Former Phillies OF Hunter Pence announces retirement

Back in July 2011, the Philadelphia Phillies made a blockbuster trade to acquire two-time All-Star Hunter Pence in hopes of increasing their chances to win a second World Series in a four-year span. Pence played in parts of two seasons with the Phils before being dealt to San Francisco, where he went on to win titles in 2012 and 2014.

After 14 seasons, the former Phillies outfielder officially announced his retirement on Twitter.

Nothing can really prepare you for this part of your career when you have to say: I am retiring from baseball.

Forever thankful and Gr8ful. pic.twitter.com/XoYTsLkOlu

— Hunter Pence (@hunterpence) September 26, 2020

In 54 games after the trade to Philadelphia, Pence made Phillies fans quickly forget about the prospects they dealt. In his fifth season at the time, Pence slashed .324/.394/.560 with 12 doubles and 11 home runs in a year that saw the Phillies post a franchise record of 102 wins. Pence also recorded 11 outfield assists from right field in 2011 to lead the National League.

Pence’s debut for the Phils was a memorable one as the fans gave him a rousing ovation upon his arrival in right field.

2012 was a different story for the Phillies. Come the trade deadline, they were 47-58. Knowing they were likely out of postseason contention, they decided to trade Pence to San Francisco for Tommy Joseph, Nate Schierholz and Seth Rosin. While Joseph stuck with the Phils for a while, both Schierholz and Rosin’s tenures in Philadelphia were rather short. Still, after trading Pence, the Phillies gave away bobblehead figurines of the outfielder in August for a promotional night that was already on the schedule.

All in all, Pence’s 14 years in the big leagues ends with two championship rings and four All-Star appearances, including one during the second-to-last year of his big league career. His career slash line isn’t too shabby, sporting a .279 average to go along with an on-base percentage of .334 and a slugging percentage of .461.

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