People like to wax poetic about how baseball blossoms in spring, bringing with it the promise of a new year, and winds down as the October chill portends winter's death grip. Similarly, each season hearkens the arrival of a great new talent, as well as the often ugly end of a storied career.
Last year Bryce Harper and Mike Trout emerged, performing at levels unheard of for 19- and 20-year-olds, and this year there are any number of young stars in the making. And we saw the curtain fall on a few, as well — rare is the ballplayer like Chipper Jones who walks away from the game while still playing at a high level.
Here's a look at five talented veterans for whom the end is nigh and five youngsters who should be keeping us glued to our seats for the next decade or so.
Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals
Following the 2012 regular season and playoffs, one could make a compelling argument that Beltran is one of the 10 best center fielders in the game's history, as well as one of the all-time great post-season hitters (2006 be damned), but the party's over in 2013. He's still got some pop, as witnessed by his 32 home runs in 2012, but that number feels flukey -- it represents a five-year high, and his third-best total ever. In the second half of 2012, he hit only .230, his speed is gone, his strikeout rate jumped 36%, his walk rate continues to wane, and even with his move from center to right in 2011, his defense ain't what it once was.
Bartolo Colon, Oakland Athletics
This guy's been playing with house money and cutting-edge medical technology for some time now, but 2012 was likely the last hurrah. His strikeouts fell last year from 7.4 to 5.4 per nine innings, he's going to be 40 in May and he'll (probably) be pitching without the benefit of the PED's that helped fuel him last year. It's a testament to his durability, guts and guile that he's lasted this long.
Travis D'Arnaud, New York Mets
Just 24, D'Arnaud has already twice been traded for Cy Young Award winners, Roy Halladay in 2010 and R.A. Dickey this past off-season. Over the last three seasons, the catcher hit 43 home runs and batted .303 in 966 minor league at-bats — he's ready. Unfortunately, because of MLB's ridiculous service-time rules for rookies, Mets fans are probably going to have to wait until May or June to see him, but it should be worth it.
