Royals GM helped Giants' Affeldt avoid quitting baseball: 'I hated the game'
San Francisco Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt is set to pitch in his third World Series in five years, a feat that likely wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for the opposition.
When Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore traded Affeldt to the Colorado Rockies in 2006, he wasn't just making a move to improve his ballclub - he was attempting to save the player's career.
Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com has the story:
It was August 2006, and Moore had just traded Affeldt to the Rockies. But rather than let the trade (Affeldt and right-hander Denny Bautista for righty Scott Dohmann and first baseman Ryan Shealy) speak for itself, Moore took a moment to write Affeldt a note of both admonishment and encouragement.
"I needed to give you an opportunity to succeed," Moore wrote, according to Affeldt's re-telling on the eve of the World Series. "You were at a point where I didn't think you could do that (in Kansas City), because you're not approaching the game with any joy."
Was Moore right? Absolutely.
"I hated the game," Affeldt recalled. "I almost quit. I remember sitting at the counter at my house at 135th and State Line Road, crying and telling my wife, 'I'm done. I don't want to play anymore. I'm tired of failing. I can pitch good and still be bad. I get the same result every night.' "
Affeldt's memory serves him correctly - he struggled to a 4.77 ERA across five seasons as a starter and reliever in Kansas City. After a pair of stops in Colorado and Cincinnati, the left-hander found new life in San Francisco.
The 35-year-old veteran has shouldered a heavy load out of the Giants' bullpen, crafting a sub-2.70 ERA in four of six seasons with the club, including an impressive 2009 campaign (1.73 ERA across 74 appearances) that earned him MVP votes.
Affeldt's been ever better in the postseason, allowing just two earned runs over 20 2/3 playoff innings as a member of the Giants.
"If I would have been released, I might have taken it as my out and said, 'I'm done,' " Affeldt told Castrovince. "But (Moore) didn't allow me to do that."