Chad Tracy retires

Tracy was a 7th-round draft selection by the Diamondbacks in 2001, one pick ahead of John Axford, and part of the same class that gave us Scott Hairston and Dan Uggla (okay, gave the Marlins Dan Uggla, might be closer). He made his debut on April 21, 2004. striking out as a pinch-hitter for Steve Finley. He was pretty much an ever-present for Arizona from there through 2006, averaging 147 games, mostly at third and first. However, he gamely took his skills to the outfield when requested, starting 51 games there in 2005. That was probably his best season, putting up a line of .308/.359/.553, with 27 home-runs.

Injury significantly limited Tracy's effectiveness thereafter, with microfracture knee surgery ending his 2007 campaign, and he never reached 300 PAs in a season again. He was granted free agency at the end of the 2009 season, and took his skills to the Cubs, Yankees, Marlins and Nationals, playing the corner infield and coming off the bench. He also spent a season in Japan with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, before returning to the States. Having missed out on our run to the NLCS, Chad finally got to experience playoff baseball in 2012 with Washington, as they lost the division series against St. Louis.

Tracy's .280 sits fifth in batting average by a Diamondback (1,500 PA min), with his SLG and OPS also ranking in the top 10. He was also responsible for one of my personal most memorable moments at Chase Field, slugging a walk-off homer in the 10th inning of a scoreless ballgame against the Kansas City Royals on June 13, 2008. He's still the only Diamondback player ever to walk-off a scoreless game with a home-run.