Josh Willingham refutes report that he will retire after season

The Kansas City Royals are currently in position to reach the playoffs as a Wild Card team in the American League. They also still have their sights on a potential division championship, though they are running out of time to catch up to the Detroit Tigers.

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One presumes, then, that Royals’ outfielder Josh Willingham is not interested in talking about the off-season. Even if he is thinking about retiring, something that was reported earlier on Thursday, he presumably would not want that to become the focus or something that takes away from his team’s playoff push.

As such, Willingham contacted Mike Berardino, the St. Paul Pioneer Press writer who reported that Willingham is planning to retire, to say that he has not decided anything yet.

OK?

This seems like an odd place for a beat reporter to dig in. For one thing, it is an intensely personal decision for Willingham. For another thing, Berardino is a beat writer for Willingham’s former team, not his current one. Finally, all this is over a guy who is batting .218/.349/.401 this season.

So sure, stand by your report. Or maybe just back off and let the guy enjoy his first playoff appearnce before he makes a decision this off-season.

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