Former Gator, MLB veteran Darren O’Day announces retirement
They say that all things must come to an end eventually, and that day has finally arrived for former Florida Gators standout and long-time MLB veteran Darren O'Day, who announced his retirement from the big leagues on Monday via Twitter.
O’Day played for the Gators from 2003 to 2006, earning Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll status for four consecutive seasons and was an Academic All-American during his senior year. He went undrafted out of college but was signed by Los Angeles Angels as a free agent in 2006.
From there, the submarine pitcher went on to play in 15 seasons under the big lights for six different teams, spending the majority of his MLB tenure with the Baltimore Orioles where he peaked with an all-star appearance in 2015. O’Day also put in time with the Angels, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves.
Take a look below at his exhaustive farewell letter posted on Twitter.
It’s been a wild ride that I never thought I’d get to experience, but it’s finally time to hang ‘em up. pic.twitter.com/CewsXhgBYz
— Darren O'Day (@DODay56) January 30, 2023
Over the course of his 644 major league appearances stretching over 609 innings, O’Day put up a 42-21 record along with a 2.59 ERA, 3.48 FIP and 1.03 WHIP. He never started a game but finished 155 of them along with 21 saves. The former Gator struck out 637 hitters and walked 172 while allowing just 0.9 home runs per nine innings pitched over that span.
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