I just saw this article Albert Pujols' chase for 600 isn't exciting, Robbie Ray is All-Star - SweetSpot- ESPN on the ESPN website about Albert Pujols hitting his 599th home run yesterday. I hope he hits number 600, but the article got me wondering about other famous athletes who may have had to retire just shy of hitting a milestone. I’m thinking about things like touchdown passes, yards thrown, or pass completions for a QB, home runs, hits, or stolen bases for a batter, strike outs or wins for a pitcher, or number of points, rebounds or assists for a basketball player. What famous athletes have finished their careers at 498 or 499 instead of reaching 500, or whatever is a nice round number for the category being measured?
Edited to add. What about athletes who succeeded in reaching it but none the less hung on too long past their prime just so that they could reach the milestone?
Probably not exactly what you’re looking for, but Roberto Clemente recorded his 3000th career hit on the last day of the baseball season. During the off season, he was flying a load of humanitarian aid to Haiti (Dominican Republic? Somewhere like that) after they experienced an earthquake. His plane crashed into the ocean, killing him.
Al Kaline finished with 399 home runs. Examination of his last season shows that he was 0 for his last 50 plate appearances in terms of going homerless.
If Don Bradman had scored just 4 runs in his last test cricket innings, he would have had a test cricket batting average of 100 runs per innings. However, he was bowled out for a duck (0 runs), and has an average of 99.94.
Don Bradman famously finished his Test career with 6996 runs and an average of 99.94. If he had made 4 or more in his last innings he would have ended with 7000 and an average of 100.
For comparison, the next highest average in Tests is in the early 60’s.
Fred McGriff - 493 HR - I really wanted him to get to 500, he and Marquis Grissom got the Braves over the hump and finally, FINALLY got that world series win! (Screw you Jim Leyritz!!! And you too Joe Carter!!)
Barry Sanders - 15269 rushing yards, one (maybe two) more good season and he would have passed Walter Payton.
Not to mention pitcher Early Wynn, who suffered a gout attack cutting one season short. He saw only limited duty the next year but did win eight games, pushing his total to 299. In his final season he made seven starts over 9 months. He got his only victory of the season, his 300th, in his last start, pitching only five innings and giving up four runs.
He later admitted he wasn’t proud about his final season.
Nicaragua, which had suffered from a massive earthquake in December 1972. The Baseball Writers conducted a special election to immediately induct him into the Hall of Fame with 92% of the vote.
The one that bugged me was Mariano Rivera and WHIP: (BB+H)/IP
Statistically, Rivera ended his career with a WHIP of 1.000. That’s rounded off, and oh so close.
But…Rivera didn’t pitch in the last few games of the 2013 season. Had he just pitched one more inning without giving up at hit or walk, he would have finished his career, technically, with a WHIP under 1.000.
Obviously it doesn’t matter at all, and hardly anyone will remember Rivera’s WHIP. I just thought it would be nifty, as a stat.
And: Barry Bonds ended his career with 1996 RBI, 2935 Hits and 5976 Total Bases. He didn’t reach those milestones, well, because Barry Bonds
One average, well average for Barry Sanders, season and he would have made it. Unlike the OP question about “had to retire” though, Sanders was still physically capable. He was still under contract with the Lions. They wanted him back. He just didn’t want to play anymore.
I grew up a Pittsburgh Pirates fan in Western Pennsylvania and saw Clemente play numerous times. I remember that he got on that plane because supplies weren’t getting to the victims and were being diverted to the black market. It was a huge story when his plane went down. He was not only a star ball player, but he was respected as a person and as a humanitarian.