MLB All-Star pitcher J.A. Happ retires at age 39

Former Major League Baseball pitcher A.J. Happ of Peru, Illinois decided to retire from Major League Baseball this past week according to Dan Schlossberg of newsbreak.com on Saturday. Happ played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, and St. Louis Cardinals from 2007 to 2021.

Career Statistics

Happ pitched in 354 games. He had a record of 133 wins and 100 losses. In 1893 2/3 innings pitched, Happ gave up 1822 hits, 868 earned runs, and 668 walks. He also had 1661 strikeouts, an earned run average of 4.13, a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.32, four complete games and three shutouts.

World Series Champion

Happ won a World Series with the Phillies in 2008. Despite not being on the mound with Philadelphia during the World Series, he did pitch three innings of relief for Philadelphia against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, and gave up one earned run.

Breakout Rookie Season

Happ had an excellent rookie season with the Phillies in 2009. He was runner-up to Chris Coghlan of the Florida Marlins for the National League Rookie of the Year. In 35 games and 166 innings pitched, Happ had a record of 12 wins and four losses with an earned run average of 2.93. He had 119 strikeouts, had a WHIP of 1.24 and gave up 149 hits, 54 earned runs and 56 walks.

Also in 2009, Happ led the National League with two shutouts. He blanked the Toronto Blue Jays 10-0 on June 27, 2009, and the Colorado Rockies 7-0 on August 5, 2009.

All-Star with the Blue Jays

In 2018, Happ was an all-star in the only time of his Major League Baseball career. That year he had a record of 10-6 with Toronto and an ERA of 4.18. Ironically, Happ pitched much better with the Blue Jays two years earlier in 2016 (20-4, 3.18 ERA) but was not an all-star. After being selected as an All-Star and representing Toronto, Happ was traded to the New York Yankees on July 26, 2018. To close out the 2018 season, Happ was outstanding, as he had a record of 7-0 and an ERA of 2.69.

Related: Blue Jays Player Profile: J.A. Happ