The San Francisco Giants will honor former Giants pitcher Ryan Vogelsong on Sunday, September 17 at AT&T Park at the start of the Giants vs. Diamondbacks game at 1:05 p.m.
Vogelsong will take the mound for one last time at AT&T Park to retire as a Giant. He will officially end his 12-year Major League career on the same mound where it all began back on September 2, 2000.
“We are so excited to honor Ryan and touched that as one of our home grown players his career will officially end where it all began for him,” said Giants Senior Vice President and General Manager Bobby Evans. “Ryan’s journey in this game has been marked by highs and lows, successes and challenges, but through it all he has always been a person of great integrity, strong character and a fierce competitor. He is a World Series Champion and a forever Giant.”
Vogelsong played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants (2000-2001; 2011-2015) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2001-2006; 2016) and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hanshin Tigers (2007–2008) and Orix Buffaloes (2009). Drafted by the Giants in the fifth round of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft, Vogelsong made his big league debut with the Giants on Sept. 2, 2000. He appeared in 17 games with the Giants before being traded to the Pirates in July 2001 in exchange for Jason Schmidt and John Vander Wal. He appeared in just two games for the Pirates before he required Tommy John surgery that kept him out of the Majors until the end of the 2003 season. He went 10-19 with a 6.00 ERA in 103 games (33 starts) for Pittsburgh from 2001-06. After a three-year stint in Japan, Vogelsong signed a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2009-10 offseason. After appearing in 25 games for triple-A Lehigh Valley he was released and signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on July 28, 2010. He appeared in eight games for the triple-A Salt Lake Bees and was released after the season ended.
In 2011, Vogelsong signed a minor league contract to return to the San Francisco Giants with an invitation to spring training. His career was revitalized as he established himself as a dominant force in the fifth spot in the Giants’ 2011 rotation after Barry Zito was injured. He made the 2011 All-Star team, was named the Giants’ Breakout Player of the Year by MLB.com and was awarded the 2011 Willie Mac Award, given annually to the Giant who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership consistently shown by Willie McCovey throughout McCovey’s long career. In 2012 he won a career-best 14 games while posting a streak of 16 consecutive quality starts, allowing three earned runs or fewer in at least six innings each game. In four starts during the 2012 postseason, he recorded a 3–0 record with a 1.09 ERA, twice helping the Giants avoid elimination en route to their 2012 World Series title. In 2014, Vogelsong made a career-high 32 starts, helping the Giants win another title in the 2014 World Series.
Fans interested in being at AT&T Park for Vogelsong’s last appearance in a Giants uniform, can go to sfgiants.com.