Outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds announces retirement from baseball

Washington Nationals outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds today announced his retirement from baseball.
Hammonds, 34, hit .272 (824-for-3,032) with 172 doubles, 110 home runs and 423 RBI in 957 major league games spanning 13 seasons with Baltimore, Cincinnati, Colorado, Milwaukee, San Francisco and Washington.

"People ask me, am I disappointed about the injuries that I've sustained during my career, that prevented me from fulfilling my potential," said Hammonds. "My answer is 'are you kidding?' I have played with the best ballplayers in the world, at all levels, from high school, to college, to the Olympics, to the major leagues. That is a dream in itself.

"The only thing that I was not able to achieve in this game was playing in the World Series. And this Washington Nationals team has a realistic shot of doing that. I will miss this game, I will miss the people in this game, but those who I have watched walk away from before me showed me that the game will go on.

"Thank you to my immediate family-my wife, kids, parents, brothers, sisters and friends-and to my baseball family, including Joe Pendel, Mark Marquess and especially Frank Robinson-for offering the support and knowledge to allow a dream to come true."

Hammonds was Baltimore's top selection (fourth overall) in the 1992 First-Year Player Draft after a stellar collegiate career at Stanford, where he majored in history. Among those who worked on Hammonds signing with the Orioles was Robinson, who was a member of Baltimore's front office at the time. In 1997, Hammonds blasted a career-high 21 home runs and played a vital role as the Orioles won the America League East and advanced to the ALCS.

In 2000, Hammonds hit .335 with 20 home runs and 106 RBI and represented Colorado in the All-Star Game played at Turner Field in Atlanta. He hit career home run No. 100 on July 5, 2002 vs. Cincinnati off Elmer Dessens. Hammonds was also a 1992 United States Olympian, and in December of 1999, was named to USA Baseball's All-Time team.

Hammonds signed with the Nationals on December 13 and appeared in 13 games for Washington this season. On May 18, Hammonds' bases-loaded RBI single down the left field line with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning accounted for all of the offense in a 1-0 victory vs. Milwaukee.

Source: http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/