The WBC Might Be the Last Rodeo for Moises Alou

This news will probably be greeted worldwide with the following reaction: "Moises Alou? Retiring? I thought he retired five years ago."

It only seems that way. In actuality, Alou has been with the Mets for two seasons, spending most of that time rehabbing from various injuries and finding a little time for 328 at-bats in 2007 and 49 last season. At the age of 42, the writing is on the wall for Alou, who says that the World Baseball Classic will probably be his last stop.

"I'm going home after this," Alou told a group of us reporters before playing the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium in a pre-World Baseball Classic exhibition game. "I haven't decided 100 percent. But it looks like it. It looks like it." (...)

"I'm tired of the nagging injuries - my calf, my quad, my hammy, everyday something different," he said. "It got to the point that I didn't trust going out there. ... Everybody wants me to keep playing. I know the feelings inside - the pains and aches. Sometimes it is time to let it go. It's not forever.

"This is my last rodeo, like you guys say," Alou concluded, "it's a nice one."

With more than 300 home runs and 2,000 hits, I'd call that a pretty nice rodeo. Sure he couldn't stay healthy recently, but at age 42 what exactly did we expect? I honestly hope he gets through the WBC, as it seemed he couldn't get through one or two games without having some injury creep up on him with the Mets. But retirement is never as much about a player's final years as it his entire career. And Moises Alou has had a great one.