Derek Jeter says the 2014 baseball season will be his last

NEW YORK, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter announced on Wednesday that he will retire from Major League Baseball after the 2014 season in a lengthy letter he posted to his Facebook page.

Injuries limited Jeter to just 17 games last year and there was even some speculation that he might retire prior to this season.

"So it was really months ago when I realized that this season would likely be my last," Jeter wrote in the letter.

"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 percent sure. And the thing is, I could not be more sure. I know it in my heart. The 2014 season will be my last year playing professional baseball."

Jeter’s agent, Casey Close, confirmed to the New York Daily News that the post was not a hoax and that it did come from Jeter. His client is a 13-time All-Star with a .312 career batting average.

“Last year was a tough one for me,” Jeter wrote as part of the post. “As I suffered through a bunch of injuries, I realized that some of the things that always came easily to me and were always fun had started to become a struggle. The one thing I always said to myself was that when baseball started to feel more like a job, it would be time to move forward.” Jeter will turn 40 in June. He has been the starting shortstop for the team since 1996 and was made team captain during the 2003 season. The future Hall of Famer is sitting at 3,316 career hits, 119 hits away from sixth-place on the all-time list.

[Derek Jeter] [New York Daily News]