Eric Hosmer, one-time All-Star with Royals, announces retirement

Eric Hosmer, a four-time Gold Glove winner who helped lead the Kansas City Royals to the 2015 World Series title, announced his retirement Wednesday.

Hosmer, 34, made the announcement on social media while promoting his new media company, saying "the playing days are unfortunately over but I'm committed to giving back to the baseball community."

After joining the Chicago Cubsbefore the 2023 season on a free agent deal for the minimum, he was releasedin May 2023 after hitting .234 with two homers and 14 RBIs in 94 at-bats.

He decided not to pursue any other playing opportunities.

"You have to be 110% committed and doing what is necessary both physically and mentally to play at the major league level and I reached a point where I wasn't there anymore," Hosmer said. "I'm very satisfied with my career. I feel like I accomplished a lot, was around a lot of great people and have a lot of good stories to tell."

Hosmer signed an eight-year, $144 million deal with the San Diego Padres in 2017, was traded to the Boston Red Sox in 2022 and was released at the end of that season.

He scored the tying run for the Royals in the ninth inning of a clinching Game 5 win over the New York Mets in the 2015 World Series. He hit 25 homers in the 2015 and 2016 seasons for Kansas City.

Hosmer was named the MVP in his lone All-Star Game appearance in 2016.

In 13 seasons, Hosmer had a career .276 batting average with 198 home runs and 893 RBIs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.