Charlie Blackmon is calling it a career. The four-time All-Star announced this evening (on X) that he is retiring at the end of the season.
“As a kid you play the game because you love it, like nothing else matters,” Blackmon wrote. “I still play the game that way, but I don’t feel like a kid anymore. My perspective has changed. I have been blessed to call the city of Denver and The Colorado Rockies my baseball home for the entirety of my career. I am grateful for the support of this organization, my teammates, and most of all Rockies fans. It is with a thankful heart and a career’s worth of memories that I choose a new path.” Blackmon went on to thank his family as part of a longer statement.
Blackmon spent parts of 14 seasons in the majors and played 17 years professionally. That entire run came with the Rockies. Colorado drafted the lefty-hitting outfielder out of Georgia Tech in the second round in 2008. Blackmon reached the big leagues three years later and broke out among the best outfielders in the National League in the middle of the decade.
Colorado traded Dexter Fowler to Houston over the 2013-14 offseason. That paved the way for Blackmon, who’d been a part-time player over the previous couple years, to take over in center field. Then-manager Walt Weiss penciled him into the Opening Day lineup in ’14. That kicked off a stretch of 11 straight years (including this season) in which Blackmon was part of Colorado’s season-opening lineup.
Blackmon ran with the opportunity, hitting .288 with 27 doubles and 19 home runs to earn his first All-Star nod. He had similar numbers the following year before really emerging as an offensive force in 2016. Blackmon hit .324/.381/.552 with 29 longballs to earn his first of consecutive Silver Slugger awards. He returned to the All-Star Game amidst a career year the following season.
During his age-30 campaign, Blackmon raked at a .331/.399/.601 clip while leading the majors with 725 plate appearances. He drilled 37 home runs, 35 doubles and an MLB-best 14 triples. Blackmon won the NL batting title while leading the majors with 213 hits and 137 runs scored. That’s incredible production even at Coors Field and deservedly earned him his second straight Silver Slugger award. Blackmon finished fifth in NL MVP balloting and helped the Rox to their first playoff berth in eight years.
Colorado was bounced by the Diamondbacks in the NL Wild Card game. They’d return to the postseason the following year, with Blackmon again playing a central role. He hit .291/.358/.502 with 29 homers and an NL-leading 119 runs. The Rox knocked off the Cubs in the Wild Card contest that time around, though they were swept by the Brewers in the Division Series (in which Blackmon went 1-12).
Early in that 2018 season, Blackmon and the Rockies agreed to a $94MM extension. The deal paid him $21MM annually in 2019-21 and came with player options covering the 2022 and ’23 campaigns. That locked Blackmon up through his 30s and more or less ensured he’d spend his entire career in Denver.
Blackmon had one more excellent season, connecting on 32 homers while hitting .314 to earn another All-Star nod. Yet the team dropped to 71-91 in 2019. They went 26-34 during the shortened schedule while Nolan Arenado’s relationship with the front office deteriorated. Colorado traded Arenado the following winter and have essentially been mired in a rebuild ever since — even though the front office has been reluctant to acknowledge it as such.
That has coincided with Blackmon’s decline as he’s gotten into his mid-30s. He continued to hit for solid averages until this season and remained one of the tougher players in MLB to strike out. Blackmon hasn’t hit for the same kind of power he did during his 2016-19 peak, though, and he had to move off center field at the end of the 2018 season. Blackmon has spent more time at designated hitter than in right field for the past three years.
Despite the drop in production, Blackmon’s status within the organization hasn’t wavered. The Rockies re-signed him last September on a $13MM deal for what’ll be his final season. Blackmon has unlocked another $1.5MM in incentives and could secure $500K more if he logs 25 plate appearances over the last week.
The 38-year-old announced his retirement with a career .292/.352/.479 slash to his name. He has played in more than 1600 games and tallied over 6800 plate appearances. Blackmon is three hits shy of 1800 and has 991 runs scored, 797 driven in, and 226 home runs. Both Baseball Reference and FanGraphs credited him with roughly 20 wins above replacement. It’s fair to wonder if that’s artificially driven down somewhat by his home park, as Blackmon never graded well by public defensive metrics with so much ground to cover in MLB’s largest outfield.
Blackmon has six more games to add to those totals. Whatever the precise numbers, he’ll walk away as one of the best players in franchise history. He’s second behind Hall of Famer Todd Helton in hits, runs scored and plate appearances with the Rockies. Blackmon is sixth in Colorado history in home runs and would tie longtime teammate Carlos González for fifth if he connects on one this week. He’s seventh among position players in franchise history by measure of Baseball Reference WAR.
