Ex-Met Retires: 13-Year MLB Career Ends
- The ex-Mets outfielder announced that he’s retiring during an appearance on “Foul Territory” on Wednesday.
- “I started to realize when I was away from the game, when I got DFA’d, that as great as it is to be successful in the game and...
- “I took the failure in the game way harder than I enjoyed the success, and I don’t have to deal with the failure anymore.
Kevin Pillar is calling it quits.
The ex-Mets outfielder announced that he’s retiring during an appearance on “Foul Territory” on Wednesday.
“I started to realize when I was away from the game, when I got DFA’d, that as great as it is to be successful in the game and to have these highs and to hit these home runs, striking out or not being successful or going 0-for-your-last-10, those things always outweighed the success I had in the game,” the 36-year-old Pillar said on the show.
“I took the failure in the game way harder than I enjoyed the success, and I don’t have to deal with the failure anymore. So I’m pretty happy. I wake up every morning excited to be Dad and just kind of see what the day brings.”
Pillar spent 13 seasons in the big leagues, playing for 10 different franchises.
He spent the first six-plus seasons of his career with the Blue Jays before bouncing around the league.
In 2021, Pillar played 124 games for the Amazin’s, hitting .231/.277/.415 with 15 home runs.
Pillar opened the year with the Rangers but struggled in 43 plate appearances, hitting .209/.209/.256 before being released by the franchise in May.
He revealed Wednesday that he nearly hung up his cleats after a tough 2024 season before giving his big league career one last shot.
“I talked to a lot of guys that are no longer playing anymore, and they said it’s near impossible to kind of retire and then come back,” Pillar said. “So I wanted to make sure that I was really done playing, and it started kind of eating at me a little bit. I kind of missed it.”
Pillar finished his career slashing .255/.293/.405 with 111 long balls.