Elvis Andrus signed a ceremonial one-day contract on Friday to officially retire with the Texas Rangers, the team where he spent the first 12 of his 15 major league seasons.
Andrus began his big-league career as a 20-year-old shortstop in 2009 and was a key player when the Rangers reached the World Series in 2010 and 2011. He was also part of the AL West-winning teams in 2015 and 2016.
“Today is a day of joy in my life,” said Andrus, who turned 36 last month. “I think this is perfect.”
The two-time All-Star was joined by longtime teammate Michael Young and Ron Washington, who managed him during his first six seasons with the Rangers.
Washington is now the manager of the Los Angeles Angels, who are playing the Rangers this weekend.
“This is the place where he made his greatest impact, where the community loves him, our fan base loves him,” said Young, now a special assistant to Rangers general manager Chris Young.
Andrus’ oldest child, 7-year-old Elvis Jr., threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Young.
“He could handle a bat and could handle the glove and he could run the bases,” Washington said. “Very, very special player.”
Andrus recorded 2,091 hits, a .269 batting average, 102 home runs, 775 RBIs, and 347 stolen bases in 2,059 career games with Texas (2009-2020), the Oakland Athletics (2021-2022), and the Chicago White Sox (2022-2023).
He went to spring training this year with the Arizona Diamondbacks on a minor league contract but was released before the season started.
Texas acquired Andrus from Atlanta in July 2007 in a trade that sent Mark Teixeira to the Braves.
Andrus is the Rangers’ career leader with 305 stolen bases and ranks second in games (1,652), at-bats (6,366), and triples (48). He is third in runs (893) and hits (1,743).
