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Daniel Murphy retires after 12 MLB seasons

Dustin Bradford / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Infielder Daniel Murphy has retired from playing Major League Baseball, he said Friday.

"This is a beautiful game, and I really just feel humbled and blessed that it let me jump on the ride for a little bit," the three-time All-Star told Andy Martino of SNY. "It's beautiful. It can teach you about so many things. And all I can say is, thank you."

Murphy, 35, played in 12 major-league seasons split between the New York Mets, Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs, and Colorado Rockies.

He put on a superhuman display for the Mets during the 2015 postseason where he hit seven home runs in nine games between the NLDS and NLCS. He hit a whopping .529/.556/1.294 against the Cubs to help propel the Mets to the World Series.

The 2015 campaign also brought him under scrutiny after he said he disagreed with MLB ambassador of inclusion Billy Bean's gay "lifestyle." The two eventually formed a friendship, and looking back, Murphy expressed appreciation that Bean engaged him in dialogue.

"Billy, in a situation that he could have elevated, he calmed in a very gracious manner," Murphy says. "From that, we got to have some conversations that we really enjoyed. That was probably my biggest takeaway, that two people with different views, we could come and have reasonable dialogue. That’s a good thing."

After that season, Murphy signed with the division-rival Nationals and put together two straight All-Star campaigns, hitting .334 with 48 home runs and 197 RBIs over 286 games. He also led the Senior Circuit in doubles in both seasons.

He spent the last two years of his career with the Rockies after inking a two-year, $24-million contract. The Rockies bought him out of his 2021 option in late October, which made him a free agent.

Murphy considers his career, in which he amassed 1,572 hits and batted .296 over 1,452 games, a success.

"Yes," Murphy told Martino. "Full stop, yes. The numbers are cool because it's a really hard league and I never thought I would get one hit, let alone 1,500."

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