Will Middlebrooks calls it a career

The Will MIddlebrooks era of Major League Baseball is all over now.

News broke this week that the Red Sox legend retired from the game of baseball after suffering a leg injury during Philadelphia Phillies spring training last season. He is 30 years old, married to former NESN sideline reporter Jenny Dell--who he met as a member of the Red Sox--has a child and a World Series ring, so one can understand why it was time for him to move on from the sport.

Some people look at Middlebrooks' career and say he did not live up to the hype but you know what? He helped the Red Sox to a World Series, was likeable and had a good power swing, so let's not go down that rabbit hole.

Sure, plate discipline may have been an issue after his rookie season that sent his career down a different path than some fans intended, but he still hit 32 home runs in his first 169 MLB games, including 17 in 94 games for the 2013 Red Sox, so that's not bad. Not to mention, we don't really know what else was going on in his life that could have limited as a player but you know what? He has a ring and no one can take that from him. Sure, Xander Bogaerts was the guy who started in the World Series at third base, but Middlebrooks had the most appearances there of anyone during the regular season and made the playoff roster, so there's that.

So yeah, let's thank Middlebrooks for his contributions to the team and for some of those home runs he hit. Leaving baseball is never an easy choice, but for him it might be the right one. Hopefully, we see more of him around at some point in some capacity though.