Kevin Pillar officially retires following 13 major league seasons

Most of Pillar’s career, of course, was spent with the Toronto Blue Jays, whom he played for from 2013-19 before being traded to the San Francisco Giants. In 695 games, the right-handed-hitting outfielder blasted 55 home runs and drove in 231 runs while slashing .260/.297/.396.

The West Hills, Calif., native made his mark on the franchise with his defence. He made countless highlight-reel diving catches and even robbed a few home runs by climbing up outfield walls, earning his infamous “Superman” nickname.

Following his departure in ’19, Pillar bounced around between several clubs, splitting time with the Giants, Red Sox, Rockies, Mets, Dodgers, Braves, White Sox, Angels and Rangers.

The former 32nd-round selection — who triumphantly earned his way up Toronto’s pipeline en route to emerging as the club’s full-time centre-fielder in 2015 — previously said he had planned to retire following the ’24 season. But after grinding through a thumb injury that ultimately required surgery in the off-season, he had time to reflect on his future and, after careful consideration, decided to return for this season.

Given how last season ended, Pillar thought he might regret not giving it one final go before hanging up his cleats. So, that’s precisely what he did.

Pillar signed a minor-league deal with Texas in February and made the big-league club out of spring training. But he couldn’t find much success at the plate, struggling to a .209/.209/.256 slash line with two extra-base hits, zero walks and eight strikeouts over 20 games. Those woes amounted to a miserable 24 wRC+ (100 league average) across 43 plate appearances.

The Rangers designated Pillar for assignment before releasing him on May 31, and he had remained unsigned since then. Rather than attempting to catch on with another club, most of his focus has been on being a father to his two children over the last month-plus.

“I realized that as great as it is to be successful in the game and to have these highs and to his these home runs, the things that — striking out, or not being successful, or going 0-for-your-last-10 — those things always outweighed the success I had in the game,” Pillar said.

“I took the failure I had in the game way harder than I enjoyed the success and I don’t have to deal with the failure anymore, so I’m pretty happy. I wake up every morning just excited to be dad. And just see what the day brings.”

Now enjoying his post-playing career, Pillar plans to return to the baseball industry in August — but as a part-time, in-studio analyst for Sportsnet. He worked in that role during last season’s World Series.