At the end of a long, solid career in the Major Leagues that stretched for 15 seasons, Jason Kendall officially announced his retirement today after recently signing a minor-league deal with the Kansas City Royals. It's a bit surprising since he played the bulk of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, it's a possibility that Kendall has an agreement with the Royals franchise to work with the team in some official capacity away from the field.
Jason Kendall just announced his retirement to the media at Arvest Ballpark.
— NW Arkansas Naturals (@NW_Ark_Naturals) July 24, 2012
Kendall held a press conference this afternoon to announce the shift, and it will be interesting to see what his role will be, if any. If Kendall does not continue to work for the Royals in some capacity, then the move to sign with the team and then retire will be notable considering he played with the team for one season -- his last in the Majors in 2010.
Kendall caught over 2,000 games in his ML career over the course of 15 seasons after being a first round pick for the Pirates in '92. He finishes his career as a .288 hitter with 75 home runs, 744 RBI, 189 stolen bases and 1,030 runs scored.