Angels outfielder Vernon Wells plans to retire at the end of the 2014 season because he wants to spend more time with his family, he told reporters Monday.
"My kids," Wells said, via MLB.com. "It'll be time to invest more in their lives. I've gone through this for long enough. My thoughts right now as a family is to be done after two years, enjoy them, get to be there for them in those years where they're going to need their dad every day, not just every now and then."
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Wells has two boys, ages 10 and 7.
Though Wells is only 34 years old, the timing of his planned retirement is no coincidence. He's set to make $21 million in both 2013 and 2014, so if he retired now he'd leave over $40 million on the table. Instead, Wells will play out the deal and make the entirety of his contract for his family. Once he finishes the 2014 season, Wells will have made well into nine figures in his lucrative career.
Wells hit .230/.279/.403 with 11 homers and 29 RBI in 262 plate appearances last season. He's been incredibly unpopular and the butt of many jokes in his time with the Angels, due to his gargantuan salary, sub-par play and the fact that the Angels traded Mike Napoli to acquire him.
The fact remains, though, that Wells is a three-time All-Star with three Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger and a career .273/.321/.467 line in the bigs. He's hit 259 homers and driven home 908 runs. That's a quality career, regardless of the malign.
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