May 14 (UPI) — Veteran infielder Matt Carpenter, who spent 12 of his 14 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, will retire from baseball, he announced Wednesday.
Carpenter, 38, made the announcement on the Get in the Game podcast. The three-time All-Star made his MLB debut for the Cardinals in 2011. He spent one season with the New York Yankees and another with the San Diego Padres.
“I wanted to take this opportunity on this podcast and officially announce my retirement from the game of baseball,” Carpenter said. “I was fortunate enough to play for some great organizations and had quite a thrill being able to don the St. Louis Cardinals logo for many years, a brief stint with the New York Yankees and also the San Diego Padres.”
Carpenter, who played for the Cardinals again in 2024, went unsigned this off-season. He hit .259 with 179 home runs over 14 seasons. Carpenter hit a career-high .318 and led MLB with 199 hits, 126 runs and 55 doubles over 157 appearances in 2013 for the Cardinals, who advanced to the World Series that year.
He hit a career-high 36 home runs over 156 appearances for the Cardinals in 2018. He eclipsed 20 home runs for four consecutive seasons from 2015 through 2018.
Carpenter, who was the fourth-oldest player in baseball in 2024, hit .234 with four home runs over 59 appearances in his final season.
“I’m excited for what’s next and getting to spend some much needed quality time with my wife and kids on a more consistent basis now that you put the cleats up,” Carpenter said. “It’s exciting stuff.”
