Major League Baseball

Nelson Cruz signs 1-day contract to retire with Seattle Mariners

Updated Mar. 29, 2024 9:30 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

Nelson Cruz completed his duties throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the Seattle Mariners opened the season against the Boston Red Sox and walked over to a little stand set up behind home plate.

There, Cruz signed a ceremonial one-day contract allowing him to retire as a member of the Mariners organization before Thursday night's season opener.

Cruz announced his retirement following last season. He spent parts of 19 seasons in the majors with eight different organizations. His longest stint was the eight seasons he spent with Texas early in his career.

But Cruz spent four influential and impactful seasons in Seattle from 2015-18. He was a three-time All-Star in Seattle, led the league with 119 RBIs in 2017 and hit 163 homers in his four seasons — more than he hit in parts of eight seasons with Texas.

Cruz said a special connection with Seattle is why he decided to have his retirement associated with the Mariners.

"I always identified myself as a Mariner, even though I played more years as a Ranger," Cruz said.

Cruz finished his career with 464 home runs, a .274 batting average and 1,325 RBIs. He appeared in 49 games last season with San Diego in his final year.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience

Major League Baseball

Seattle Mariners

Nelson Cruz

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Nelson Cruz

Seattle Mariners

Major League Baseball