Mark Prior officially retires

[J.R.]

http://media.nj.com/yankees_main/photo/9335188-large.jpg

 

LAKELAND, Fla. — Mark Prior quickly retired the side in his one-inning relief stint for the Yankees today in a 6-2 loss to the Tigers — a modest first step in what he hopes is a return to the big leagues.

 

The 30-year-old former Cubs star, whose career was derailed by injuries, appeared in his first spring training game since 2007. He induced two pop-ups and struck out Alex Avila on a split-fingered fastball.

 

“I really didn’t know what to expect, but it felt good,” said Prior, who signed a minor-league deal in hopes of hooking on as a reliever.

 

http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2011/02/yankees_pitcher_mark_prior_get.html

[MWV]

Godspeed, Mark Prior.

[TruffleShuffle]

hopefully he wins the cy young

[Cubs Fan Dan]

I will always root for Mark Prior, I really hope he can atleast have a career as a reliever, the guy deserves that much.

[erik316wttn]

I will always root for Mark Prior, I really hope he can atleast have a career as a reliever, the guy deserves that much.

 

Yeah, the dude really got a bad break with all the injuries.

 

Watch him win 20 games this year for the Yankees.

[Sammys Boombox]

Prior was my favorite player on the '03-'04 teams. Hope he does well with this chance.

[Irrelevant Dude]

I wish Prior well. Any reports on his velocity?

[UMFan83]

Really wish he was attempting this comeback with a team other than the Yankees. I will still be rooting for him though. Always loved Prior.

[Sammy Sofa]

[expletive] awesome.

 

Seriously.

[Bote McBoteface]

Funny how all the old cubs.com forum trolls said that the Yankees would steal Prior and Wood from us, and now the Yankees have had both Prior and Wood.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Really wish he was attempting this comeback with a team other than the Yankees. I will still be rooting for him though. Always loved Prior.

 

I nt mind it being the Yankees. Better them than the Cardinals, White Sox, or Brewers. I wont even say Reds, because I dont think hed go anywhere near that man again.

[Clem Fandango]

I wish Prior well. Any reports on his velocity?

 

Some news reports I've seen said he was in the 90's at least. Probably low 90's, but that's still good for him

[Splendid Splinter]

I wish Prior well. Any reports on his velocity?

 

Some news reports I've seen said he was in the 90's at least. Probably low 90's, but that's still good for him

 

So basically he got his velo back or close to it... Prior was a low 90s guy who could touch 94-95, maybe 96 at times when he needed it. Most of the time he was hovering around 91-92.

[TruffleShuffle]

I wish Prior well. Any reports on his velocity?

 

Some news reports I've seen said he was in the 90's at least. Probably low 90's, but that's still good for him

 

So basically he got his velo back or close to it... Prior was a low 90s guy who could touch 94-95, maybe 96 at times when he needed it. Most of the time he was hovering around 91-92.

 

well back then he was a starter so he wasn't throwing with top velocity. i'm pretty confident that he could have thrown upper 90s if he were just a one inning guy.

[17 Seconds]

I wish Prior well. Any reports on his velocity?

 

Some news reports I've seen said he was in the 90's at least. Probably low 90's, but that's still good for him

 

So basically he got his velo back or close to it... Prior was a low 90s guy who could touch 94-95, maybe 96 at times when he needed it. Most of the time he was hovering around 91-92.

 

well back then he was a starter so he wasn't throwing with top velocity. i'm pretty confident that he could have thrown upper 90s if he were just a one inning guy.

 

didn't he touch 98ish on occasion during 2003?

[Sammy Sofa]

Maybe.

 

But he always touched my heart.

[imb]

Oh man, I really want Prior to do well.

[Splendid Splinter]

I wish Prior well. Any reports on his velocity?

 

Some news reports I've seen said he was in the 90's at least. Probably low 90's, but that's still good for him

 

So basically he got his velo back or close to it... Prior was a low 90s guy who could touch 94-95, maybe 96 at times when he needed it. Most of the time he was hovering around 91-92.

 

well back then he was a starter so he wasn't throwing with top velocity. i'm pretty confident that he could have thrown upper 90s if he were just a one inning guy.

 

didn't he touch 98ish on occasion during 2003?

 

 

96 was the highest I remember him throwing (maybe 97) and that was pretty rare (again that's from what I remember so I can be totally wrong on that). I don't think he would've thrown upper 90s (well consistently anyway) if he was a RP back then. Do you know how rare it is for a pitcher to throw upper 90s (97+) on a single pitch??? and on top of that, to do it consistently??? I think Prior would've been more of a 93-95 MPH (hit 96-97 a few times possibly) type RP with good movement on his pitches and good control on top of that. I don't think he would've changed that much from SP to RP. He wasn't a flamethrower like Randy Johnson or even Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez (both could get up to 97/98) where if those guys were RPs, they would've hit 97 consistently. He was close though. You can say he was a power pitcher cuz he could hit mid 90s quite a bit, but he was also kinda like Maddux as well. Prior relied on his location and stuff of his pitches more than blazing speed. He mixed up his pitches really well back then. His curve was just flat out AWESOME... His fastball was great as well since it had movement (it had more movement in the lower 90s than mid 90s) and great control with it.

 

Larry Rothschild on Prior: http://www.northjersey.com/sports/116900798_Confident_Prior_relishing_chance.html

 

"Those days he could dial up the fastball to 96 mph. Still, "there were a lot of games where he was at 91, 92 [mph], and pitched very well. So, he's done it," said Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild, who was Prior's pitching coach in Chicago."

 

 

 

 

Also does anybody knows if Prior wants to be a starter again? or Does he basically know that he just can't do it anymore and just gonna stick as a reliever as long as he can?

[Tracer Bullet]

Maybe.

 

But he always touched my heart.

 

when he saw you, did he stroke your face or something?

[Cubswin11]

 

 

 

Also does anybody knows if Prior wants to be a starter again? or Does he basically know that he just can't do it anymore and just gonna stick as a reliever as long as he can?

 

The articles I have read said if he makes the ML roster he will be their long relief guy, which I take as someone who can go multiple innings or even get a spot start. If he can stay healthy as a long reliever I don't see why he wouldn't at least try starting full time again.

[fiver]

I hope he sticks...watching him pitch those first couple of years was a lot of fun.

[Sammy Sofa]

Maybe.

 

But he always touched my heart.

 

when he saw you, did he stroke your face or something?

 

I wish.

[javy knows my name]

Yay

[sneakypower]

Maybe.

 

But he always touched my heart.

he made me touch myself

[Rob]

Maybe.

 

But he always touched my heart.

he made me touch myself

 

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