The Rockies finish the season with a pair of home series. They’ll host the Cardinals for three before wrapping things with a weekend set against the Dodgers. That’ll afford the Colorado fanbase an opportunity for a proper farewell. MLBTR congratulates Blackmon on an excellent run and wishes him the best in retirement.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Gmen777
Dude always killed the Giants back when it was him and Arenado. Good luck with the next chapter Charlie!
seamaholic 2
Great guy, very good player (in his brief prime, great).
dmp13
He is a certified Padre killer. I wish him well in his retirement.
DonOsbourne
All around class act. Congratulations on a solid career. Enjoy your retirement.
Saint Nick
Solid career. Congrats to him and good luck post-baseball.
Monkey’s Uncle
The rare player who has a long, sustained and quality career with only one franchise, and also you never hear or read anything but good things about. Congrats on a fine run and enjoy retirement.
statman
He’s basically an average player … .250 average outside Coors with moderate power. Nothing special. Coors field inflated his whole career.
showmebb
BA is all you have? Do you have any important stats to prove your point?
The_M4N
Well, luckily for him, he played half of his games there. Psst!
Giants78
So then he must’ve averaged .334 at home for 14 years.
Datashark
Too bad he didn’t tell them to move the stadium to be similar to other fields – wasted opportunity he could have mitigated your outburst about coors field
gbs42
statman not citing any stats of consequence and being far too dismissive of a really good player.
Canuckleball
He could have done a better job with stats, but his point was entirely valid.
For his career:
Home vs Road
BA
.329 / ..256 (73 point difference)
HR
133 / 93
SLG
.550 / .407 (almost 150 point difference)
OPS
.939 / .722 (over 200 point difference)
If he had played his whole career for any other team, he would have retired with little fanfare as a roughly league average player.
HalosHeavenJJ
The last line ignores the Coors Field hangover effect.
Had he gotten away long enough, he’d almost certainly have adjusted and his home/road splits her far less severe and average out.
Hitters simply can’t adjust to the significant difference in break over night or over a few games.
Canuckleball
The hangover works both ways. It takes a game or two after a road trip to adjust back to the floating Coors pitches again. Hitters often swing under pitches the first game or two at Coors.
It’s a moot point. No effect on the final outcome.
DashaToushu
Surprisingly, to me at least, he’s been slightly below average for his career away from Coors.
His career away wRC+ is 94
Of course besides being “helped” by Coors Field, Rockies hitters are hurt when they play away from Coors. This is likely due to increased movement on pitches away from altitude
People said the same things about Nolan Arenado. He has performed just fine after leaving Coors.
avenger65
Hitting .292 with a .479 slugging % while factoring in 81 games a year away from Coors Field is pretty impressive.
bpskelly
Your correct. Almost all ex-rockies talk about this.
Going from the easiest place to hit, to some of the hardest — LA, SD, SF — absolutely does the Rockies hitters in.
The humidors around the league help that to some degree, but people forget he started before that stuff started too.
It’s why im glad Larry Walker and Todd Helton got in to the HOF. Blackmon isn’t an HOF, but he was a good player for a long time, and a great player for 5-6.
DoodooBean Redux
Arenado’s OPS is like 100 points lower since leaving the Rockies. And his 2022 season is doing the heavy lifting in making the difference much less pronounced.
gbs42
Doodoo,
How can you cite raw OPS when discussing a player going from the best ballpark for hitters to a tough hitters park?
Arenado’s COL OPS+: 121
Arenado’s STL OOS+: 119
Also, he was in his 20s in COL, started playing for STL when he turned 30.
DoodooBean Redux
Because I wanted to.
And with OPS+ 21% better than league average during a time when offense was higher is more impressive than 19% better than league average when offense is much lower.
Also him playing his 22-24 years against older competition offset him being 30-33 (prime years btw) now, so age means nothing here. Will I back this assertion up with a link? No I won’t it’s universally understood.
gbs42
The difference between 21% vs. 19% is mostly noise. And again, age.
DoodooBean Redux
It’s not noise. The offensive environments are different. Great hitters maintain some consistency. They don’t play down to the rest of the league. 21% better earlier in his career is much more impressive than 19% better now.
And he’s not old. He’s been within the “prime” window his whole time with the cards
gbs42
How is 21% better than average “much more impressive” than 19%? It’s very consistent.
OPS+ accounts for ballpark and offensive environments.
DoodooBean Redux
Does it account for league year over year offensive production? No. 21% better when its more offensively favorable is better than 19% when it’s less. Hence the “playing down” comment.
gbs42
Actually, it does account for year-over-year offensive production changes. That’s part of what the + means. For example, a .300/.400/.500 line in COL in 2024 would be much more impressive than the same line in 2004 because offense is so much lower these days.
3 finger split
Sorry but average players don’t have that kind of career and the fact that he did it all for one team says alot about him. Instead of trying to find the negative about him maybe just acknowledge he did it the right way
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
Ofc it comes from someone named statman, can you appreciate his long career and what he has done for Colorado or did he steal your girlfriend?
