New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter says he will retire after this season "with absolutely no regrets," ending one of the greatest careers in the history of baseball's most famous team.
The 39-year-old New York captain posted a long letter on his Facebook page on Wednesday saying that 2014 will be his final year.
A 13-time All-Star who has led the Yankees to five World Series championships, Jeter was limited to 17 games last season while trying to recover from a broken left ankle sustained during the 2012 playoffs.
"I know it in my heart. The 2014 season will be my last year playing professional baseball," he wrote.
"I have gotten the very most out of my life playing baseball, and I have absolutely no regrets," he said.
Jeter was the last link to the powerful Yankees teams that won three straight World Series crowns from 1998-2000.
"Derek Jeter is Mr. Yankee of his era," Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner told The Associated Press. "He was the face of one of the greatest teams ever."
But Jeter's joyride hit a big speed bump recently.
"Last year was a tough one for me. As I suffered through a bunch of injuries, I realised that some of the things that always came easily to me and were always fun had started to become a struggle," Jeter wrote. "The one thing I always said to myself was that when baseball started to feel more like a job, it would be time to move forward."
"So really it was months ago when I realised that this season would likely be my last. As I came to this conclusion and shared it with my friends and family, they all told me to hold off saying anything until I was absolutely 100 per cent sure," he wrote.
"And the thing is, I could not be more sure," he wrote.
His agent, Casey Close, said Jeter wanted to declare his intentions before the Yankees start spring training later this week so that his future status wouldn't be a distraction.
Added up, Jeter's numbers put him among the greats in Yankees history, with fans often invoking the names of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and others when mentioning Jeter's legacy.
