Today, former Rockie Mark Reynolds announced his retirement on MLB Radio, telling Chris Russo, “I’m retired, actually . . . I guess that’s breaking news on your show. I haven’t really told anybody.”
In the course of his 13-season career, Reynolds played for the Diamondbacks, Orioles, Indians, Yankees, Brewers, Cardinals, Nationals, and Rockies. His best season was with the DBacks in 2009 when he hit 44 home runs.
Reynolds was with the Rockies from 2016-2017 and part of 2019 before being released. During his 2016-2017 campaign, Reynolds slashed .274/.471./.825, hitting 44 home runs. In 2019, Reynolds went .170/.311/.601. Reynolds hit 298 career home runs and hoped to make it 300 with the Rockies, but he was DFA’d before reaching his goal.
He also seemed to take the “K” in MarK to heart. Over the course of his career, Reynolds struck out 1927 times (344 with the Rockies). But we’d rather focus on the positives.
In his final season, Reynolds was to platoon with Daniel Murphy at first base while contributing to the clubhouse atmosphere. Nick Groke quotes Reynolds as saying, “Sometimes you have to take a step back and, I don’t know, watch the Masters for an extra 10 minutes and get baseball out of your dome.”
In addition to the #BeLikeMark All-Star campaign from 2017, most Rockies fans will remember him for this seam-splitting catch:
— JD (@OnThunderIsland) April 9, 2020
Reynolds discusses the moment here:
Mark Reynolds joins the show after another @Rockies win. #ChangeUp pic.twitter.com/FHZ8oQQk5p
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) April 23, 2019
We at Purple Row wish Mark the best in retirement—and hope he’s recovered from catching that throw.