Children inspired Chen to give it one more try
When the Royals released Bruce Chen last year, he returned home and thought for awhile about whether to give it one more try. It ended up being a talk with one of his daughters who convinced him.
"I always tell them to never give up, follow their dreams and work very hard to get there.
"My one daughter (Gabriela, who is 11), she's doing ballet and got the lead part. And she was hurt. I said to her, 'A lot of people are depending on you but what do you want to do?' She said she didn't want to let them down and work hard. I asked her if she was sure and she said, 'When you had surgery did you quit?' I said no and at that point I realize that they do listen to me and pay attention.
"I realized then that I didn't want this to be in the end. I want to go out there and give everything that I can. My kids are going to learn from this."
After two rough starts with the Indians, Chen announced his retirement via Twitter Monday night. Chen, 37, was designated for assignment on Saturday, but Indians manager Terry Francona told reporters that the left-hander wanted to talk to his family before deciding whether to go back to Triple-A Columbus.
In his two starts, Chen allowed nine earned runs in 6 1/3 innings along with three home runs. While Chen was disappointed with how the starts went, he seemed to enjoy the journey to get back to the majors one more time.
Chen said that one of his best moments in the majors was telling his daughters that he was called up one more time. His entire family, including his parents who flew in from Panama, was at Progressive Field for his start against the Twins on May 9. Chen went four-plus innings, allowing six runs in a 7-4 loss.
"He's a really classy kid. His attitude and a guy who has pitched that long to go down to Triple-A and enjoy it, making an impact on the players and coaches is incredible," Francona said. "When a guy exhibits all the things that Bruce does -- being a teammate, a leader, you want to give him every benefit of a doubt. You talk about guys how to react and behave you need to remember that.
"Having him around has been a fresh breath for everyone. Even the little things like on a day when he gives up a lot of hits or runs he's waiting for the infielders after they make a good play. Those types of things don't go unnoticed."
Chen also pitched for the Reds and was one of the few pitchers still around who can remember pitching in old Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field. In 2002, Chen started the season with the Mets before being traded on April 5 to the Expos. On June 14, the Reds acquired him for Jim Brower. In 39 appearances for Cincinnati, he was 0-2 with a 4.31 ERA. He pitched in the final game at Cinergy Field on Sept. 22, 2002, working two innings and allowing a run as the Phillies won 4-3.
Chen said that he has something from each of the 11 teams he has played for.
"I have the hats, baseball bags, but every single team is special for me," he said. "Eventually I will sit down with all my kids and talk for hours about all the teams that I played for."