The Rockies’ most prolific participant of the final decade is saying goodbye to baseball.
Charlie Blackmon, a four-time All-Star who received the NL batting title in 2017, introduced Monday that he’s retiring on the finish of this season after spending his total 14-year MLB profession in Denver.
“As a child you play the sport since you like it, like nothing else issues. I nonetheless play the sport that means, however I don’t really feel like a child anymore,” the 38-year-old bearded outfielder wrote in an Instagram put up. “My perspective has modified. I’ve been blessed to name town of Denver and the Colorado Rockies my baseball house for the whole thing of my profession. I’m grateful for the help of this group, my teammates, and most of all Rockies followers. It’s with a grateful coronary heart and a profession’s value of reminiscences that I select a brand new path.”
A second-round choose by the Rockies out of Georgia Tech in 2008, Blackmon enters the ultimate six video games of his profession — which is able to all be at house — with a .292 profession common, .831 OPS, 226 house runs, 797 RBIs, 991 runs and 333 doubles.
The numbers present he clearly benefitted from enjoying at Coors Area.
In 796 profession house video games, Blackmon as a .329 common, .939 OPS, 133 house runs and 477 RBIs, whereas in 822 profession highway video games he hit .256 with a .722 OPS, 93 house runs and 320 RBIs.
Blackmon earned his first All-Star nod in his first season as a full-time starter in 2014, however it was his dominant four-year stretch from 2016-19 that he’ll be most remembered for.
In 2016, he hit .324 with a .933 OPS, 29 house runs and 82 RBIs, and he adopted up with a monster 2017 season that noticed him win the batting title with a .331 common whereas main the majors in hits (213), runs (137), plate appearances (725), triples (14) and whole bases (387). He registered career-highs of 37 house runs and 104 RBIs that season, ending fifth within the NL MVP race and main the Rockies to the playoffs for the primary time in his profession; they misplaced to the Diamondbacks within the wild-card recreation.
Blackmon led Colorado again to the postseason in 2018 after hitting .291 with an .860 OPS, 29 homers and 70 RBIs. They defeated the Cubs within the wild-card recreation earlier than getting swept by the Brewers within the NLDS in Blackmon’s last postseason look, because the Rockies went again to the cellar, bottoming out final yr with their first ever 100-loss season. They’re 60-96 getting into their last six video games this season.
His final All-Star season was in 2019, when he hit .314 with a .940 OPS, 32 house runs and 86 RBIs.
Blackmon is hitting .249 with 11 homers and 48 RBIs this season.
“When Charlie instructed me of his plans to retire I received a little bit emotional, as I’m certain many followers will once they see the information that one of many best Rockies of all-time will not take the sector,” Rockies proprietor Dick Monfort mentioned in a press release. ”Charlie’s ardour and dedication to the sport of baseball, this group and our nice followers was on show each single day and I can’t thank him sufficient for pouring his coronary heart into each recreation and each at-bat over the course of his 14 years right here. Charlie is a Rockie to his core.”
