"The money wasn't worth it to leave home" - Zack Britton gets candid on early retirement following Yankees stint

Former relief pitcher Zack Britton announced his retirement in November last year after playing in the MLB for over a decade. The two-time All-Star was known for his stint with the Baltimore Orioles (from 2011 to 2018). However, his last four and a half years of MLB career were spent with the New York Yankees.

Britton was a dominant reliever for the Orioles, a third-round pick in the 2006 draft. His retirement came as a shock to many, but he had his reasons as the 36-year-old wanted to spend more time with his family and four children.

In a recent interview with Foul Territory, Britton mentioned missing out on his first spring training after retirement. He said he misses traveling and hanging around with teammates, but he's not missing the game.

"The money wasn't worth it to leave home at this stage," he said.

When asked about his early retirement, he said that despite a couple of offers, he felt it was not worth it. He also underwent two elbow surgeries which made it hard to continue physically.

"I knew if I was healthy and put in all the work I was going to perform really well. It's just the offers and none of them peaked my interested," he continued.

He said he was lucky to be healthy for most of his career, but in the end, he experienced a lot of wear and tear. The talented pitcher retired at 35 despite having a few more years left in the tank.

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Zack Britton's successful career

While him time with the Orioles was impressive, his last stint with the Yankees was not too bad either. After the Tommy John surgery, he decided it was not worth it to continue pitching.

He finished his regular season career with a 3.13 ERA and a solid WHIP of 1.26. The majority of his success came in the eight seasons he played with the Orioles. In 2016, he earned his first All-Star title with Baltimore.

His success continued as he finished fourth in line for the American League Cy Young Award voting.