After 14 Major League seasons, outfielder Matt Joyce has officially retired just two days in advance of his 38th birthday. Joyce played with the Phillies in 2021 but was released after the year, and he told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he waited a few months into the 2022 campaign to see if he could land any offers from non-independent teams.
When those offers didn’t come, Joyce closed the book on a career that saw him suit up for eight different teams over the course of an even 1400 career games. Spending the last half of his career bouncing around the majors, he played one season each with the Phillies, Marlins, Braves, Pirates, Angels, and Tigers, while playing two seasons with the Athletics and six seasons with the Rays.
The left-handed hitting Joyce was never able to muster much production against left-handed pitching over his career, which often relegated him to platoon or bench duties. However, he carved out a comfortable niche for himself as a righty-masher, with a .251/.353/.444 career slash line against right-handed pitching. Joyce was also one of the more prominent pinch-hitters in baseball history, as his 369 career plate appearances as a pinch-hitter ranks sixth on the all-time list.
A 12th-round pick for the Tigers in the 2006 draft, Joyce made his big league debut with Detroit in 2008 before being dealt to the Rays for (speaking of prominent journeymen) Edwin Jackson in December 2008. It was a homecoming for the Tampa native Joyce, and he told Topkin that his stint with the Rays “probably means the most to me, looking back. Just being from here, being raised here, playing here, making the playoffs three out of the five (full) years that I was up with the team. A lot of really cool memories, a lot of really cool highlights. That was special, for sure.”
Joyce’s Rays tenure peaked with the 2011 season, when he hit .277/.347/.478 with 19 home runs and was named to his only All-Star team. For his entire career, Joyce finishes with a .242/.342/.425 slash line and 149 homers over 4355 plate appearances.
“I definitely feel good, and I’m proud of what I was able to accomplish,” Joyce said. “I think overcoming the biggest trials and failures is really what I’m most proud of. That ultimately shows a lot about a person, a lot about an athlete. The fact that they’re just willing to kind of grind and persevere and continue to fail, but you continue to get back up again. So, yeah, I’m definitely proud of my career.”
We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Joyce on a fine career, and wish him the best in his post-baseball endeavors.
What better time to announce your retirement than the trade deadline lol.
glol
who? completely forgettable.
Back to the kitchen Amanda
She’s gonna spit on our food now.
Jokes on you, I’m into that! /S
Someone didn’t read the article. They tell you who, and what accomplishments he achieved.
yeah go back to the kitchen grab me a beer
Surprised the Red Sox didn’t give him a shot considering how crappy they are.
These types of posts don’t help your credibility and that of other women.
Yes they do.
Amanda’s posts are as desirable as monkeypox.
Rejoice, rejoice, he had no choice but to carry on… (CSN&Y)
Phillies Legend
Really solid career.
Beloved fantasy waiver wire platoon bat
good on ya, Matt
Hall of fame clock begins ticking now – Good luck on making it to round 2
ah, he spent most of his career with the rays, now i know why nobody knows or cares who he is, kinda hard to play for 56 fans everynight and keep a name for yourself,. i guess joe madden dressing in tuxedos and having a mariachi band in the clubhouse didnt work? aww shucks!
Such a nasty woman.
Amanda if you’re commenting here then who is cleaning the toilets?!?
Amanda…..
Amanda….
Storms are brewing in your eyes!
well @#$^! That’s Sarah …my bad!
hes now been fired twice since leaving tampa, ironic aint it?
Table 5 is still waiting on their mozzarella sticks and table 3 looks like they could use drink refills. Chop chop!
They don’t let Amanda out of the kitchen. They would like to keep their customers. She is there only to do the “Charlie work”
She is sharpening her Rat Bat as we speak.
LOL!
Cool story, Amanda. Now if you don’t mind I’d like my #4 value meal with a Dr Pepper. Lots of cars in the drive through right now.
Good Riddance.
“Llegeun te ya, Matt Joyce! Hey Matt Joyce!” – Jesus Aguilar
Had the great pleasure of meeting Matt and his beautiful wife at the Outer Banks in North Carolina. He was kind, unassuming, and thoroughly likeable. Very nice career Matt, hope the rest of your life goes as well as your career!!!
I thought he was retired when he played for the Angels.
Good luck in the future Matt!
14 yrs! Congrats on a great career!
What a class act Matt Joyce is. He was part of the Rays learning how to win and was an important part of that process. Best of luck in retirement!!
Brutal with the Phillies last year but had some good seasons.
This dude hasn’t been relevant since like 2010 lol. He retired a decade too late
I mean, the article mentions his best season was 2011 soooo….
In seriousness, it’s not like the article is celebrating him as all-time player, but he contributed to most teams he was on, and was a solid player with a solid career.
Some people, especially Yankees fans, have a hard time realizing that most teams are constructed with the expectation all roles contribute beyond the stars. Hard to understand that when your team just buys it’s way to success year after year. He doesn’t know who Joyce is since the Yankees never employed him.
I remember Joyce when he was on the Rays back in 2010. Just saying he was never very good
I played against Matt in high school and with him in college at Florida Southern. He’s a truly nice person and a solid player. Wish him all the best in his future.
He did something none of you chumps did. He played 14 years in the big leagues. Y’all need to stop running your mouths sometimes.
Poor Amanda
“Retires”. Aka, can’t find anyone to sign him.
Good career. Was solid with the Braves when we had him.
Fun Fact: He was the first player suspended by MLB for using a slur.