Josh Beckett who famously helped the Miami Marlins (formerly known as the Florida Marlins) win the 2003 World Series will walk away from the game per MLB.com.
Beckett was drafted by the Marlins in 1999 as the second overall pick and was in the big leagues by 2001. During his five seasons with Miami, Beckett was the ace of the staff for the majority of the time. What plagued Beckett then and now ultimately led to his early retirement were injuries. The right-hander struggled to stay on the field consistently and never made more than 29 starts while playing in Florida.
As a Marlin, Beckett's biggest moments came during the team's 2003 title run. In the National League Championship Series, Beckett pitched twice with his team facing elimination and dazzled even on short rest. His start at home to force a game six in Wrigley Field was followed by a relief outing for the ages. Beckett shut the Chicago Cubs down despite a lack of rest and allowed his team to mount a furious comeback in the game and in the series.
The good times for Beckett and the Marlins would only continue after the NLCS when he turned in another effort for the ages. In the clinching game of the World Series, manager Jack McKeon handed the ball to his ace on three days rest. Beckett answered the call with a complete game shutout over the New York Yankees. The Marlins had their second championship and as a 23-year old Beckett was already in the history books.
Two short seasons later, Beckett would see his time in Florida come to an end when he was traded as part of a package for Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez. The blockbuster deal with the Boston Red Sox was part of a restructuring by the Marlins following the 2005 season.
Beckett would go on to win another championship with Boston in 2007 where he was fantastic once again. Known as a bulldog with the ability to pitch in big games, Beckett had stellar numbers in his postseason career outside of 2008. In that playoff run, the right-hander was hit hard in all three of the series for Boston.
Beckett was traded in 2012 to the Los Angeles Dodgers where he added a no-hitter to his resume this past season. Beckett enjoyed one of his finer seasons before falling to another injury during 2014. He finished his final season with a 2.88 E.R.A and 107 strikeouts in 115.2 innings pitched.
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The 34-year old was set to become a free agent if he had chosen to continue his career. It's conceivable that the Marlins could have had interest in a reunion. Miami is looking for an arm for the rotation with Jose Fernandez likely to be on the disabled list until the middle part of the year.
