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After 14 seasons in the major leagues, Rafael Furcal is the latest to end his major league career.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rafael Furcal has announced his retirement. The three-time All-Star signed a minor league contract with the Royals in Spring Training.</p>— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/600735698103115776">May 19, 2015</a></blockquote>
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He made his MLB debut in 2000 for the Atlanta Braves, and immediately became their starting shortstop. Furcal occasionally played second, but spent 97 percent of his career at short. He quickly made his mark on the game, and captured Rookie of the Year honors. Furcal stole 40 bases that season, and hit .295 with a wRC+ of 107 and 3.3 fWAR.
He dislocated his shoulder the following year, but played in at least 138 games for the next six seasons. From 2008 and on however, Furcal was plagued by injury and eclipsed 120 games just twice.
Furcal played in nine different postseasons, and was a part of the 2011 World Series champion Cardinals. Unfortunately for the infielder, before the 2013 season got underway, he was diagnosed with a torn UCL and subsequently missed the entire year. After recovering from the surgery, Furcal joined the Marlins in 2014, but hit just .171/.216/.229 in 35 at-bats.
After signing two minor league contracts with the Royals in 2015, Furcal played in just seven games before ultimately deciding to retire. Despite a challenging end to a career, Furcal finishes with a slash line of .281/.346/.402 , a wRC+ of 99, and 33.1 fWAR. He was at one time integral to both the Braves and Dodgers organizations, and will undoubtedly be missed.