Farewell, Pudge

So, I'm a bit late in saying my goodbyes to Pudge. It was an amazing career, and if he's not a first-ballot hall-of-famer then I don't know who is. I better pick up an auto of his before he gets inducted. I need to finish that trifecta.

I've always been a fan of catchers. That's what I played in little league, and Pudge was my role model for the brief years I played baseball as a kid. Today, I still love catchers, which I feel is the most working-class position, the position where you bust up your body, laboring through the whole game, hidden behind the tools of your trade. Pudge epitomized that. To this day, he's my favorite catcher and one of my favorite players to collect.

When Pudge signed with the Tigers, that was just the best thing in the world to me, and it's one of the things that got me interested in baseball and cards again.

It's players like Pudge that just make you feel lucky to be a fan, to have lived through a career like Pudge's.

You made the game awesome, Pudge, and it won't be quite the same without you. Thanks for letting me watch.

I'm sure you guys all know that he threw out the first pitch from home plate to second to celebrate his retirement. Classy all the way, sir. Hell of a way to go out.