Former New York Yankees’ outfielder Cameron Maybin announced his retirement this week, via Twitter. The 34-year-old speedster didn’t quite have the star-level career many forecasted in his early days as a prospect, but he was a solid contributor for years.
He thanked the fans, his family, his wife Courtney, and each and every one of the ten MLB franchises he played with, including the Yankees, in a heartfelt note published in his official Twitter account.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. pic.twitter.com/oSSX5WZ83F
— Cameron Maybin (@CameronMaybin) January 3, 2022
Maybin made his major league debut in 2007 with the Detroit Tigers, but moved to Florida the next season after he was involved in the Miguel Cabrera trade. In Miami, he received a lot of playing time but wasn’t quite a regular.
That opportunity, for him, came with the San Diego Padres in 2011. That year, he had a career-high 4.3 WAR and stole 40 bases while playing solid defense.
From that point on, he spent time with the Atlanta Braves, the Tigers again, the Houston Astros, the Los Angeles Angels, the Miami Marlins, and the Seattle Mariners before landing in New York to play for the Yankees in 2019.
He had his best year with the Yankees
With the Yankees, Maybin had his finest offensive season, with a 128 wRC+ (his offensive production was 28 percent better than the average), a rock-solid .285/.364/.494 line, 11 home runs, and nine stolen bases in 82 games and 269 plate appearances.
Many fans thought the Yankees would retain his services for the 2020 campaign, but that wasn’t the case and he ended up dividing his playing time with Detroit and the Chicago Cubs. He played for the New York Mets in 2021, his final season as a pro.
Yankees’ fans have fond memories of Maybin and remember him as a fantastic teammate, above all, and a fine baseball player. He retires with a .254/.323/.374 batting line, 72 home runs and 187 stolen bases across 15 seasons.