On Wednesday morning, Eric Hosmer — four-time Gold Glove Award winner, 2016 MLB All-Star game MVP, and 2015 World Series champion — announced his retirement from the MLB.
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Hosmer made news of his retirement known with an Instagram post, which also announced the creation of MoonBall Media, Hosmer's own media company that will also host his new 'The Diggin' Deep' Podcast.
Per his Instagram post, Hosmer wrote, "The playing days are unfortunately over but I'm committed to giving back to the baseball community that helped shaped my life. MoonBall Media will be the driving force behind authentic sports storytelling, built by baseball. Today, we're officially live!
"I've teamed up with one of my oldest teammates and friends, @anthony_seratelli to bring untold sports stories to life, leveraging his longstanding expertise making content for some of the biggest brands in the game. Now, with MoonBall Media, we're calling the shots."
Despite Hosmer only being 34 years old, his retirement isn't too much of a surprise. He was designated for assignment by the Chicago Cubs last May, and remained a free agent throughout the 2023 MLB season.
Across his 13-season MLB career with the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, and Cubs, Hosmer hit .276 with 198 home runs and 893 RBI. Yet, Hosmer was always best known for being an elite first baseman — which is proven by the four Gold Glove awards he earned throughout his career.
Hosmer won his lone World Series ring and all four Gold Gloves with the Royals, which was where he played from 2011-2017. While Hosmer signed an eight-year, $144 million contract with the San Diego Padres in 2018 — which was the largest contract in padres history at the time — he never managed to produce for San Diego like him and the team had hoped.
With Hosmer's playing career now behind him, we can look forward to seeing what baseball stories he'll decide to tell with MoonBall Media.
It sounds like the company's focus is currently on Hosmer's new podcast. Yet, perhaps we'll eventually see Hosmer delve into baseball documentaries.
If he does, telling the story of his 2015 Royals squad — who brought Kansas City its first World Series championship in 30 seasons — would be a great place to start.
