Former Pirates shortstop Clint Barmes has retired, telling a reporter he made the decision in the middle of a recent game with Triple-A Omaha in the Royals system.
Barmes, of course, played for the Pirates from 2012 through 2014. He was far from the Pirates' best player, but he was one of the players most emblematic of the change in strategy that helped them become one of the National League's best teams. (Russell Martin and various pitchers all might share that distinction.) During Barmes' tenure, the Pirates increasingly relied on their pitching staff generating ground balls, and in an infield that frequently was shaky at other positions, Barmes bore the most responsibility for gobbling them up.