San Diego Padres second baseman Ian Kinsler of Tucson, AZ retired at the age of 37 on Saturday. Kinsler will remain in the Padres organization as an adviser to baseball operations according to ESPN.
Kinsler played 14 Major League Baseball seasons with the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox and Padres. In 2019 with San Diego, Kinsler batted .217 with nine home runs and 22 runs batted in during 87 games. In 258 at bats, Kinsler scored 28 runs and had 56 hits, 12 doubles, two stolen bases, 19 walks, 95 total bases and one sacrifice fly.
A four-time All-Star, Kinsler represented the Rangers and the American League in the midsummer classic in 2008, 2010 and 2012. He also represented the American League and the Tigers in the 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
Despite only collecting one hit in 10 at bats with the Red Sox in the 2018 World Series, Kinsler won a World Series Championship. In 2018, the Red Sox defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
Kinsler’s World Series hit in 2018 came in game two of the series on October 24, 2018 in a 4-2 Red Sox win. It was a run batted in single in the bottom of the second inning which scored Xander Bogaerts of Oranjestad, Aruba and put the Red Sox up 1-0 at the time.
Kinsler also played in two other World Series with the Rangers. In 2010, Texas lost in five games to the San Francisco Giants and in 2011, Texas lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Known for his consistent defense, Kinsler twice won gold gloves. The first time with the Tigers in 2016 and the second time with the Angels and Red Sox in 2018. In 2016, Kinsler only had nine errors in 151 games, and in 2018, Kinsler only had nine errors in 128 games.
In San Diego, Kinsler will try and help turn things around for a Padres squad that could have a difficult time in 2020. On paper, the Los Angeles Dodgers remain the strongest team in the National League West, while all the other teams in the division (San Diego, San Francisco, Arizona and Colorado) will probably battle it out for second place.
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