Fansided

Francisco Liriano announces retirement after two-decade career in MLB

By Robert Murray

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - July 9: Francisco Liriano #47 of the Minnesota Twins pitches to the New York Yankees on July 9, 2009 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Yankees won 6-4. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - July 9: Francisco Liriano #47 of the Minnesota Twins pitches to the New York Yankees on July 9, 2009 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Yankees won 6-4. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/Getty Images) /
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After a Major League career that spanned over twenty years with seven ballclubs and included an All-Star appearance and World Series ring, Francisco Liriano is hanging up his glove. 

Free-agent pitcher Francisco Liriano is retiring after 21 seasons in Major League Baseball, agent Mike Maulini tells FanSided.

Liriano pitched in the Major Leagues for over two decades, making his debut back in 2005 with the Minnesota Twins. He followed his September callup with a brief but masterful 2006 campaign that saw him pitching as the Robin to Johan Santana’s Cy Young-winning Batman on the Twins staff. He posted a 12-3 record but his incredible year succumbed to Tommy John surgery at end of the season, which kept Liriano away from the Twins until the 2008 season.

He struggled to regain the potential he showed in his earlier starts with the Twins, but Liriano bounced back in a big way during the 2010 season. That year he pitched so well that he entered the Cy Young conversation and became the seventh pitcher in Twins history — and the fifth since the team moved to Minnesota — to throw a no-hitter, doing it against the rival Chicago White Sox.

After being traded by the Twins in 2012, Liriano bounced between six other teams that included the White Sox, Blue Jays, Pirates, Tigers, and Phillies. His best landing was in 2017 when he joined the Houston Astros and won a World Series.

Francisco Liriano retires: Ex-MLB star releases statement on his career

Liriano passed along the following statement:

"I have spent some time recently reflecting on my career and thinking about my future. After many discussions with my family, friends, and others who care about me, I have decided to retire from professional baseball after a 20-year career.I want to thank all the coaches and fans in both the US and the Dominican Republic who have supported me on my baseball journey.I also want to thank my wife and kids for all their love.   I’m going to miss playing, but I will stay close to the game as I work with my kids on their own baseball journey.Hopefully, there will be another Liri in MLB soon (no pressure)!"

Liriano retires from baseball having averaged better than one strikeout per inning through the end of the 2019 season, and leaving fans across the league with different special memories of his time with their team.

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