For much of his career, Francisco Liriano mixed tantalizing with torment, dominant pitching performances interspersed with injuries that would unfortunately knock the train off its tracks.
In Pittsburgh, Liriano simultaneously became a symbol of hope, a way to remember the good times, and also, upon his exit, something else to infuriate Pirates fans. Not his fault, of course.
As Liriano, now 38, announced his retirement from Major League Baseball on Monday — more a formality than anything considering he hasn’t appeared in an MLB game the past two seasons — it was hard to not think about Liriano’s legacy and the sizable impact he had here.
First and foremost, of course, is the 2013 NL wild-card game, which Liriano started and dominated despite being ... well, nowhere close to 100%.
“I wouldn’t even say he was 50%,” AJ Burnett told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in March 2020. “He couldn’t do anything after the game. We’re all celebrating. I’m pretty sure he was in the training room, laying down.”
It certainly didn’t look like Liriano was hindered in any way while breezing through seven innings against the Reds, allowing one run on four hits and a walk while striking out five. Same as he was throughout his career, when healthy, Liriano seemed incapable of throwing anything straight.
The left-hander was the classic version of that pitcher — blessed with a natural tilt to his pitches, plus a slider and changeup combination that, in Liriano’s prime, was truly elite.
Liriano was the Pirates’ opening-day starter three years in a row and, along with Burnett and Gerrit Cole, one of the key pieces of a sneaky-good rotation. A veteran of 14 major league seasons and six MLB franchises by the time his career concluded, Liriano was also a hugely respected clubhouse leader.
And, of course, the subject of a controversial 2016 transaction.
With about a minute to go before the trade deadline, former general manager Neal Huntington packaged Liriano with significant prospects Reese McGuire and Harold Ramirez to the Blue Jays, getting back right-hander Drew Hutchison and unloading Liriano’s contract in a wildly unpopular salary dump.
Huntington denied that he was pressured to unload money, as Toronto assumed the $18 million left on Liriano’s contract. It’s also true that Liriano, signed to a three-year, $39 million deal as a free agent before the 2015 season, was struggling; his 5.46 ERA at the time was third-worst among qualified starters, his 69 walks tops the league.
Nevertheless, the deal became an example of the Pirates trading away popular players for financial-twinged reasons, all while getting nothing back.
Providing some bit of a closure — OK, a very small amount — Liriano did return to the Pirates as a reliever in 2019, closing his career by taking to his new role and handling it fairly well: 3.47 ERA, 69 appearances, 1.357 WHIP.
“I love playing baseball,” Liriano said shortly after signing his minor league deal. “I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing. I worked hard over the winter and am ready to show everyone that I still have plenty left in the tank.”
In all, Liriano made 107 starts for the Pirates, going 41-36 with a 4.36 ERA. His best year came in 2013, when he was ninth in NL Cy Young voting while going 16-8 with a 3.02 ERA in 26 starts totaling 161 innings, striking out 163 and walking 23.
“We had so much fun,” Liriano also said in 2019. “The fans were amazing. We had a lot of talent here. I was very happy to be part of. I’m so glad that the Pirates wanted me to come back.”
Jason Mackey of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette wrote this story. Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
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