After 16 great MLB seasons, I’m officially announcing my retirement from baseball.
As a young boy growing up in the Dominican Republic, I could have never dreamed of achieving all that I have through this incredible game. I want to thank God for all my blessings.
No man can achieve success alone and with that in mind I have many that I would like to thank starting with my mom and dad. They’ve been there for me for all the ups and downs, the good and the bad and I will always consider myself blessed for their support and love.
I want to thank the New York Mets for giving me the opportunity to become a professional baseball player and for bringing me back at the end of my playing career. I want to also thank the Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays organizations as well as all my teammates through the years.
Mets fans, what can I say? We never got the ring we hoped we would get, but I can’t imagine playing in front of better fans in the whole world. Your passion and energy always lifted me higher and for that I will always be grateful. I want to thank the fans in Miami and Toronto too, as well as all my fans around the world.
I’d like to acknowledge my agents Peter and Ed Greenberg and my compadre Chris Leible for everything they have done for me over the past two decades. I also want to thank all of my friends old and new, you know who you are.
Last, but most important, I want to thank my wife Katherine, as well as my beautiful daughters. Katherine thank you for always standing beside me.
Reyes, 37, hadn’t played in the majors since 2018 as he wasn’t able to land a contract for the 2019 or ’20 seasons. The Mets wanted Reyes to retire in the middle of the 2018 season during which he hit .189/.260/.320. Reyes, however, was still highly motivated to continue playing.
Reyes played 16 seasons in the majors from 2003-18 mostly with the Mets but also had stops with the Marlins, Blue Jays, and Rockies. For his career, he hit .283/.334/.427 with 387 doubles, 131 triples, 145 home runs, 719 RBI, 1,180 runs scored, and 517 stolen bases. He is the Mets’ all-time leader in triples (113) and stolen bases (408). Reyes is 33rd on the all-time steals leaderboard and one of just 39 players in MLB history with 500-plus stolen bases. He was also a four-time All-Star, won a Silver Slugger Award, and won the NL batting title in 2011.
