The Los Angeles Dodgers honored one of their all-time greats before the series opener against the Houston Astros over the weekend, holding a retirement ceremony for outfielder Andre Ethier.
Ethier’s family and former teammates were hand for the ceremony that was hosted by actor Jason Bateman. The ceremony was to celebrate Ethier’s 12-year Major League career that was spent entirely in a Dodgers uniform.
Before the on-field ceremony, Ethier expressed his gratitude toward the Dodgers organization for dedicating a night to him, via Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times:
“It’s flattering, it’s humbling,” Ethier said. “For a guy who is just another player in the long line of great players to walk these hallways, to put on this uniform, it means a lot.”
The 36-year-old decided to hang up his cleats when no team gave him an offer that he wanted to take last offseason and throughout the course of this season. He believes that he is still able to play though, joking that if former teammate Joc Pederson can still get hits at the Major League level then so can he.
Ethier was certainly a fan favorite throughout his career with the Dodgers, coming up with an endless amount of big hits which earned him the nickname ‘Captain Clutch.’
The Dodgers made the postseason eight times in the 12 years that he was on the team, and he was named an All-Star twice in addition to winning a Gold Glove award and Silver Slugger.
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