In a post on his Facebook fan page, Jeter, 39, said the 2013 season – in which he played just 17 games due to a broken ankle – " was a tough one for me," and that "some of the things that came easy to me became a struggle."
Jeter's announcement signals the end of what will be a 19-year career for a player impervious to scandal, even as he carried the highest profile in the game on its most scrutinized team.
"So really it was months ago when I realized that this season would likely be my last," Jeter wrote. "As I came to this conclusion and shared it with my friends and family, they all told me to hold off saying anything until I was absolutely 100% sure."
He enters his final season with 3,316 hits, 10th on the all-time list. He was the 1996 American League Rookie of the Year, a season in which the Yankees won the first of five World Series championships with him as their shortstop.
Jeter wrote: "I will remember it all: the cheers, the boos, every win, all the plane trips, the bus rides, the clubhouses, the walks through the tunnel and every drive to and from the Bronx."
Jeter's final game, barring a Yankees playoff appearance, will come on Sept. 28 at Fenway Park. His final game at Yankee Stadium will be Sept. 25, against the Baltimore Orioles.
"In the 21-plus years in which I have served as Commissioner, Major League Baseball has had no finer ambassador than Derek Jeter," Bud Selig said in a statement. "Since his championship rookie season of 1996, Derek has represented all the best of the National Pastime on and off the field. He is one of the most accomplished and memorable players of his – or any – era."
CREDIT / SOURCE - USA TODAY
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