Los Angeles Angels Roster News, Updates: Chone Figgins Plans to Retire with Team
The last time Chone Figgins saw himself out there in the field was in 2014, where he played one season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now he's making a return to Major League Baseball, not to play, but to announce his retirement.
According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, the former All-Star is set to sign a one-day contract with the Los Angeles Angels in order to make his retirement official. It is a fitting decision to come back to a team where he played for eight of his 12 seasons as a pro.
The 38-year old finished his time with the Angels hitting a career average of .291, but he made an indelible mark as the team's all-time leader in stolen bases with 280. The highlight of his stint with the ream was way back in 2002 when he became part of the World Series winning squad as a rookie.
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Figgins is a fourth-round draft pick of the Colorado Rockies in the 1997 Major League Baseball Draft, but he didn't play for them after getting traded to the Angels for Kimera Bartee. After eight seasons with the Angels, he signed a four-year contract to play for the Seattle Mariners, but he no longer was the same player, contribution wise, in his new team.
Per report from the Orange County Register, Figgins previously expressed his desire to retire with the Angels. "From Day One, once I finally got a call to the big leagues, I thought, regardless of where my career goes after this, I would always want to retire as an Angel because that's who gave me my first shot," he said.
Although Figgins needed three years to become a regular for the Angels, he eventually transformed himself into one of the most loved players for the franchise. In 2007, he produced a team record of 53 hits and an MLB record of six hits in a nine-inning game. He did it in June of that year.
