Rafael Furcal retires

Rafael Furcal announced his retirement from playing baseball in May 2015. The shortstop had 14 seasons MLB experience playing with the Atlanta Braves (2000-2005), Los Angeles Dodgers (2006-2011), St Louis Cardinals (2011-2012) and Miami Marlins (2014). He had signed a minor league contract with the Royals in 2015 and played briefly at Class A Advanced Wilmington and Double A Northwest Arkansas but could not overcome a hamstring injury. For his MLB career he hit .281/.346/.402 with 113 HR, 587 RBI, 1063 R, 314 SB in 1614 games. Furcal was the National League Rookie of the Year in 2000, was a World Series champion (2011) and three time All-Star (2003, 2010, 2012). He originally signed with the Braves in 1996 as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. Furcal was 37 at the time of his retirement.