Former Rangers Reliever Darren O'Day Retires

Darren O'Day made two World Series trips in three seasons with the Texas Rangers.

Darren O’Day, who spent three seasons with the Texas Rangers, announced his retirement from baseball on Monday after a 15-year career.

O’Day threw in the submarine style popularized by Kansas City’s Dan Quisenberry and Pittsburgh’s Kent Tekulve. O'Day pitched with the Rangers from 2009-11, helping the club reach the World Series in 2010 and 2011.

He last pitched for the Atlanta Braves last season.

O’Day announced his retirement on social media.

It’s been a wild ride that I never thought I’d get to experience, but it’s finally time to hang ‘em up. pic.twitter.com/CewsXhgBYz

— Darren O'Day (@DODay56) January 30, 2023

The Rangers claimed O'Day off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays on April 22, 2009. O’Day pitched that same day, arriving minutes before the game started and had to wear the jersey of teammate Kason Gabbard in his first appearance.

From there, O’Day became a consistent presence in the bullpen. In his three seasons with the Rangers he went 8-4 with a 2.41 ERA in 152 games. His best season came in 2010 when he made a career-high 72 appearances with a 2.03 ERA and a 6-2 record.

O’Day reached the Major Leagues the hard way. He wasn’t drafted coming out of Florida and joined the Los Angeles Angels organization as a free agent in 2006. Two years later, he made his MLB debut with the Angels. The New York Mets selected O'Day in 2009 in the Rule V Draft.

After his time in Texas ended, O’Day spent the bulk of his career with Baltimore, pitching seven seasons for the Orioles. From there, O’Day pitched for the Braves in 2019-20, followed by the 2021 season with the New York Yankees.

O’Day finished his career with a 42-21 record in 644 appearances with. 2.40 ERA and 581 career strikeouts.

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