DENVER — Four-time All-Star Charlie Blackmon will retire at the end of the season after spending his entire major league career with the Colorado Rockies.
The outfielder known for his bushy beard announced his decision Monday. The Rockies will celebrate Blackmon throughout their final homestand this week and hold a tribute for him before the season finale Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Blackmon spent 14 seasons with the team and is the franchise’s all-time leader in triples (67). He’s also second in games played (1,618), runs scored (991), hits (1,797), doubles (333), extra-base hits (626) and total bases (2,942). Blackmon won an National League batting title in 2017 with a .331 average.
In a post on Instagram, Blackmon wrote: “As a kid you play the game because you love it, like nothing else matters. I still play the game that way, but I don’t feel like a kid anymore. My perspective has changed. I have been blessed to call the city of Denver and the Colorado Rockies my baseball home for the entirety of my career. I am grateful for the support of this organization, my teammates, and most of all Rockies fans. It is with a thankful heart and a career’s worth of memories that I choose a new path.”
Blackmon was taken by the Rockies in the second round of the 2008 first-year player draft out of Georgia Tech. He made his major league debut on June 7, 2011, against San Diego.
The 38-year-old Blackmon has a .292 average with 226 homers and 148 stolen bases heading into his final few games. He also was a two-time Silver Slugger.
“When Charlie told me of his plans to retire I got a little emotional, as I’m sure many fans will when they see the news that one of the greatest Rockies of all-time will no longer take the field,” Rockies owner Dick Monfort said in a statement. “Charlie’s passion and dedication to the game of baseball, this organization and our great fans was on display every single day and I can’t thank him enough for pouring his heart into every game and every at-bat over the course of his 14 years here. Charlie is a Rockie to his core.”
Blackmon closed his Instagram post by writing: “I’ll hop over that fence, pickle the beast and embrace the next phase of my life.”