be his remedy to counter this intensity which can sometimes be negative.
