*Photo from FanSided*
One of the legends in Seattle Mariners folklore is hanging up the cleats. Free agent 3B Kyle Seager has announced his retirement from baseball after 11 seasons in the major leagues, in a statement released by his wife Julie on her social media accounts.
Seager said in his statement that "Today I'm announcing my retirement from Major League Baseball. Thank you to all of my family, friends and fans for following me throughout my career. It's been a wonderful ride but I am unbelievably excited for the next chapter of my life."
Seager has spent his entire professional career with the Mariners, since being selected in the 3rd round of the 2009 MLB Draft by the Mariners. He broke into the big leagues in 2011, and has been a Mariner ever since, receiving a rousing ovation by the crowd at T-Mobile Park after the final game of the 2021 regular season, with tears in Seager's eyes as he walked off the field for the final time.
His last season in a Mariners uniform, however, was not a quiet one for Seager. He had a phenomenal year, finishing with a .212 batting average and .723 OPS, blasting a career high 35 home runs with an also career high 101 RBI's, picking up another 29 doubles while playing in 159 regular season games for the Mariners, who just barely missed out on a playoff spot.
Across his 11 seasons with the Mariners, Seager finishes his career with a .251 batting average and .763 OPS, mashing 242 home runs and driving in 807 runs, stealing 55 bases in 1,480 regular season games, never once being a part of a playoff squad.
At the beginning of the offseason, the $20 million team option in Seager's contract for the 2022 season was declined by the Mariners, which officially made him a free agent. He did not sign with a team prior to the December lockout taking effect, and now retires after 11 seasons, with a 2014 All Star game selection and ranking 3rd in Mariners history with 309 career doubles, trailing only Ken Griffey Jr and Edgar Martinez.
Since his major league debut on July 7, 2011, the 1,480 games Seager has played ranks 3rd in all of baseball in that time frame, trailing only Eric Hosmer with 1,500 and Carlos Santana with 1,526. Despite having never played a full 162 games, Seager has played 161 in 2015, 159 in his 2014 all star season, and 160 in 2013, so he has been consistently durable.
With Seager now officially out of the Mariners plans for 2022, Ty France and Abraham Toro are the favorites to take over 3rd base, with Kevin Padlo also able to play 3rd on the Mariners 40 man roster. Free agent options for the hot corner include Kris Bryant, Jonathan Villar, and Maikel Franco.
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