Former First Colonial, U.Va. star belted 298 MLB homers in 13 years amid many strikeouts.
PHOENIX — Slugger Mark Reynolds is retiring after hitting 298 home runs over 13 seasons with eight Major League Baseball teams.
The 36-year-old made the announcement Thursday on SiriusXM Radio. When the free agent was asked whether he still was pursuing a new team, Reynolds said he’s “moved beyond that, I’ve retired.” He added that he’s enjoying spending time with his family and it was time for him “to find something else to do.”
Reynolds played for First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach before heading to the University of Virginia. At U.Va., he played shortstop for three seasons, finishing second on the Cavaliers’ career home run list with 35 and was a 16th-round draft pick of the the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2004.
In the major leagues, Reynolds was a prime example of an all-or-nothing masher. His best years came with the Diamondbacks. He hit .260 in 2009 and set career highs with 44 homers and what is still an MLB-record 223 strikeouts. The previous year, he had become the first batter to reach 200, and he has three of the 13 200-strikeout seasons by big-league batters.
He hit at least 30 homers four times and led the majors in strikeouts three times. He had a .236 career batting average and split most of his time in the field between third base and first base.
After four years with the Diamondbacks, he bounced among the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals over five seasons with varying amounts of success. He had a late-career resurgence with Colorado and hit 30 homers in 2017, but when he returned to the Rockies last year, he batted .170 with a career-low four homers and 20 RBIs in 162 plate appearances.