SteveFinleyEnthusiast
The bad man can’t hurt us anymore!
But seriously, he had a hell of a career. Congrats to him, and best wishes in retirement.
Gwynning
Feel like he legit hit .650 career on the Pads, dude always made me sweat. On to the Rox Rushmore with Larry and Todd, cheers Charlie
SteveFinleyEnthusiast
Per StatMuse:
.301, 221 Hits, 35 HR, 104 RBI, 124 runs scored in 192 games vs. the Friars.
Insane. I feel like I saw him mash a HR or get a huge hit every time I saw him play in person.
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
Rox Rushmore Larry Todd Charlie Nolan with car-go and dj lemahieu and Matt Holliday as a small plaque next to it
hiflew
Nolan will NEVER be on the Rockies Rushmore. NEVER. Hell, I’d rather they put Tulo on it than him.
Helton, Chuck, Walker, and the 4th should be a pitcher. I choose Brian Fuentes. He was a 3 time All Star for the Rox and the est closer in team history.
Rishi
Blackbeard…I mean Blackmon was a really fun player to watch. Sure, Coors made him a bit more fun (especially in fantasy baseball) but Ol’ Charlie’s a good dude and had an electrifying skill set in his prime. From my neck of the woods too. Congrats on a great career!
Smelly_Cobb
thank god, Padres fans can breathe a sigh of relief
letsholdemandgohome
If you were to meet Charlie Blackmon and Brandon Marsh on the street, you would never guess they were professional baseball players and multi millionaires.
He was a Cardinal killer along with all the other teams mentioned by other commentors. Happy retirement!
mlb1225
He had some very good seasons in the mid-late 2010s. Fell 13 bases shy of 400 in 2017. Hope he enjoys retirement.
Datashark
At least he got to experience two winning seasons. Gutsy player, just on a consistent bottom feeder team in a tough division. He leaves on his own terms – true professional
James Midway
A career to be proud of. Good luck on what’s next.
hiflew
I am really hoping he has a great final week and can score 9 runs. Unlikely, but it would give him 1000 for his career. Luckily, he only need 3 hits for 1800 ans that should happen.
Chuck is also the active career leader in triples with 67. Sam Crawford is the all time leader with 309. That is THE record that will never be broken. Since Charlie is retiring and so is #2 on the list Kevin Kiermaier, that will make Starling Marte the active triples leader at 55 with Mike Trout one behind. Crawford’s record will never be threatened.
Gwynning
He’s seeing the ball well right now, he’s going out hot and proper! What’s got you excited for the ’25 Rox, hiflew?
hiflew
The way the Rockies have played down the stretch and especially against good teams, I think they have a shot to be a Wild Card contender as early as next season with just a couple of good offseason moves and getting the pitching staff healthy again. I could see a +25 win season if they could just figure out how to play as well against bad teams as they do against good ones.
My offseason wishlist:
1) Trade at least 1-2 outfielders for help elsewhere. The Rockies are stocked with young outfielders and need to thin the herd. Even with Blackmon’s retirement.
2) Trade Kris Bryant for another bad deal or bad deals. Bryant will never fit in with Colorado. It would be tough to move him, but I’d rather have an overpaid pitcher than an overpaid hitter with warning track power.
3) Hope that the young bullpen is not just a fluke and can maintain for an entire season. I’m sure 1-2 will end up being flukey, but I hope we can get a couple of multi-year gems out of there too.
4) Make a choice between Hunter Goodman and Drew Romo at catcher and re-sign Jacob Stallings as the veteran co-starter. Trade the other one for a younger prospect or a pitcher. I hope they keep Goodman and trade Romo while he still has prospect shine.
5) PLEASE everyone stay healthy. The Rockies have a lot of talent, but not much depth. THAT is the difference between big markets and mid markets. The Dodgers can lose 7 starting pitchers and still win 95+ games. The Rockies and other mid market teams are looking at 100 loss seasons with half as many injuries.
AHH-Rox
You’re right about that triples record. I was quickly trying to find the last player to get as many as 100, and I think it was Jimmy Rollins. Last one to 150 appears to have been Clemente.
Probably one factor is that outfielders have gotten better at playing caroms and getting the ball back in.
hiflew
Yeah I looked it up one time. The only two players since WWII to even get 150 triples were Clemente and Stan Musial. To have the career of those two and still only get halfway to Crawford just says something about Wahoo Sam and it also says a lot about the parks they played in back then with the 450 foot CF fences
iron
Elly De La Cruz may get to the 150-200 3b range?
