Beltran retires at 40 after first championship

HOUSTON—It took quite some time, but Carlos Beltran finally got there, winning a World Series title after 20 seasons in the majors.

Now he is leaving the Houston Astros and leaving baseball, retiring after a career in which he was a ninetime All-Star and was Rookie of the Year. The 40-year-old designated hitter and outfielder made the announcement Monday, 12 days after the Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series.

He announced his retirement in an essay written for The Players’ Tribune website. His story touched on what finally winning a championship meant to him.

“I realized early on that my purpose in this game was to share knowledge with younger players and to give back to the game of baseball,” he wrote. “I always wanted to do that—that, and be the best teammate I could possibly be. Over 20 years, I feel like I accomplished that.

“So whether we won or lost Game 7, I would have still been happy with my career. But it still feels nice to have a ring,” he continued.

Besides being named an All-Star nine times, most recently in 2016, and the 1999 AL Rookie of the Year, he won three Gold Glove and two Silver Slugger awards.

“He was worth every penny for us … he helped us win in a lot of ways, even though his numbers were not what they were last year, he contributed in a lot of way that were not really seen by our fans,” Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow said.