Former Rockies Star Daniel Bard Discusses Retirement Decision

Former Colorado Rockies reliever Daniel Bard didn’t make his decision until just before he was set to return to the minor leagues.

Jul 26, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Daniel Bard (52) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

To the outside world the retirement of former Colorado Rockies reliever Daniel Bard was a bit of a surprise.

Turns out it felt that way to Bard, too, who announced his decision on July 18.

On Foul Territory, Bard detailed how he made his decision, and it turns out he made the decision just before he was set to return to Triple-A Tacoma.

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He put his kids to bed as he prepared for a 7 a.m. flight to head back to baseball and, well, things got emotional.

“It just kind of hit me like a wave of emotion like, ‘This is where I need to be. I don't need to be packing up and leaving these people right now,’” he said. “It's always hard you know? This isn't a new thing where it's hard to hard to leave your kids when you know you're not going to see them. But this was like 10 times the normal emotion that I feel leaving them.”

That led to a conversation with his wife for about two hours, during which the 40-year-old reliever decided it was time to end his career. Instead of getting on the plane, he greeted his kids when they woke up in the morning.

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“The kids were expecting me to have already left for the airport and to see the look on their faces when I said, ‘Hey we're done. I'm staying home from now on,’ and they just gave me a big hug,” he said. “You know they loved supporting me and they always loved being in the clubhouse, but I think they were ready, and I think we were ready.”

Playing with Colorado resurrected his career. After seven years out of the Majors and a brief retirement, he pitched for scouts in 2020 in a comeback bid and he signed with the Rockies.

He joined the Rockies in the Majors in 2020 and was named the NL comeback player of the year after he went 4-2 with a 3.65 ERA and six saves in 23 games in the COVID-19 shortened season.

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Bard remained with Colorado through the 2023 season, including a 2022 campaign in which he finished 16th in National League MVP voting after he went 6-4 with a 1.79 ERA with 34 saves.

He went 21-16 with a 3.83 ERA and 61 saves across four seasons with Colorado. He did not pitch in 2024 due to flexor tendon surgery in his right elbow.

Bard was the first-round pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2006 out of North Carolina. He made his MLB debut in 2009 and spent five seasons with the Red Sox, mostly as a reliever.

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He went 10-19 with a 3.67 ERA in 211 appearances with 10 starts. He struck out 252 and walked 121 in 257.1 innings.

His career went on pause after he developed control issues, or the “yips,” while throwing the baseball. The Red Sox released him, and he bounced around to the Texas Rangers, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets.

He never pitched above Double-A for any of those teams and retired in 2018. He joined the Arizona Diamondbacks as a franchise player mentor.

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