After 11 seasons with the Mariners, Seager announces retirement

When word had spread that the Mariners, regardless of a win or loss on the final day of their season, had been eliminated from playoff contention, manager Scott Servais made sure to give the team’s longtime third baseman a momentous exit.

Servais called time in the ninth inning, exited the dugout, and motioned for a defensive substitution that gave Seager the opportunity to walk off the diamond on his own. He hugged teammates, and shook hands. He couldn’t hold back his tears.

It was expected, though not official at the time, that the team would decline Seager’s one-year, $20 million option for the upcoming season. That decision lingered for nearly a month, and was confirmed on Oct. 31.

What wasn’t expected was for Seager’s emotional exit in front of a sold-out T-Mobile Park to be the last of his career.

On Wednesday morning, it was announced on Twitter that the 34-year-old would retire.

Through his wife’s Twitter account, Seager confirmed the news. “Today I’m announcing my retirement from Major League Baseball,” he wrote. “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.”

Seager hinted at the possibility of calling it a career late in the 2021 season, though it was expected that he would explore the free agent market and eventually join another organization. It was rumored that Seager could join forces alongside his brother, Corey, with the Texas Rangers, after the former Dodgers shortstop signed a massive 10-year, $325 million deal with the club in November.

And Seager, despite a drop in batting average, flashed a career-high in home runs (35) and reached the century-mark in runs batted in (101) for the first time of his career in 2021. He posted a .965 fielding percentage at third base, just below his .966 career average.

He’ll end his career with all 11 of his seasons and 1,480 games in a Seattle uniform.

Jarred Kelenic, a rookie in 2021, improved throughout the season, and said Seager was the “mentor” of the team. That teaching aspect, as Seager saw it, was something he enjoyed. He embraced it.

“We bounce questions off him all the time,” Kelenic said in August of the veteran Seager. “He’s been through a lot. So, you know, really any question that we have for him, he surely has an answer. And he’s definitely a great guy to have.

“I think the best advice that I got from Seager was... not every at-bat is a life-or-death situation. You’re going to get so many at-bats. It’s such a long season. And the sooner you can get over your failures, and figure out why you didn’t succeed, and apply it to your next at-bat, that’s what’s going to make you stick around in this game. And I would say that was the best advice I’ve ever gotten from him.”

Seager amassed 1,395 hits, 807 runs batted in, and 242 home runs in his major league career. He was an All-Star in 2014, and won the Gold Glove for his duties at third base in the same season. In 2016, he was 12th in American League MVP voting after slashing .278/.359/.499 in his age-28 season.

“I’ve tried to help,” Seager said on Oct. 3, after what is now considered his final major league game. “I’ve tried to, you know, be productive obviously. (I) try to play well, and I’ve tried to help the younger guys. I want everybody to do well, and, you know, I want the Mariners to do well. I want to win.

“When your guys get choked up and start talking about the impact that I’ve had, it means a lot to me. It really does.”