Two-time All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis is retiring from baseball, he announced in a tweet Monday afternoon.
"I'd be lying if I said I wanted to write this. To have to officially acknowledge that my time as a player in the game of baseball is over," Kipnis wrote. "I always heard you rarely get to end your career on your own terms. They weren't lying."
Kipnis played for Cleveland from 2011-19 and the Cubs in 2020.
In the mid-2010s, the Arizona State product ranked as one of baseball's most consistently productive second basemen. From 2013-16, he slashed .277/.349/.429 over 575 games, compiling 162-game averages of 16 home runs, 73 RBIs, 91 runs, and 22 stolen bases. He was an American League All-Star in '13 and 2015.
Called up in July 2011 as Cleveland faded from contention, Kipnis hit .272 as a rookie and immediately endeared himself to fans with his full-throttle style of play — an approach that earned him the nickname "Dirtbag."
Later in the decade, Kipnis's fingerprints were all over Cleveland's 2016 World Series run. He hit .364 in the ALDS against the Red Sox, and homered twice in Cleveland's seven-game loss to Chicago.
Kipnis eventually finished his career with the Cubs — the Northbrook, Ill. native's hometown team. He hit .237 with three home runs and 16 RBIs in 44 games in 2020.
