In December 2012, the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a trade that sent outfielder/second baseman Skip Schumaker to the Dodgers. The Southern California native appeared in 125 games in his first season with the Dodgers, batting .263/.332/.332 with two home runs and 30 RBIs.
However, Schumaker’s impact in his one season in Los Angeles extended beyond production on the field. He served as a veteran role model on a team that featured plenty of young talent but struggled and underperformed through the first mid-June.
Los Angeles of course went on to run away with the National League West division crown, and Schumaker started five of the club’s eight postseason games.
After spending the past two seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, Schumaker signed a Minor-League contract with the San Diego Padres in February.
His stint with the Padres was short-lived as manager Andy Green revealed on Wednesday that Schumaker is essentially retiring, via Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune:
Skip Schumaker has left #Padres. Not using word retirement, Andy Green says, but time to be a husband and a father.
— Jeff Sanders (@sdutSanders) March 9, 2016
Schumaker played for three teams over his 11-year career, the Cardinals (2005-12), the Dodgers (2013) and the Reds (2014-15). He was selected by the Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2001 MLB draft out of University of California, Santa Barbara.
Looking back at the Dodgers’ 2013 Roster
He made his Major League debut on June 8, 2005 at the age of 25. Overall, Schumaker batted .278/.337/.364 with 905 hits and 284 RBIs in 1,149 career games. His best seasons came in 2008 and 2009 when he batted .302/.359.406 and .303/.364/.393, respectively.
Schumaker played in 153 games in both of those seasons and eclipsed 580 at-bats. The 36 year old resides in Ladera Ranch, Calif. He and his wife, Lindsey, have two children, son Brody Hudson and daughter Presley Rowan.
