ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

D-backs reliever Brad Ziegler retires on 39th birthday

Oct 10, 2018, 9:47 AM

Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Brad Ziegler heads to the dugout after retiring Colorado Rockie...

Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Brad Ziegler heads to the dugout after retiring Colorado Rockies' DJ LeMahieu on a ground out with the bases loaded in the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Arizona Diamondbacks free agent reliever Brad Ziegler announced his retirement Wednesday, putting a bow on an 11-year MLB career.

The submarine pitcher, who retired on his 39th birthday, made the announcement by posting a letter to his Twitter feed.

“The daily grind has taken its toll on my body,” it read. “There were really tough times in the past two seasons when I wondered if I could physically continue doing what it would take to stay on the field, and even if I could continue to perform at the level I always had.

“However, I took great pride in taking the ball as often as I could — 82 games pitched this year! And I can thank the Dbacks for giving me another chance to pitch in exciting, meaningful games down the stretch and prove to myself that I wasn’t going to be pushed out of the game because I couldn’t compete anymore — I’m walking away knowing I still can.”

Ziegler spent four full seasons with the D-backs (2012-2015) in addition to parts of three more seasons in 2011, 2016 and 2018. He is the franchise leader in wins, innings pitched and appearances by a reliever.

His career began in 2008 with the Oakland Athletics, took him through Arizona from 2011-2016, to Boston in 2016 and then Miami in 2017-18 before the right-hander returned to the Diamondbacks for 29 games this past year.

Ziegler posted a 3.91 ERA with 10 saves and a 1.30 WHIP between the Marlins and D-backs in his final season.

For his career, Ziegler finishes with a 2.75 ERA and 1.26 WHIP with 105 saves, 37 blown saves and 147 holds. He appeared in 717.1 innings over 739 games, striking out 479 batters and with a 37-38 record.

Here’s Ziegler’s retirement letter in full:

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