Right-hander Aníbal Sanchez, an 11-game winner for the Washington Nationals when they won the 2019 World Series, is retiring after 16 years in the majors.
The 39-year-old Venezuelan posted a retirement message on Instagram on Tuesday after going unsigned the first six weeks of the season.
Sanchez went 116-119 with a 4.06 ERA in 364 appearances, 341 as a starter. He spent his first seven years with the Florida/Miami Marlins, going 44-45, then had a 46-49 record in six seasons with the Detroit Tigers. He was 19-19 with the Nationals.
His best season was 2013, when he won a career-best 14 games for Detroit and led the American League with a 2.57 ERA. He finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting that year.
Sanchez no-hit the Arizona Diamondbacks when he was with the Marlins on Sept. 6, 2006. He walked four and struck out six in that game.
He spent his final three seasons with Washington, missing 2021 because of a cervical nerve impingement and going nearly two years between victories. He didn’t pitch until July last year, finishing 4-6 with a 4.28 ERA in 14 starts.
The last of Sanchez’s five trips to the postseason ended with a championship. He won the opener of the National League championship series in 2019, allowing one hit in 7 2/3 scoreless innings in Washington’s 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Sanchez was the losing pitcher in Game 3 of the World Series, but Washington beat Houston in seven games. He also lost Game 3 with Detroit in the 2012 World Series, which the San Francisco Giants swept.
“During my career, I have met people who, like me, fought tirelessly to reach the big leagues, my teammates,” Sanchez wrote. “It is true that we are from different cultures and speak different languages, and it is in the humility of wanting to learn from each other where we become a team.”
Information from Reuters and the Associated Press was used in this story.
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Marlins, Tigers vet, Nats WS winner Anibal Sanchez retires
