Jay Gibbons, 2003 Fleer Showcase #3

There goes Jay Gibbons, stealing the thunder of the Home Run Derby by announcing his retirement. The 35-year-old former Oriole had split the first half of this season between AA Huntsville and AAA Nashville in the Brewers organization. In 34 games with the Nashville Sounds, he hit just .204 with a .275 on-base percentage and a .439 slugging percentage. I've been following his post-Baltimore odyssey on this blog since I started doing my thing back in 2008. With Jay's retirement, he walks away as the 15th most prolific home run hitter in O's history, having totaled 121 of them in his 7 seasons with the team. Of course, Nick Markakis (112 HR) and Adam Jones (92) will likely pass him in the next calendar year, and so begins Gibbons' fade into that sepia-toned background.