Corbin Carroll and Bobby Witt and as well.
hiflew
Assuming they keep the same speed throughout their career, maybe. But as I said, only 2 players (Musial, Clemente) have topped 150 since World War 2. Elly, Carroll, and Witt are all great talent, but there have been many other players just like them over the past 75 years that started out great and faded as they approached 30. Willie Wilson was an absolute beast with hitting triples and hit at least 7 for 11 consecutive seasons and still finished his career with “only” 147. Those three you mentioned have a LONG way to go before they are even in the discussion of 150 triples.
avenger65
hiflew: I agree that Crawford’s record will likely stand forever, but I would say the one record that will never be broken is Cy Young’s 511 wins.
hiflew
I 100% agree that Cy Young’s record will likely stand forever as well. Rickey Henderson’s steals record, Pete Rose’s hits record, Cal Ripken’s consecutive games played, Joe Dimaggio’s hitting streak, and Nolan Ryan;s strikeouts likely will as well.
But then again, there was a time when Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played record was considered unbreakable also. So who knows?
avenger65
hiflew: I agree that Crawford’s record won’t be broken, but the other one that will never fall is Cy Young’s 511 wins.
warnbeeb
Is that “Wahoo” Sam Crawford? I think he played in a lot of stadiums with 500 ft. fences in one direction or another. Yes, the record will never be broken. Smaller parks and better outfielders these days.
hiflew
Yep it is exactly him. When I graduated college, I considered writing a biography of Sam Crawford, but it was just one of those dreams left unfulfilled. He had an interesting life and career and I hate the idea that a lot of those early 20th century players are soon to e all but forgotten by the masses.
Informed Sportsball Discussion
Dude terrorized Padre pitching. If there is a Padre Killers club, he is its current President.
Tip of the cap. A great career.
TigersLoveCinnamon
Great career, but glad he’s retiring. It seemed like this dude always found a way to get a clutch hit against the giants. He was borderline great at times, and coors helped, but he was great despite it
vincent k. mcmahon
Going to miss having him in MLB The Show for the next few years. Enjoy your retirement Chuck.
YankeesBleacherCreature
Happy retirement, Charlie! Rockies need to create a team HOF for him and a few others. Doesn’t mean they have to retire his number.
hiflew
His number WILL be retired. There is absolutely no doubt. I don’t there is another player that has been or is currently on the Rockies that will receive that honor though. I guess one of the young guys COULD grow into it, but I see Chuck as the third and FINAL retired number for the Rocks for at least 20 years. I mean they only have two retired numbers (I am not counting Jackie;s 42) for the team, so it’s not like they are just retiring anyone and everyone’s number. cough cough Yankees.
yamsi1912
Enjoy your retirement Charlie, very well deserved.
See you in Cooperstown!
LATrolleyDodger
Sorry but no way he’s inducted into the HOF
cooperhill
Not even remotely close.
Canuckleball
Is the next stage of his professional life to become an usher at Cooperstown?
Informed Sportsball Discussion
If every year of Blackmon’s career was like his 2016 and 2017, that would be true.
4.6 and 5.4 WAR, respectively.
He’ll finish with 20.4 WAR.
Not everyone can be a Hall of Famer, but that doesn’t mean Blackmon did not have a great career.
This one belongs to the Reds
Not every voter cares about WAR either, but that is beside the point.
Too many stat boys chalk a guy’s career up to whether he is a hall of famer or not. 99+ percent are not, but that doesn’t mean their career wasn’t relevant to a whole lot of people.
He made it to the bigs and stayed a long while. A lot of people can’t say that much.
hiflew
I am the biggest Chuck fan in the world and I will admit that the thought of him Cooperstown is just silly. He will get on the ballot and I really hope he gets a handful of votes, but he has no chance of getting in. But he will get his number retired by the Rocks and should because he is the second best Rockies player of all time. He wasn’t a better player than Larry Walker, but if you just consider their Colorado numbers, he was.
cooperhill
We still wonder what all lives in that beard!
flyinhawaiian
I read a lot of these stories on this site and most are relevant and articulate. Very rarely do I read the comments because most are condescending and/or illiterate. I do, howe ver, read comments on players that announce their retirement. This particular one I wanted to read because Charlie Blackmon is one of the classiest players you’ll read about or meet. I’ve met him twice. Class act! I’m not a Rockies fan but I respect those who respect people and the game. He does both! Congrats on your career Chuck Nazty and in retirement!
4thefences
#19 will be retired and his number hung with Helton and Walker. Blackmon will always be a crowd favorite and we appreciate his career being in Colorado. Thank you Charlie for your dedication to the game, team and the fans.
MrMet62
I always enjoyed watching you play sir! Best wishes in the next chapter of your life!
CO Guardening
14yr career in Denver and only saw 5 playoff games. What a shame. Should be a lock for the Ring of Fame or whatever the Rockies do.
377194
Thanks for the great times Charlie. Enjoy your retirement.
This one belongs to the Reds
Congrats to Charlie on his retirement. One of the long time characters of the game and stayed in Colorado.
HalosHeavenJJ
Really good player. Really good career.
Happy trails to (by all accounts) a great guy.