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After an illustrious 14-year career, longtime Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon is calling it quits.
Blackmon announced his decision to retire via social media on Monday evening.
“I have been blessed to call the city of Denver and the Colorado Rockies my baseball home for the entirety of my career,” Blackmon wrote. “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 concludes his retirement post with an epic reference to the classic 1993 baseball movie, The Sandlot.
“I'll hop over that fence, pickle the beast and embrace the next phase of my life,” Blackmon wrote.
While the Rockies have been one of baseball's most disappointing teams in recent years, Blackmon, a fan-favorite, has been a bright spot for Rockies fans and given the people of Denver a reason to come to the ballpark and cheer on their team.
Even in the later stages of his career, Blackmon has still been an effective everyday player for the Rockies. This season, through 118 games split between right field and DH, Blackmon is hitting a respectable .249 with 11 home runs.
Charlie Blackmon's incredible 14-year career with the Colorado Rockies
Blackmon, who turned 38 this season, spent his entire 14-year career with the Rockies, a rarity in today's game. He was named an All-Star four times and collected two Silver Sluggers. With under a week left in this season, Blackmon has a career .292 average with 1797 hits and 226 home runs.
Blackmon's 2017 season is one of the most eye-popping and underappreciated in baseball history. He won the batting title with a .331 average, led all of baseball with 213 hits, 137 runs and 14 triples, hit 37 home runs, drove in 104 runs and earned a top-5 MVP finish.
Blackmon, also known by his nickname “Chuck Nazty,” was a part of two postseason teams. He helped lead the Rockies to Wild Card berths in 2017 and 2018. While he was never able to advance past the divisional round, those Rockies teams led by Blackmon, third baseman Nolan Arenado, shortstop Trevor Story and second baseman DJ LeMahieu were some of the most dominant offensive groups in recent memory.
After Arenado, Story and LeMauhieu all were traded away or signed with other teams, Blackmon stayed, and finished his career out with the Rockies. At the beginning of the 2018 season, Blackmon signed a six-year, $108 million deal. At the end of the 2023 season, Blackmon signed a one-year extension for what would end up being the final season of his career.
