Former SF Giants closer Jake McGee retires

Veteran lefty Jake McGee called it a career, one year after saving 31 SF Giants wins in 2021.

Saving games for the SF Giants is a dream for any major league reliever. Once Jake McGee had reached that apex, he knew there was nowhere to go but down, and so he announced his retirement from baseball at age 36.

SF Giants pitcher Jake McGee (17) delivers a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies. (2022) / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

McGee signed a two-year $7 million deal with the Giants before the 2021 season. He spent most of the season in the closer role for the Giants before an oblique strain sidelined him at the end of the season, and Camilo Doval usurped his job. McGee finished the year with 31 saves, a 2.72 ERA, and a stellar strikeout-to-walk ratio of 58/10.

Gabe Kapler named McGee the closer to start the 2022 season, but he never really held the role. Doval closed most of the time, aside from an early week where Kapler effectively platooned his two top relievers. McGee battled back tightness and an inability to locate the ball, while losing Kapler's trust. After he'd given up 27 hits and six walks in 21.1 innings, to the tune of a 7.17 ERA, the Giants released McGee on July 14.

McGee caught on with the Milwaukee Brewers fox six games, then pitched 12 games with the Washington Nationals before they released him. Quite simply, after a 13-year career, McGee hit the wall, like Hunter Strickland after a blown save.

“I feel like it’s kind of the right time,” McGee told the Tampa Bay Times. “I’d rather be at home with my family. I played 13 years. I won a World Series in ‘20. It’s about time to stop.”

Jake "Clockhands" McGee was drafted out of high school by the Rays in 2004, and soon was ranked as high as the No. 15 prospect in baseball by Baseball America. His career was briefly derailed after Tommy John surgery, but he debuted with the Rays in 2010, in an appearance where he struck out Derek Jeter.

McGee spent six seasons with Tampa Bay, including a stellar 2014 season where he had a 1.89 ERA in 73 appearances, taking over the closer job at the end of the season and grabbing 19 saves.

In one of the most memorable final days in any baseball season, the Rays came back from being down 7-0 in the 8th inning to clinch a wild-card spot. McGee ended up the winning pitcher after getting out of a first-and-third, no-out jam in the 12th inning, before Forever Giant Evan Longoria homered to win it. 

He was traded to the Colorado Rockies after an injury-marred 2015 season, and had an excellent 2017 season for the Rockies. He struggled with injuries and a 2018 where he got absolutely crushed at Coors Field, posting a 7.56 ERA in home games. 

Colorado released him with a year left on his contract, and he got on with the (Mickey Mouse) championship-winning 2020 Dodgers. McGee had a 2.66 ERA in 24 games, and appeared in four postseason games, all losses, but he only gave up one run.

Overall McGee was a very good reliever during his career, a rare lefty reliever who was just as effective against right-handed hitters as lefties. He was also easy to catch, as he threw his fastball more than 90% of the time. Perhaps a slight drop in his fastball velocity last year caused the huge collapse in his effectiveness.

Without his time in the Coors Field bandbox, his raw numbers would have looked better, and he might have made an All-Star team had he not been injured right after becoming a full-time closer.

McGee will be returning to throw out a ceremonial first pitch in Tampa next season, but Giants fans will always have the magical 2021 season. He got two big outs in Game Three against the Dodgers, with two runners on, setting up Camilo Doval in the white-knuckle 1-0 victory. Look, McGee wasn't a Giant for long, but beating the Dodgers makes you immortal in San Francisco.