Just got back from Applebees' with my mom, her b/f(Jay) and my brother for the free employee/family meal before we open! :D Yummy food!!!!!
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Hentgen announces retirement
Former Cy Young winner happy to end career with Jays
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com
Pat Hengen finishes with a lifetime 131-122 record and a 4.32 ERA. (Ted S. Warren/AP) 
TORONTO -- He hit a wall and the wall wouldn't give. Pat Hentgen won't be making his next rotation turn -- or the one after that. The former Cy Young Award winner announced his retirement on Saturday, ending his season with a 2-9 record and a 6.95 ERA.
"It's a hard decision for any athlete to come to this, but I told the front office and my teammates what a grind it's been for me," he said in a pre-arranged news conference. "I'm definitely relieved because it's been on my mind for about a month. I think it's the right decision. I know it is."
"While this is a sad day, we should appreciate and celebrate Pat's tenure as a Blue Jay," said Paul Godfrey, CEO and president of the Blue Jays."
The final impression won't be the lasting one: Toronto fans will likely remember Hentgen as one of the best pitchers in franchise history. The right-hander is all over his team's record book, ranking in the top five in wins (107), starts (238), innings pitched (1,636) and winning percentage (.557).
Most of that was accomplished in the first act of his Toronto tenure. Hentgen rejoined the team that drafted him before this season, signing a one-year deal to solidify the back end of the rotation and act as mentor to a young staff. It may not have worked out like he expected, but Hentgen has no regrets.
"I always said I wanted to retire as a Blue Jay. Lo and behold, I did it," he said. "I'm happy. I've always been proud to wear this uniform."
The right-hander finished with a 131-112 record, compiled over parts of 14 seasons in the big leagues. Casual fans know him best for his 1996 season, in which he went 20-10 with a 3.22 ERA en route to the American League Cy Young Award. Hentgen credited the team behind him for all those victories, saying that any 20-game winner has to be ahead in 25 or more of his starts.
He said his most indelible memory was winning the World Series in 1993. The winning pitcher in Game 3, Hentgen said he'll never forget celebrating in the clubhouse with his teammates and cheering themselves hoarse.
This year, the glory never returned. Hentgen started out slowly and was ultimately removed from the rotation.
"It's good he knew the time had come," said Toronto manager Carlos Tosca. "The guy's a grinder. He's aggressive, he's a battler, but there was nothing coming out of there."
Everybody involved mentioned Hentgen's character and ability to relate with his teammates. That was there, all the way to the end.
The pitching skills went a little faster: He worked more than six innings just four times in 16 starts this season. The veteran got pressed back into service when Roy Halladay went down with a shoulder injury, but an awful start in New York convinced him to call it quits.
Hentgen walked four batters and allowed seven runs in that start, which ended inside of three innings. The sudden loss of his control -- a Hentgen hallmark for more than a decade -- helped convince him it was time to go.
"It's been a tough go for me, physically, on the mound. I just feel like I'm not helping the club the way I want to help the club," he said. "I always told myself I would retire from baseball if I felt I couldn't do what I'm used to doing. I felt it's the right time."
With his mind made up, there was nothing left for the former ace to do except tell his teammates and call a press conference.
"There was a lot of support for him," said Carlos Delgado, who began playing with Hentgen in 1993. "We all stood and clapped, gave him a big hug and wished him the best. There was a major force that drove him to retire. You have to respect that."
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Baseball will miss you, Pat. Rock on man!
da2kokib/al19fl
julie