Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Eric Chavez has retired after 17 seasons in professional baseball.
Chavez was a first round draft pick in 1996 by the Oakland Athletics. He has also played for the New York Yankees, in addition to the Diamondbacks, according to ESPN. He had a career average of .268 with 260 home runs and 902 RBIs.
His best part of his career was with the Athletics from 2000-2006, when he averaged 28 homeruns a season.
According to the AP, Chavez has been injured since June 9 with a sprained left knee.
He will be losing $1 million in salary by retiring instead of remaining on the disabled list for the rest of the year.
Athletics general manager Billy Beane told CBS Sports that Chavez could have ended up in the Hall of Fame, had he not gotten injured so much.
“If you look at what he did to age 26, you could see him ending up (in Cooperstown).”
Chavez finished his career with six Gold Gloves, which is tied for the fourth most ever by a third baseman.
This season, Chavez batted .246 in just 69 at-bats.