Soriano never lived up to the huge contract he signed with the Cubs prior to the 2007 season, but when he was at his peak, few players matched his combination of speed and power.
Alfonso Soriano announced his retirement from baseball in a radio interview with Hector Gomez of Z101 in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday.
The 38-year-old spent 16 seasons with the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs, hitting .270/.319/.500 with 412 home runs in more than 8,000 plate appearances. The Dominican native finished his career where it started -- in the Bronx -- and struggled through his worst offensive season since 2000 before being released in July.
"I've lost the love and passion to play the game," Soriano said during the radio interview (via the Associated Press). "Right now, my family is the most important thing."
Soriano began his big league career as an out-of-position second baseman whose bat was a fixture in the Yankees lineup. He was routinely below average in the field, but Soriano made up for his defensive deficiencies at the plate, hitting .287/.326/.506 with 95 home runs in his first three full seasons. The Yankees eventually flipped him to the Rangers in the deal that brought Alex Rodriguez to New York.
After spending two seasons in Texas, Soriano wound up with the Nationals, and it was in the nation's capital where he put up his best overall campaign. Soriano set single-season career highs in home runs (46), on-base percentage (.351) and OPS+ (135), and stole 41 bases to boot. In addition, Soriano, who was moved to the outfield that year, had easily his best defensive season, finishing 16 runs above average. He parlayed that performance, which came in the lone contract year of his career, into an eight-year, $136 million deal with the Cubs.
Though he never lived up to the money in Chicago, the Cubs did reach the postseason in each of Soriano's first two years with the team. Unfortunately for the Cubs, Soriano's defense took a huge step backward, and the seven-time All-Star began to regress offensively, as well. From 2009 through 2013, when he was dealt to the Yankees, Soriano hit just .253/.308/.477, down from the .283/.330/.520 line he managed in his first eight seasons in the majors. During that time, Soriano hit the ninth-most homers and stole the fourth-most bases of any player in the league, according to Baseball-Reference.
In short, Soriano was never much of a defender and getting on base wasn't his strong suit, but when he was at his peak, his combination of speed and power were virtually unmatched. And for that, Soriano will always have a special place in MLB history.