By Geoff Walter / SNY.tv

 

 

A few years ago, I had the chance to see Michael Jordan play at the Garden, and I'm pretty sure I made the right decision -- not to go. I can't recall if I watched some of the game on TV that night, but I do remember this: he wasn't the Michael Jordan I knew or wanted. He wasn't the man known as "His Airness," who could take off from the foul line during the 1987 and '88 All-Star weekends, or the player who helped establish a basketball dynasty in Chicago in the 90's. He wasn't a Bull anymore, and despite the moniker on his then-current jersey, he wasn't a wizard either. Jordan came out of retirement (and baseball) in the process of achieving that three-peat repeat in the Windy City just to prove his critics wrong, that he wasn't too old, and that he could still work his magic on the hardwood. The funny thing was, when he came back a second time, he proved them right. In his go-around with the Wizards, the greatest player to ever play the game became merely a man.

 

It's something that every professional sports player has to do, and the decision on when to retire is the hardest of your career because, at least until recently, it was your last. A sports career is a relatively short one when compared to the private sector, where we are told that 70 is the new 60 and 50 the new 40. Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez is listed as 37, but may be closer to 43, depending on who you speak with. Other quadragenarians include Tom Glavine (41), Moises Alou (40), Randy Johnson (43), Curt Schilling (40), Kenny Rogers (42), David Wells (44), and Julio Franco (49). Knocking on the door are Pedro Martinez (35), Aaron Sele (36), Damion Easley (37), Jorge Posada (35), Mike Mussina (38), and Mariano Rivera (37). How many aren't on the DL? Haven't suffered injuries? Are playing at the levels they displayed in previous seasons? These are the exceptions rather than the rule, and they are scarce.

Roger Clemens (44) seems content to stage comebacks as an annual event, but eventually one will be his last. In the short term, players like Clemens and Jordan create sensationalism and renewed hope not because of what they can do, but what they have done in the past, which in turn sells a load of tickets. It's then that fans are treated to the "freak" factor: attending games just because of one "name" player. Where's the dignity in that? The trend isn't exactly new either: after being released from the Yankees, Babe Ruth signed with the last-place Boston Braves as a player/ assistant manager. Maybe despite the throat cancer that was already beginning to manifest itself (and would eventually claim his life) it was the love of the game that drove Ruth to keep playing, or the possibility of becoming a manager that was dangled in front of him like a carrot on a stick. "Good gate," they called it, not good policy, or good baseball.

Giants RB Tiki Barber never got the chance to become a "freak player," choosing to retire (gracefully) this past year at the age of 32. Yankees centerfielder Bernie Williams (38) refused an invite to Spring Training -- which he must have deemed an insult after 16 years spent patrolling centerfield. At least you can speculate that they had no delusions of grandeur, choosing to go out on top rather than comeback again and again, tarnishing their legacies and legends by subpar play and forced to retire yet again (and for good) with their heads hung and their tail between their legs. Islander goalie Rick DiPietro may want to think about bowing out eventually as he will celebrate his 40th at the end of his 15-year contract in 2021, before he's given the brush off, or traded for some younger talents. Eventually the greatest just won't be good anymore; get used to it. Even the Wizards had to make Jordan disappear one day.

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