The Texas Rangers are celebrating their World Series victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, but a former Rangers slugger has decided to retire from the MLB. Seven-time All-Star Nelson Cruz announced his retirement decision on an episode of the Adam Jones podcast on Thursday morning.

Cruz retires from the MLB with a long list of accolades, including the 2011 ALCS MVP, four Silver Slugger  Awards, the 2021 Roberto Clemente Award, and, as Jones mentions, 464 career home runs. 

Some of his best years came as a member of the Rangers, where he spent eight seasons from 2006-2013. After all, Rangers fans will never forget his walk-off grand slam in the 2011 ALCS against the Detroit Tigers.

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Then he spent a year with the Baltimore Orioles, where he smacked 40 home runs and had 108 RBIs. His best statistical seasons came with the Seattle Mariners, where he was named an All-Star three out of the four seasons and hit 40 or more home runs twice, including a career-high 44 in his first year in the Pacific Northwest.

Cruz then spent time with the Minnesota Twins and then the Tampa Bay Rays before playing for the Washington Nationals in 2022. He was named an ALl-Star in 2021 after smacking 32 home runs with 86 RBIs with time split between the Twins and Rays.

He signed a deal in the offseason with the San Diego Padres for the 2023 season, but he played just 49 games and was later designated for assignment.

Nelson Cruz will hang up the cleats with 2,053 hits, 464 home runs and 1,325 RBIs in a terrific career for the slugger.