“Time to call it”: Steven Souza Jr announces retirement after 8 big league seasons
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Steven Souza Jr.
Outfielder Steven Souza Jr. has notified his MLB fans about his retirement after playing parts of eight major league seasons. Souza Jr. was known for an eye-catching diving catch to preserve Jordan Zimmermann’s no-hitter eight years ago as a rookie. He only appeared in six games earlier this season with the Seattle Mariners at age 33, going 3 for 19 at the plate.
33-year-old Steven Souza Jr., was a third-round pick of the Washington Nationals and made his big-league debut with the Nationals in 2014. He graduated from Cascade High School in 2007. Steven got 21 games for Washington down the stretch but was traded in 2014 to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Steven Souza Jr. spent his next three wonderful and prideful seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, which without a doubt was considered the best walk of his career. From 2015 to 2017, he played 378 games, hitting 63 home runs, 53 doubles, four triples, stealing 35 bases and hitting .238/.327/.426.
Steven Souza Jr. took twitter by surprise after his retirement announcement
Steven Souza Jr. tweeted, “16 years after my name was called in 2007 by Mike Rizzo and the Washington Nationals, I have finally decided to hang up my glove and my career. It’s been an incredible journey that I dreamed as a kid I would be able to go on. Without Jesus none of this would be possible and I am forever grateful for all that he blessed me with. I wanna give a special thanks to all of the players, coaches, who impacted not only my career but my life.”
He continued, “I want to give a special thanks to my wife and my family for supporting me during this amazing journey. Without your love and support I never would have made it out of the GCL. I don’t know where Jesus is leading me next but I do know that I want to share my experiences and my love for the greatest game in the world with those who strive to be what I did. Here’s to the next chapter.”
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Steven Souza Jr. appeared in 505 MLB games and make 1,895 plate appearances. He’ll head into retirement with a lifetime batting line of .229/.318/.411, 72 home runs, 71 doubles, eight triples, 383 total hits, 223 runs scored, 207 runs driven in and 42 stolen bases.
Souza Jr. earned more than $10MM over his big-league tenure. MLBTR congratulates Steven Souza on a fine career and wishes him the best of luck in his next chapter.
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Yagya Bhargava
(611 Articles Published)