Only two more days! So, who remembers J.J. Hardy, no. 2 for the Baltimore Orioles? Another player abandoned by the Orioles and never picked up by anyone else. Ok, so maybe he was already 35 when they declined his option year, but still. After playing for the O’s for seven years, he was an integral part of the team. According to one article, in 2017, “Manager Buck Showalter warned anyone within earshot that Hardy wouldn’t truly be appreciated until he was gone, but the club didn’t make any attempts to negotiate a second extension.”
So, where is Hardy now? As of last August, he was living on a ranch in Montana with his family. Not a bad retirement.
~ baseballrebecca
The Baseball Sociologist 