I know nothing about Japanese baseball, but I do find it odd that they have two teams with the Buffalo monkier: the Orix Buffaloes and the Kintetsu Buffaloes. The only reason why I know this is because after signing with Orix, Tuffy Rhodes will now have played for both teams.

Rhodes came out of retirement to play for Orix, being one on a long list of athletes currently looking to forgo their AARP memberships for just a little longer. Scottie Pippen, Shaun Kemp, Sammy Sosa and Lennox Lewis are a few names on the list, and it is hard to say what is driving these comebacks, one would think the money might be a small part of it, but its confusing to me why athletes would not want to walk away and enjoy retirement with their legacy intact, instead of coming back in their 40s and being put to shame by a kid half their age.

Think about Sosa for a moment, mainly because of those I named, he might have the least to lose… or does he? Sosa retired after an atrocious season with Baltimore, so its not like he left on the top. But take a moment and check out Sosa’s career numbers: .279/ .537/ .882 with 588 career home runs. One bad season with Baltimore really does not do too much damage to his overall career, and if Sammy left quietly, who knows, maybe in 20 years or more he might get into the HOF? But if Sammy comes back, struggles, and puts up similar stats to 2005 instantly I think everyone gets to (and rightly so) make the conclusion that Sammy’s numbers were all needles and corked bats.

As a fan, (and I might be totally alone on this one) I don’t want to see Scotty, Sammy et al anymore; they had their moments in the sun, and now I’d like to see what else is out there. Start coaching, get a hobby, see how much Yager you can drink in one day.. I don’t care, but there has to be something better than publicly humiliating yourselves. Honestly, look at Jose Canseco. He was once an All-Star (granted he also once had a homerun bounce off his head), and now thanks to his lack of shame he is a complete joke in professional baseball. So I don’t know where or why this is becoming a new trend, but come on guys, don’t be that guy,…. please don’t be that guy.