Gil Meche officially announced his retirement Tuesday at the tender age of 32. This would not surprise me, especially after the season he had in 2010, where he went 0-5 with a 5.69 ERA. No, I wouldn't be shocked if not for one small detail: he walked away from a $12.4 million salary.
If the right-hander would have chosen to stick around with the Kansas City Royals for the remainder of his contract -- through 2011 -- he would have had to undergo shoulder surgery, which ultimately would have kept him on the bench the entire year anyway. Back to my point... he walked away from twelve million dollars.
Could you do that?
That's twelve family members or pals he could have handed $1 million to, since he clearly doesn't want or need the extra cash. That's twelve different charities he could've donated $1 million each to! What a selfish bastard.
I kid... It's actually a breath of fresh air. This proves that greed is not the driving force behind all professional athletes. It's insane, but ya gotta hand it to the guy. He's got balls.
So, Gilbert Allen Meche will end his 10-year career with an 84-83 record and 4.49 ERA after spending six seasons with the Seattle Mariners before joining the Royals in 2007.
Happy trails, buddy!
[MLB]
Find us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter!
Original Story:
