Jay Bruce cherished short time with Yankees, but knows retiring on Sunday is right thing to do

Jay Bruce hated letting the Yankees down. He hated the feeling that he was letting himself down. He absolutely was thrilled opening this season as the starting first baseman for baseball’s more storied franchise even though he knew that this honor only would last until Luke Voit returns from knee surgery sometime in May.

But the constant struggles became overbearing very quickly. Even though this season is just underway, Bruce’s failures at the plate combined with difficulty manning first base, which still basically is a foreign position for him, got the lefty-swinging slugger to thinking. He’d just turned 34 on April 3, too. He was no spring chicken by baseball standards.

And so with the hits not coming, the strikeouts piling up and his defense a serious issue, Bruce started seriously thinking about retiring last seek. Not after the season, but right away. By last Friday, he made a decision, and it was final. He would retire from baseball after the Yankees’ weekend series at Yankee Stadium against the Tampa Bay Rays.

“No wiggle room,” Bruce said during a Sunday morning Zoom interview.

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Bruce said his “plan” was to keep his decision a secret from the Yankees until retirement day, but the more that he thought about it, he realized that wasn’t the right thing to do. So on Friday, Boone went to manager Aaron Boone’s office, sat down and spilled the beans.

“I approached him completely out of the blue,” Bruce said. “I felt like if I were Aaron and there was a player in my clubhouse who knew that this decision was coming. I would want to know.”

Bruce made an impact on Yankees players and coaches even though he wasn’t around long, even though wouldn’t have made the Opening Day roster if Voit hadn’t opted to have knee surgery late into spring training.

“The situation changed pretty rapidly when Luke got hurt and I made the team and became the everyday first baseman for all intents and purposes,” said Bruce, who signed a minor-league contract with the Yankees just before the start of spring training.

Bruce had been a productive player for most of his first 13 seasons with the Reds (2008-16), Mets (2016-17, 2018), Indians (2017), Mariners (2019) and Phillies (2019-20). three of them All-Star campaigns. Only four active players have hit more home runs than his 319, 318 from 2008-2020 and plus one in 39 plate appearances as a Yankee. He expected to be an impact player again this season because he was fully healthy after dealing with some injuries issues the last couple of seasons.

He wasn’t impactful. Far from it.

Bruce started the Yankees’ first eight games and 10 of their first 12, but his .118 average and 13 strikeouts in 34 at-bats were telling stats for everyone. So was his inability to scoop short-hopped throws from infielders.

By last week, the Yanks committed to going in a different direction until Voit returns sometime in May by moving second baseman DJ LeMahieu to first and playing newcomer Rougned Odor at second. By then, Bruce realized that he no longer could be the player that he was for so many seasons.

“Just the consistent underperformance for me, I felt wasn’t able to do it at a level that was acceptable for myself,” Bruce said. “I was so lucky to have set a standard for myself throughout my career that was frankly very good most of the time. And I don’t feel that I’m able to do that, and I think that was the determining factor in the decision. I feel good about that decision. I feel thankful that I could be honest enough with myself to understand that it’s time for this chapter to close.”

Bruce loved his short time with the Yankees even though his struggles coincided with the team getting off to a 5-9 start.

“I think that anyone who’s ever played baseball or seen a game or wanted to be a baseball player, whether they actually actively think it or not, they want to play for the Yankees,” Bruce said. “The Yankees facilitated another opportunity for me that I was worthy of a roster spot and an opportunity to impact the team and try to win a World Series. Ultimately, it didn’t work out.”

The Beaumont, Texas native doesn’t know what’s next in his life. He hasn’t planned that far.

“My son starts kindergarten in August, so I will be a shuttle service at the very least,” Bruce said. “As far as baseball goes., I love baseball. I love it. Anyone who knows me knows that I am such a big fan of baseball. I always have been. I go home at night and I watch baseball. Some people think that’s crazy, some people think it’s awesome. I definitely will not close the door on an opportunity to impact an organization in some role or another because I love the game.”

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