Mark Teixeira Announces Sudden Retirement from MLB's Yankees

Mark Teixeira says he'll always be a Yankees fan, but he'll no longer be a Yankees player after this season. The Yankees first baseman has made the decision to retire at the end of 2016.

Teixeira, 36, would have been a free agent this offseason, but will instead walk away.

He's had an inconsistent Yankees career, marred by injuries that have not allowed him to live up to his lofty contract the past few seasons. He's batting just .198 with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs in an injury-plagued 2016. He hasn't played a full season since 2011 and missed almost all of 2013 with a wrist injury. He averaged 150 games per season in the first 10 seasons up to 2011, and just 93 games per season since.

He currently stands at a lifetime average of .269 with 404 home runs, 1,281 RBIs and 1,085 runs scored. He had a .281 average with a .373 on-base percentage through the first 10 years of his career.

Teixeira was a three-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glove winner and three-time Silver Slugger winner. His best MVP finish came in 2009 when he led the Yankees to a World Series and finished in second place.

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