Alex Rodriguez said on Wednesday he plans to retire from baseball after the 2017 season, when his $275 million, 10-year contract with the Yankees expires.
The 40-year-old slugger, fourth on the career home run list with 687, revealed his intentions during an interview with ESPN.
‘‘I won’t play after next year,’’ the three-time AL MVP was quoted as saying by ESPN. ‘‘I've really enjoyed my time. For me, it is time for me to go home and be Dad.’’
Rodriguez is 75 homers shy of matching Barry Bonds’s career record and likely would be unable to reach it unless he plays into 2018.
‘‘He’s going to be 42 at the end of his contract. You don’t see players playing really past that age. I’m not surprised,’’ Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
But Girardi said this may not be Rodriguez’s final decision.
‘‘With his love of playing the game and competing, if he had two really good years, I wouldn’t be surprised if he changed his mind,’’ said Girardi.
Garagiola dead
Joe Garagiola, who turned a modest major league catching career into a 57-year run as a popular broadcaster in the sports world and beyond, died at the age of 90 after being in ill health in recent years.
Garagiola hit .257 during nine years in the majors. His highlight came early, getting a four-hit game in the 1946 World Series and helping the hometown Cardinals win the title as a 20-year-old rookie.
But it was after he stopped playing that his fortunes took off. He thrived as a glib baseball broadcaster and fixture on the ‘‘Today’’ show, leading to a nearly 30-year association with NBC.
Garagiola won baseball’s Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting in 1991. He kept working well into his 80s. Obituary, B7.
Tulowitzki hit on hand
Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki left in the fourth inning of Toronto’s 3-1 win over the Mets after being hit on the right hand by a pitch from Bartolo Colon. X-rays were negative and Tulowitzki is day to day with bruised knuckles . . . Marcus Stroman will start for the Blue Jays in their opener at Tampa Bay April 3 . . . Cole Hamels was picked to start on Opening Day for the defending AL West champion Rangers., April 4 against the Mariners . . . Veteran righthander Jeremy Hellickson will be the starting pitcher for the Phillies in their season opener at Cincinnati April 4.
