Former Giants All-Star Hunter Pence Retires From Baseball After 14-Year Career

Hunter Pence is officially ending his baseball career. Over the weekend, the two-time World Series champion announced his retirement from baseball after playing for 14 seasons. He started the 2020 season with the San Francisco Giants and was cut from the team in August.

“I love to play baseball, and I cherished every day, every teammate, every victory and every defeat along with the lessons that came with it,” Pence said in a video posted on Twitter. “Nothing can really prepare you for this part of your career when you have to say ‘I am retiring from baseball.’ I’ve given it everything I possibly can, and the game has given back to me tenfold. Thank you to all my teammates, all the coaches, staff and all the people behind the scenes. It took everything and everyone to help me be the player I was. There’s no way I could have done it without that support.”

Pence, 37, spent the majority of his career with the Giants. His first stint was from 2012-2018 and helped the team win two World Series titles during that span. he returned to the Giants in 2020 after spending the 2019 season with the Texas Rangers. He started his MLB career with the Houston Astros in 2007 and then joined the Philadelphia Phillies in 2011. He signed with the Giants in February this year but was let go after batting .096 with two home runs in 56 plate appearances.

“He kind of brought the fight back in everybody,” Giants pitchers George Kontos said to MLB.com. “Hunter’s a pretty easy guy to get on board with when he gets fiery and gets those wide eyes. Without Hunter Pence stepping in and earning the nickname ‘The Reverend’ that season, I don’t know that we have that 2012 ring on our fingers.” Pence was selected to play in the All-Star game four times in his career. And what’s interesting about that is he made it as a member of the Astros Phillies, Giants and Rangers. He finishes his career with 244 home runs, 942 RBIs and a .279 batting average.