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Victor Martinez of the Detroit Tigers is retiring, with today’s game being his final one, he announced yesterday. Martinez wanted his last game to be in front of the fans in Detroit.
Martinez, 39, is in his 16th season (or 17th, if you include the 2012 season he missed due to injury). He came up with the Cleveland Indians as a catcher, spent parts of 8 seasons with them, and was traded to the Boston Red Sox during the 2009 season. After 2010, he joined the Detroit Tigers as a free agent, and has been with them since.
Martinez was primarily a DH once he went to Detroit, but regardless of his position, he was, for most of his career, a quality hitter. A switch-hitter, he put up a career .295/.359/.455 slash line, with a career 32.2 bWAR, though he has struggled the past several years.
Martinez isn’t a Hall of Famer, but he was a really good player who had a really good career. Best of luck to him in his post-playing days.