By Brad Hubbard @bradhubbard
Previously in on this site we talked about pro players retiring. Some on their own terms and some because they really had nothing left to prove. Now we’re presented with two more cases. Two players who are possibly staring at the end of their careers because of injury and looming suspensions.
Some people like the New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and others don’t. He is currently caught up in a performance enhancing drug scandal and has admitted to using steroids in the past. He does have however a couple of MVP’s, a World Series Ring, and pretty much Hall of Fame numbers too. But he’s had hip surgery twice in the last four years. Come next week he may be suspended by Major League Baseball for the remainder of the 2013 season.
Stuart Holden on the other hand does not have a list of accomplishments like Rodriguez. While he has shown some skill that makes you wonder what could have been if he hadn’t suffered yet another serious knee injury. In fact it’s his third since 2011.
While Holden is only 27 you have to wonder how much is too much. Even for a 27 year old, another six plus months of rehab is a tough thing to stare in the face.
While Rodriguez’s career may come to end he did put in almost 20 years at the Major League level. Holden didn’t get that chance. He made it to one of the top flight leagues in the soccer world, the English Premier League, has had 25 caps with the US Men’s National Team and has even won an MLS Cup with Houston. But most people would say that if he hadn’t been injured he have done a whole lot more.
Are the injuries fair? No. Would both players like to go out on much better terms? Yes. Is retirement a realistic possibility for both? Absolutely.
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