Steve Pearce told Mike Mutnanksy of WEEI radio that he’s “officially retired.”
Not a shocker, as Pearce said at the end of the 2019 season that it may very well have been his last. And it wasn’t a great final hurrah, as he played in only 29 games due to a left calf strain, then a low back strain, then a knee injury. When he did play he hit.180/.245/.258 with five extra-base hits in 99 plate appearances.
Pearce will forever be a part of Red Sox lore, however, due to his heroics in the 2018 postseason. Indeed, he was named MVP of the 2018 World Series after he hit three homers in the span of two games while knocking in seven runs as the Red Sox won the championship over thee Dodgers in five. That performance earned him a surprising one-year, $6.25 million deal with Boston while they were still cleaning up after the World Series parade.
In all, Pearce played 13 seasons in the bigs, suiting up for the Pirates, Orioles, Astros, Yankees, Rays, Blue Jays, and Sox. He was a lifetime .254/.332/.440 hitter and smacked 91 home runs.