Former NL batting champion Charlie Blackmon retiring after 14 seasons with Rockies

Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon will retire after spending his entire 14-year big league career with the organization.

Blackmon announced his upcoming retirement on social media on Tuesday. He said he continues to play the game like a kid because he loves it, but he doesn't feel like a kid anymore and his perspective has changed.

"I have been blessed to call the city of Denver and the Colorado Rockies my baseball home for the entirety of my career,” he said in a statement. "I am grateful for the support of this organization, my teammates and most of all Rockies fans. It is with a thankful heart and a career’s worth of memories that I choose a new path."

A second round pick in the 2008 MLB draft out of Dallas, Blackmon made his major league debut in 2011, and starting in 2014, inserted himself as one of the faces of the Rockies. Known for his bushy beard and his walk-up song, "Your Love" by The Outfield, he became a consistent hitter for the NL West club.

He won the National League batting title in 2017 after he hit .331 and a career-high 37 home runs and 104 RBI. He finished fifth in MVP voting that season and led baseball in hits, runs and triples, while leading Colorado to its first postseason appearance in eight seasons. The following season, he led the Rockies to their first playoff series win since 2007.

Blackmon was a four-time All-Star and two-time silver slugger. In his career, he has hit .292 with 226 home runs and 797 RBI headed into the final week of the 2024 regular season. He is the Rockies' career-leader in triples with 67, and his 1,797 hits, 2,942 total bases, 333 doubles and 1,618 games played are second in team history behind Hall of Famer Todd Helton.

The 38-year-old still has six games left in his career, all at Coors Field. Colorado plays a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals before finishing off the regular season with three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sitting in last place of the NL West at 60-96, the Rockies are eliminated from postseason contention.

The team plans to honor Blackmon during its final regular season series, including a pregame ceremony ahead of the finale on Sunday.

“When Charlie told me of his plans to retire I got a little emotional, as I’m sure many fans will when they see the news that one of the greatest Rockies of all-time will no longer take the field,” Rockies owner, chairman and chief executive officer Dick Monfort said in a statement. “It has been an absolute privilege watching Charlie’s career from start to finish here at Coors Field. Charlie’s passion and dedication to the game of baseball, this organization and our great fans was on display every single day and I can’t thank him enough for pouring his heart into every game and every at-bat over the course of his 14 years here. Charlie is a Rockie to his core, and although his playing days are over, he will continue to be a part of this team in a multitude of ways going forward."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Charlie Blackmon retiring; spent 14 seasons with Colorado Rockies