(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Henk Seppen)
   Andrelton Simmons announces retirement as Major League-player
Nederlands
 CHICAGO, Illinois (USA) -
Andrelton Simmons has officially retired as a Major League-player.
His retirement was announced on Tuesday (December 26) via an Instagram-post by Chicago-based ISE Baseball, which represents Simmons.
...Andrelton Simmons with the...
...Netherlands Team during the...
...2023 World Baseball Classic...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
The Curaçao-born, 34-year old, short stop played in 11 Major League-seasons for four teams.
He last played in the Major League in July 2022 when he was with Chicago Cubs, before being released.
In the months following his release, he was not signed by another Major League-club.
However, in 2023, Simmons played in the World Baseball Classic for the Netherlands.
Also last year, Simmons played in Dubai.
After attending and playing for Western Oklahoma State College in Altus, Oklahoma (USA), Simmons was drafted by Atlanta Braves in 2010.
Simmons made his Major League-debut in 2012 and then appeared in 49 games for Atlanta.
Almost immediately, he was praised for his defensive skills.
Now his Major League-career has ended, Simmons is labeled as one of the best defensive short stops in history.
In his first full Major League-season in 2013, Simmons won his first of four Gold Gloves.
In that season, he also showed he had offensive power by hitting 17 homeruns and batting in 59 runs.
After his successful 2013 season, Andrelton Simmons signed a 7-year contract with Atlanta.
With a worth of 58 million Dollars, this then set a new record for players with less than two years of playing service in the Major League.
Simmons had two more solid seasons with Atlanta in 2014 and 2015, winning his second Gold Glove in 2014.
However, after the 2015 season (in November), he was traded by Atlanta to Los Angeles Angels together with catcher José Briceno for three players.
In 2017, Simmons won his third Gold Glove in what was one of his best seasons with his new club, as he batted .278 with 14 homeruns and 69 runs batted in.
Another strong season followed in 2018 when he finished with a .292 batting average and 75 RBI's.
His defense earned him his fourth Gold Glove.
His batting average dropped in the following two seasons (2019-2020), due to injuries to his left ankle.
After the 2020 season, his 7-year contract ended and Simmons was a Free Agent.
In January 2021, Simmons signed an one-year contract with Minnesota Twins.
He played in 131 games for Minnesota, hitting .223.
...Andrelton Simmons in action for the...
...Netherlands Team during the...
...2023 World Baseball Classic...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Being a Free Agent again after the 2021 season, Simmons signed with Chicago Cubs in March 2022.
In April and July 2022, he missed several games due to a shoulder-injury.
He appeared in only 35 games for Chicago and batted .173 with only one extra-basehit (a double).
On July 10, Simmons was 0-for-1 with a walk as second baseman for Chicago against Los Angeles Dodgers.
That was his final game, as he was place on the injured list thereafter.
After a rehab-assignment in Triple-A, Simmons returned on August 6.
However, on the same day, he was designated for assignment, then released the next day.
In eleven Major League-seasons, Andrelton Simmons played in 1,226 games and collected 1,169 basehits, including 70 homeruns.
He scored 501 runs and batted in 444 runs.
In February last year, Simmons played for WildCats KJ74, which represented Curaçao, in the Serie del CaribeWladimir Balentien, Roger Bernadina, Jair Jurrjens, Shairon Martis and Jonathan Schoop.
The next month, fifteen players on the WildCats-roster were named to the roster of the Netherlands Team for the World Baseball Classic, including Balentien, Bernadina, Martis, Schoop and Simmons.
For Simmons, this was his third Classic.
He also was with the Netherlands Team in the World Baseball Classic in 2013 and 2017.
In those two editions, the team reached the Semi-Final.
Last year, the participation ended in a big disappointment, as the Netherlands surprisingly was eliminated in the First Round.
Overall, in those three tournaments combined, Simmons played in 19 official international games for the Orange Team.
In October 2023, Simmons was drafted by Mumbai Cobras, a professional team from Mumbai (India), which will play in Baseball United.
This new professional league is based in the United Arab Emirates and is expected to have its inaugural season later this year.
In November last year, Simmons played in the two Baseball United Showcase Games that were played in Dubai.
Also playing in these games were Didi Gregorius and Jair Jurrjens, as were several other former Major Leaguers.
(December 29)
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