External defender Nick Markakis is retiring after a 15-year career.
Three-time Gold Glove winner, Markakis holds the record for consecutive games without an error for an outfielder in 398. He was as firm on the board as he was in the outfield, ending with 2,388 career hits and a .288 /.357 cut line /.423. Markakis played no fewer than 104 games every year of his career, except in the shortened pandemic season of 2020.
“I tell myself all the time, whether now or if I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to be a Hall of Fame – to get so many successes – that 3,000 or 2,400 hits, that will not define the player I was,” said Markakis to The Athletic. “I think I played the game right and that’s all that really matters to me.”
The 37-year-old was chosen seventh overall by the Baltimore Orioles in 2003 and spent the first nine years of his career with the Orioles. Born in Georgia, Markakis signed with the Atlanta Braves before the 2015 season. His only All-Star season came during Braves in 2018, at age 34.