It appears that C.J. Wilson is done with baseball, but he’s not ready to relinquish his competitive spirit just yet.
The two-time All-Star lefty made his retirement from Major League Baseball official this week, saying instead he’ll focus on a full-time career in auto racing. Wilson already owns a racing team and recently purchased BMW, Audi & Porsche dealerships in Fresno, CA.
The 36-year-old Wilson hasn’t pitched since 2015 due to a shoulder injury, but he enjoyed a solid 11-year MLB career with the Rangers and Angels. He calls it quits with 94 wins, 52 saves and a 3.74 lifetime ERA on his big league resumé.
In a recent interview with a Fresno TV station, Wilson was asked about the similarities he sees between baseball and racing.
“As a pitcher, generally, faster is better. It’s kind of like driving, and at the same time it’s also about control. That’s the biggest thing. Mentally, not allowing yourself to get so amped up that you get muscly and kind of flex or whatever. In a car when you’re driving on a race track, you have to be mindful and very zen in terms of how you try to do stuff with the car. If you’re going 100 mph and you do the wrong thing, it goes really bad really fast.
“It’s the same thing if you try to reach back and throw the ball by somebody. If you don’t have it in the tank that day, the dude’s gonna hit it over the fence and you’re gonna lose. I’ve been there. I’ve made all my mistakes as a baseball player that I’ll ever make, so that’s good. No more home runs to give up. As a race car driver, I’m sure I’m gonna have crashes and stuff like that ahead of me.”
It’ll be interesting to keep an eye on how successful Wilson’s racing career is now that he’s able to commit to it full-time.
