Anthony Rizzo, former professional baseball player, retired from the MLB on September 10th, 2025. He played for 14 seasons. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2007, and ended his career as a Team Ambassador for the Chicago Cubs for one day. His last year that he played was the 2023-2024 with the New York Yankees. Rizzo played for the Padres and debuted in 2011. He was traded to the Cubs in 2012 and debuted for the Cubs which would be the beginning of a legendary career. He played with the Cubs up until 2021 before being traded to the Yankees. He continued playing until 2022 and 2023 when he only played 191 games in 2 season. His production slowed down and was dealing with injuries. Going into the 2024-2025 season, he was a Free Agent with no teams interested in signing him.
Rizzo had a legendary career with the Cubs. Batting .272 with his career with the Cubs as well as two-hundred forty two home runs, three All-Star starts, four Gold Gloves and one platinum glove. His most important accolade is winning the 2016 World Series, ending the one-hundred and eight year drought from the “billy goat curse.” He caught the last out of the World Series and was seen putting the game ball in his back pocket to keep the ball from getting away, as it is very memorable and valuable.
My opinion of Rizzo retiring is a sad thought. He is my favorite player of all time and the memories of him that I have are endless. I loved that he was able to play for my favorite team as well, it made things ten times better. He motivated me to play baseball and to do better. I’ve always wanted to play like him and even imitate his batting stance. I play the same position as him and even have the same tendencies. For example, bigger frame person, very good hitter, cares about community and very kind to people. It makes me sad that he is retiring, but I am thankful that he had such an impact in my life.
I sat down with Dr. Johnson, an instructional coach at Rochester High School, and asked about what she and her daughter thought about the news. Her daughter is a long time fan of Rizzo and was inspired by him. Here is what Dr. Johnson had to say.
I asked her what her first initial thought was when she heard the news.
“Honesty I didn’t even know at first… I kind of lost track of him… in baseball, players come and go and it’s just the nature of the game,” said Johnson.
Not all fans were made aware right away because it was very sporadic when he joined the team and retired all in one day with no head notice.
I then asked if she was sad when the trade was approved in 2021.
“My daughter was devastated because she had like Rizzo jerseys, she was fascinated with him, he was good for her.”
“For me I’ve gone through baseball long enough to know they were great together as a team but it was time and so I wasn’t that upset, I felt like it was time to move on to a different era,” said Johnson.
Most Cubs fans were devastated when they heard the news of the trade, he was always a key part of the team and nobody planned on him moving on to another team.
My last question was whether or not he had an impact on Dr. Johnson or her daughter.
“I don’t think my daughter would be a cubs fans if it weren’t for him and she still goes to the games with me, she’ll still watch the games, and every time she says, ‘well Rizzo’s not here but I guess maybe I’ll find a new Rizzo some day,’ but like for her, he was so silly and happy all the time and she was young and so it was that and he’s just a genuine good person and so it was a good role model for her, a reason for her to watch watch when she was younger.”
Based on Dr. Johnson’s answers, websites, and other people’s experiences, Rizzo was a one of a kind person and always brought joy to someone. He was always full of excitement and understood everybody, he wasn’t just great at baseball, but also finding people’s hearts.
