Mariners 3rd baseman Kyle Seager announced his retirement after 11 seasons Wednesday. Kyle, the older brother of Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager, spent his entire career with the Mariners organization posting a .251 batting average through 11 major league campaigns.
Seager first broke into the majors in 2011 and would go on to hit 242HRs, 705 runs, and 807 RBIs as a Mariner. An All-Star and Gold Glove winner in 2014, Seager was a fixture in the Seattle infield for over a decade. Although the Mariners never made the playoffs during Seager’s tenure with the team (Seattle hasn’t been to the postseason since 2001), they made a valiant effort down the stretch this year ultimately coming up 2 games shy of catching Boston & New York for the wildcard.
The announcement was made on Seager’s wife’s Twitter account. A private person to begin with, Seager kept things short and sweet: “Thank you to all of my family, friends and fans for following me throughout my career. It’s been a wonderful ride but I am unbelievably excited for the next chapter of my life”. The Mariners responded in kind posting a congratulatory note of their own:
Seager set career highs for homeruns (35) and RBIs (101) in 2021, however Seattle declined to pick up his option for 2022. With the ongoing uncertainty of the MLB lockout, Seager elected to retire rather than wait out the negotiation period between the league and players union before testing the open market.
Selected 82nd overall in the 2009 MLB draft by Seattle, Seager now looks forward to spending more time with his family. He and his wife Julie have two daughters and a son together.