Anthony Rizzo prepares to hug Kris Bryant after the Cubs defeated Cleveland to win the 2016 World Series, the team’s first World Series win in 108 years. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
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Anthony Rizzo, most recently the first baseman for the New York Yankees, announced his retirement on Wednesday, which Major League Baseball reported via social media.
Rizzo, who was a key cog in the 2016 billy-goat-curse-breaking Chicago Cubs World Series title, who caught the final out of Game 7 of that World Series, will retire as a member of the Cubs. He will be at Wrigley Field on Saturday for him and the team to celebrate his career.
Draft & Early Days
The Boston Red Sox selected Rizzo in the sixth round of the 2007 MLB draft out of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which became famous a decade later when seventeen people died and eighteen others were injured as the result of a mass shooting. Rizzo immediately left spring training to be on site to provide support and inspiration to those affected by the tragedy.
In 2010, former Red Sox executive Jed Hoyer, who was then general manager of the San Diego Padres, traded Adrián González to Boston to get Rizzo, pitcher Casey Kelly, and outfielders Reymond Fuentes and Eric Patterson. Rizzo made his MLB debut a year later, on June 11, 2011, against the Washington Nationals, getting his first big league hit. He would go on to collect 1,643 more.
Chicago Cubs
Later that year, Hoyer moved to Chicago, and for the second time, he went about trading for Rizzo, sending pitcher Andrew Cashner and outfielder Kyung-Min Na to San Diego in return for the first baseman and pitcher Zach Cates.
In his first season on the North Side, Rizzo slashed .285/.342/.463 in 87 games. In 2014, Rizzo really hit his stride, starting a run of six seasons where he had an OPS+ between 124 and 152, made three All-Star teams, was top-10 in MVP voting three times, and won four Gold Gloves.
Smack in the middle of that period was the magical 2016 season. Rizzo played in 155 games, slugged 32 home runs, drove in 109, won the Gold Glove and the Platinum Glove. But those stats and honors only addressed what Rizzo did on the field. That year he also was one of six finalists for the Marvin Miller Many of the Year Award (which is given to a player with “outstanding on-field performance and off-field contributions to his community”), was the Cubs’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award (a player that “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement, and the individual’s contribution to his team”), and was Chicago’s nominee for the Heart & Hustle Award (for a “player who demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embodies the values, spirit, and traditions of the game”).
Rizzo had a rough Division Series against the San Francisco Giants, getting only one hit in 15 at-bats. But in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he slashed .320/.370/.640, with two homers and 5 RBI in the team’s six-game series win. He did even better in the seven-game classic between a club that had not won a World Series in 108 years (Cubs) and one that had not won one in 68 years (then-Indians). He slashed .360/.484/.600 and played impeccable defense. So, it was only fitting that Rizzo caught Kris Bryant’s throw from third in the bottom of the tenth inning to record the final out of the 2016 Fall Classic.
New York Yankees
At the trade deadline in 2021, the Cubs shipped Rizzo to the Yankees, and he came out slugging, going 4-for-5 with two dingers in his first two games. At the end of the season, he signed a two-year, $32 million contract to stay in New York, which deal ultimately was extended through the 2024 season.
In 2023, a freak collision on a pickoff play, when Fernando Tatís Jr.’s hip smacked into Rizzo’s head, caused what was initially identified to be a neck injury, but later determined to be a concussion. Rizzo played through the injury – poorly – until he was properly diagnosed, at which point he was shut down for the season, missing August and September.
In 2024, a collision with Red Sox pitcher Brennan Bernardino broke Rizzo’s arm, forcing him to miss 63 games. Rizzo came back, played relatively well, and played first base for the Yankees in every game of the ALCS and World Series. His performance was pretty below par (.267/.421/.300, with one extra base hit, no homers, and no RBI).
When the season – and his contract – ended, Rizzo found himself out of work. Refusing to settle for a contract below what he viewed to be his market value, the 2025 season flitted away without him playing baseball. According to Spotrac, Rizzo earned more than $135 million in his career. He didn’t need another contract; and was willing to hang ‘em up rather than go against his principles.
Cancer and Charity
Rizzo’s story cannot be told without referencing his greatest victory. A year after he was drafted, the teenager was diagnosed with Limited Stage Classical Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The Red Sox, with the unfortunate experience of having gone through something similar with Jon Lester two years earlier, supported their young player, making sure he got the best available care at Massachusetts General Hospital. Rizzo underwent chemotherapy treatment for six months, after which he went into remission, and his doctor informed him that he “could live a normal life.” That normal life included creating the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation in 2012, with the goal of benefiting cancer research and families affected by the disease. Over the years, his charity has held countless events (including an annual cook-off, an annual laugh-off, and an annual walk-off) to raise money for the charity and its primary causes. In addition, Rizzo has raised money for – and donated directly to – his former high school to help victims of the mass shooting and their families, as well as to provide lights for the school’s baseball and softball fields.
Retirement
Early in Rizzo’s career, a guest on the Bill Simmons podcast remarked that he would never bounce his grandkid on his knee, regaling them with stories about Anthony Rizzo. After 14 seasons, countless awards, even more amazing moments, a genuine love of the game, and a respect born of on-field excellence and off-field beneficence, you could do much worse than regaling your progeny about the life and career of Anthony Rizzo.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danfreedman/2025/09/10/anthony-rizzo-announces-his-retirement-from-baseball-after-14-seasons/
