Jay Bruce didnt find much to be sad about Apr. 18, the final day he spent in a major league uniform. While theres always a melancholiness to a players retirement, Bruce spent 13 seasons in the bigs, hit 319 homers, made three All-Star teams and appeared in the playoffs three times while making more than $100 million.

But there was a tapering off feel to his last three seasons, a span in which he hit .217 with 41 homers, 110 RBIs and an OPS+ of 95 (five percent below the league average) while turning into a part-time player with the Mets, Mariners and Phillies.

After the 20 season, I felt like, listen, this could be wrapping up, this could be the days are numbered, Bruce said during his retirement press conference.

Bruce signed with the Yankees Feb. 12 and, with Luke Voit sidelined by a knee injury, opened the season as their first baseman a position he appeared at just 54 times in his first 12 seasons. But Bruce hit just .118 with one homer and three RBIs in 10 games and didnt play in his final three games with the Yankees as DJ LeMahieu was shifted to first base.

Bruce could surely see his release on the horizon and displayed the self-awareness and modesty thats made him a popular teammate in six clubhouses by figuring out a graceful and low-key way to script his exit sans a gift-filled goodbye tour or months-long stint as a fifth outfielder and pinch-hitter.

The emotions are the right emotions, Bruce said. It is bittersweet, but Ive always been honest with myself. Ive always really, really tried to look in the mirror and be extremely honest, whether it was positive or negative. I try not to sugarcoat anything to myself throughout my career. Everyone stops playing at some point and I have been so fortunate to have the career that I had.

Bruce isnt the type to see his retirement as anything larger than a veteran choosing to exit because he can no longer meet the standards he set for himself. But his departure just 15 days after his 34th birthday underlines how drastically the game has changed for players such as Bruce, whose assets are generally power and experience.

Power was both in plentiful supply when Bruce debuted the baseball world was not even a year removed from Barry Bonds completing his joyless pursuit of Henry Aarons all-time home run record yet it was also a valuable commodity, one that could guarantee a player gainful employment well into his 30s. There were 19 players active players in the 300-homer club in 2008, with the likes of Paul Konerko, David Ortiz, Jermaine Dye, Ivan Rodriguez and Lance Berkman either on the verge of reaching 300 homers or well on their way to the milestone.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, 170 players age 34 or older, including 91 position players, saw big league time in 2008 (players ages for a season are determined by their age on July 1). And on Apr. 18, 2011 10 years before Bruces retirement lineups featured the 30-something corner infielder or outfielder power-hitting likes of Travis Hafner, Carlos Pena, Raul Ibanez, Pat Burrell and pre-Twitter Aubrey Huff, all of whom finished with at least 200 homers and a WAR of at least 20.0 except Burrell, who clocked in at 18.9 WAR. (Bruce finished right at 20.0 WAR)

Counting Bruce but not the suspended Robinson Cano, nine players active in 2021 have at least 300 homers. (Joey Votto joined the club tonight) Upon his retirement, Bruce ranked fifth in the majors in homers since 2019, behind a pair of future Hall of Famers playing out expensive contracts in Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera, a genetic freak in Nelson Cruz and Giancarlo Stanton, who might be on one-year deals by now if not for that contract hes got through 2027.

After 172 30-homer seasons were recorded from 2008 through 2015, 164 30-homer seasons were recorded from 2016 through 2019, a span in which Bruce was traded four times and played for six teams. He is one of seven players to hit at least 30 homers in 2017 and fall out of Major League Baseball by 2021.

In other words: When everyones hitting for power, how valuable is the older player whose main trait is hitting for power, especially in a game skewing far younger? There were 112 players aged 34 or older in 2019, the most recent year in which a 162-game season was played, including just 51 position players. So far this year, there have been 81 players in their age-34 season or beyond, including just 40 position players.

Did Bruce decline because his skills naturally eroded or did he decline because his skills were eroded by a lack of consistent usage? Bruce averaged 26 homers and 77 RBIs with an OPS+ of 106 from 2015 through 2019 down a bit but not drastically so from his standard season from 2010 through 2014, when he averaged 28 homers and 88 RBIs with an OPS+ of 114.

A decade ago, thered be still plenty of room for a 34-year-old with those skills and a willingness to serve as a Team Dad by offering to younger teammates his wise-beyond-his-years expertise. In 2021, Bruce is heading home cause for celebration for a married man with two preschool-aged children and no need to ever work another day in his life, but a loss for a game once not so long ago whose foundation was set by players of his ilk.