Willie Bloomquist just announced his retirement via Twitter, calling it a career after 14 seasons in the majors for the Mariners, Diamondbacks, Royals, and Reds.
Bloomquist was Seattle’s third-round draft pick in 1999 and reached the big leagues in 2002 as a 24-year-old. He never received 500 plate appearances in a season and topped 350 plate appearances just twice, but stuck around because of his defensive versatility, speed, and likability in the clubhouse. And once in a while he even hit a little bit, batting .269 with a .658 OPS in 1,055 games overall.
Bloomquist started at least 15 games and logged at least 200 innings at every position except catcher, but was primarily a shortstop. He earned more than $17 million and the Washington native played the bulk of his career for Seattle.
