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Former Indians All-Star pitcher Jake Westbrook announced his retirement this afternoon, ending a 13-year career that included 9 seasons with the Indians.
"The interest that I was getting wasn't significant enough for me to go through the grind of another year and be away from my family... I'm excited about the next part of my life and that's being home with the kids and my wife Heather."
Cleveland acquired the right-hander as part of a trade deadline deal in 2000 that sent David Justice to New York. Westbrook started 179 games and appeared in 39 more as a reliever over the next decade for the Tribe, until a trade in 2010 sent him to St. Louis in exchange for Corey Kluber.
Top 100 Indians
Top 100 Indians
Westbrook pitched 1191.1 innings for the Indians, with 69 wins and 655 strikeouts. He ranks among the top 30 in franchise history in each of those categories. His 4.29 ERA with the Indians was just a touch better than league-average for the years he played in (his ERA+ with the team was 101), but he had a couple of very good years with the team, topped by 2004, when he finished 3rd in the American League with a 3.38 ERA (129 ERA+) tied for the league lead with 5 complete games, finished in the top ten in innings, wins, and WHIP, and was named to the All-Star team.
Westbrook also started three postseason games for the Indians, including Game 3 of the 2007 ALCS, when he allowed only 2 runs over 6.2 innings against Boston. He also kept the Indians in Game 7 of that series, allowing 3 runs in 6 innings.
Happy trails, Jake. Enjoy whatever comes next.
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