Curtis Granderson retires from Major League Baseball at age 38

Miami Marlins outfielder Curtis Granderson of Blue Island, IL announced his retirement from Major League Baseball on Friday according to mlbtraderumors.com. Granderson, who was 38 years old, played 16 seasons of Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers and Marlins.

Last season with the Marlins, Granderson batted only .183 with 12 home runs and 34 runs batted in. It was the first time in his career that he batted below the Mendoza line.

Granderson’s best season came in 2011 with the Yankees. That season he batted .262 with 41 home runs and 119 runs batted in. An all-star, silver slugger and fourth in American League most valuable player voting, Granderson led the American League with 119 runs batted in that season and led Major League Baseball with 136 runs scored.

Granderson was also known for hitting triples. Recording the three-bagger has been something of a dying art in recent decades in Major League Baseball. Granderson led Major League Baseball with 23 triples while with the Tigers in 2007 and then the American League with 13 triples with the Tigers in 2008. Chief Wilson of Austin, TX holds the Major League Baseball record for triples in a season as he had 36 with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1912. Granderson ended his career with 95 triples.

A three-time all-star, Granderson was an all-star with the Detroit Tigers in 2009 and with the Yankees in 2011 and 2012. He was an all-star in 2012 despite a low batting average of .232. That season Granderson did reach a career high in home runs with 43 and reached the century mark in runs scored (102) and runs batted in (106) for the second consecutive season. Granderson also never won a World Series despite playing in 64 postseason games.

One area of Granderson’s game he struggled with was strikeouts, as he struckout way too much. He led the American League with 174 strikeouts while with the Tigers in 2006. Granderson would reach the century mark in strikeouts on 11 more occasions.