Lance Lynn. Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

A look back at Lance Lynn's career in wake of retirement news

By James Greig | Last updated Apr 1, 2025 6:30 PM ET

Lance Lynn announced on his wife's podcast that he is hanging up his cleats, and he is leaving a memorable career behind him.

Breakout

Lynn's 2012 season with the Cardinals was undoubtedly one of the most special campaigns in his decade-and-a-half career. During this season, he broke out as a starter, going 18-7 and rocking a 3.78 ERA across 29 games, leading to his first All-Star appearance.

This would begin a dominant five-season stretch for Lynn (he missed all of 2016 after Tommy John surgery), where he posted a 3.39 ERA and 879 strikeouts for the Cardinals before he began bouncing around the league.

Final line for Lance Lynn: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 104 pitches (67 strikes).

Game Score: 64
2017 ERA: 3.30 pic.twitter.com/aBN4yFFKf6
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 20, 2017

Lynnsanity

Lynn's prime began when he signed a three-year deal with the Texas Rangers ahead of the 2019 season. He was coming off his worst year yet in 2018, putting up a 4.77 ERA and 1.53 WHIP across appearances with the Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees.

In Texas, he dialed in, coming in fifth in Cy Young voting in 2019 and sixth in 2020 while posting a cumulative 22-14 record with a 3.57 ERA and 335 strikeouts. These two fantastic years in Arlington led him to be traded to the Chicago White Sox, where he would post his best season yet.

Lynn's 2021 saw him boast a career-low 2.69 ERA and an ERA+ of 163. His dominant season led to his second and final All-Star appearance and saw him finish third in American League Cy Young voting.

Lance Lynn is 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA, 23 strikeouts and a .149 (15-101) opponents average over his last five starts. He is 4-1 with a 1.69 ERA in five starts at Guaranteed Rate Field in 2021.#ChangetheGame x #CarryTheFreight pic.twitter.com/nEqr9oOaJe
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 25, 2021

Finishing where he started

The 37-year-old finished his career where it all began, starting 23 games for the Cardinals last season. It wasn't stellar, but the veteran had some solid performances, posting a not-too-shabby 3.84 ERA.

Over his 13 years in the league, Lynn pitched for six different teams, including Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, and won a World Series in his rookie season.

He is leaving behind a legacy of a consistent pitcher who played an important role for many teams and will be remembered by fans as a fiery competitor for years to come.

James Greig

I am a driven Sports Communication student currently attending Montclair State University. Along with this, I edit and post sports videos on social media up to three times daily. Additionally, I am a sportscaster on the university's award-winning radio, WMSC. Lastly, I am an independent writer for Yardbarker.

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