Some links to articles about Paul Janish's retirement announcement...
Tides infielder Paul Janish will retire after season, take coaching job
“I have a lot of vested interest in Rice, and having the opportunity to coach under him, it’s just a pretty cool deal,” Janish said Saturday from Rochester, N.Y., where the Tides were scheduled to play the third game of a four-game series. “And being able to do it at home, where I’m from and stuff – a lot of stars aligned, to be honest with you. It’s just the right time to do it.
“The only complication, really, was that I’m still playing. But at this point in my career, it’s pretty clear to me with this opportunity being presented what’s supposed to happen.”
...Janish’s career .983 fielding percentage in the big leagues has helped establish his reputation as one of the game’s most sure-handed shortstops. His friendly, approachable demeanor has made him a clubhouse favorite among teammates and the media.
...“Paul has got strong leadership qualities and that will definitely help, and of course his character is impeccable,” Graham said in a statement. “I think it’s all good. It’s an all-win situation. We’re really happy to have him, and I think the Rice community will be real happy to have him.”
Norfolk Tides shortstop Paul Janish to retire, join Rice University coaching staff
“I am of course very happy to have Paul come back home to Rice and join the coaching staff,” said coach Graham, who in 2017 completed his 26th season at the helm of the Owl program. “Paul has always had high character and I think he will be a great teacher and coach.
“He was a team captain for us in (the national championship season of) 2003,” Graham explained. “For all the talented players we had on that team, I am not certain we still could have won the national championship without Paul Janish at shortstop. He was a great player and great leader. His leadership qualities are among the reasons we first recruited him, well before 2003.
“I don’t think I could ask for a better transition of going from playing to the next chapter,” Janish said. “I have long kept in touch with coach Graham and always tried to visit when I have been in town. Now having a chance to come back and coach at Rice, under coach Graham, is very important to me. There are a lot of things that had to align for this to happen, and I am very thankful. I cannot wait to begin.”
Wayne Graham also tells the story about the last time he was ejected from a game...when Janish was playing for him.
“I will add that the last time for me to be ejected from a game (in 2003) was for arguing with an umpire when Paul was called out on strikes,” Graham recalled. “I was thrown out of a game because I have always been a big believer in his judgement.”
Janish to retire
"He’s a quality human being. His priorities are a good husband, a good father, and then try to be a good shortstop," [Buck] Showalter said. "He’s got things in order."
That last bit reminds me of one of Janish's former teammates, Bronson Arroyo. Arroyo's first priority was always baseball. But now his rubber arm has finally given out. He's 40 years old, and doesn't expect to come off the 60-day DL. He knows his career is over. Like Janish, he will be retiring after this season. Unlike Janish, he doesn't want to be a coach, though it sounds like they would welcome him if he did. He's ready for
life beyond baseball.
He’s ready for his second chapter. He said he’ll pop back into the baseball world every so often, but he wants to catch up with the people he’s missed the last two decades.
“The ride the last 22 years, it was my life’s work. It’s what I set out to do, man,” he said. “Like I tell people, if my body would hold up as if I was a 30-year-old guy for the next 50 years in this game, I’d probably continue to pitch. And then you’d look around and all your friends would be dead and you would have done nothing else but play this game.
“In a lot of ways, the exit from this is an opportunity to enjoy the millions of other things that are out in the world.”
Arroyo used to tell young players to simplify their lives, so they could concentrate on baseball. Unlike many players, he never bought a big mansion. He lived in a small apartment, so he wouldn't have to worry about maintaining a house. He never married or had children, seeing them as a distraction he could not afford.
There's a lot of sacrifice involved in a career in baseball. Maybe it's good that it doesn't last forever.
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