Record-setting outfielder Nick Markakis announced his retirement Friday after 15 seasons and nearly 2,400 hits.
Markakis, 37, holds the Major League Baseball record for consecutive errorless games by an outfielder at 398 (2012-15).
The three-time Gold Glove winner batted .288 with 189 homers, 514 doubles, 1,046 RBIs, 1,119 runs and 2,388 hits in 2,154 games with the Baltimore Orioles (2006-14) and Atlanta Braves (2015-20).
“I tell myself all the time, whether it is now or if I was fortunate enough to get that opportunity to be a Hall of Famer — to get that many hits — that 3,000 hits or 2,400 hits, it’s not going to define the player that I was,” Markakis told The Athletic. “I think I played the right way and that’s all that really matters to me.”
A first-round draft pick (seventh overall) by Baltimore in 2003, Markakis became a first-time All-Star with Atlanta in 2018 at age 34.