Charlie Blackmon was, at his peak, one in every of baseball’s most feared leadoff hitters. He took benefit of Coors Area’s distinctive hitting surroundings to drive in 104 runs from the leadoff spot in 2017 — a feat not often completed by even one of the best No. 1 hitters of all-time.
Monday, the longtime Colorado Rockies outfielder introduced his retirement from baseball efficient on the finish of the season.
“As a child you play the sport since you like it, like nothing else issues,” Blackmon wrote on his Twitter/X account Monday. “I nonetheless play the sport that approach, however I do not really feel like a child anymore. My perspective has modified.
“I’ve been blessed to name the town of Denver and The Colorado Rockies my baseball house for everything of my profession. I’m grateful for the assist of this group, my teammates, and most of all Rockies followers. It’s with a grateful coronary heart and a profession’s price of recollections that I select a brand new path.”
The 38-year-old outfielder has a .292 batting common, .352 on-base proportion and .479 slugging proportion in his profession. Nonetheless, these numbers dipped to .249/.320/.398 in 2024.
Blackmon was drafted by the Rockies within the second spherical of the 2008 MLB draft out of Georgia Tech and spent his total 14-year main league profession with the franchise, racking up 1,618 video games and counting.
The Rockies — who made the playoffs solely twice throughout Blackmon’s profession — are taking part in out the string on one other shedding season this week. They are going to host the St. Louis Cardinals for 3 video games starting Tuesday, and the Los Angeles Dodgers for 3 extra starting Friday.
Colorado’s final sport, and the ultimate sport round all of MLB, is Sunday. That may supply Blackmon one final probability to say farewell on the stadium he known as house.
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From 2014-20, Blackmon was among the many most constant offensive producers amongst NL outfielders, slashing .206/.364/.516 and stealing 118 bases (a median of 17 per season). Alongside the best way, he gained a cult following by rising out an enormous brown beard that
Blackmon was one yr away from free company in Jan. 2018 when he signed a six-year, $108 million contract extension to stay in Colorado. He made the Nationwide League All-Star workforce every of the subsequent two seasons, giving him 4 All-Star nods in his profession (additionally 2014 and 2017).
Blackmon performed out the rest of the contract, and agreed to a one-year, $13 million extension for the 2024 season. With not less than 25 plate appearances over the subsequent six video games, Blackmon will add a complete of $2 million in efficiency incentives to his wage.
