NEW YORK, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- New York Mets outfielder Shawn Green retired Thursday after 15 major league seasons.
Green likely would have played a part-time role again this season.
His decision to leave the game was not a surprise after his comments to the New York Times on Sept. 11, 2007 after the Mets lost to Atlanta 13-5.
"Every year, I come in expecting to get back to where I was, and it's been very frustrating that I haven't been able to do it. It's not like I live and die by this. When you reach a certain level, a bar gets set, and there are expectations and all that," he said.
In his career, the two-time all-star, a first-round draft pick by Toronto in 1991, batted .283 with 328 home runs and 1,070 RBI.
He hit 30 homers in a season four times while also playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona,
In the 1999 season with Toronto, Green hit .309 with 42 homers and 123 RBI.
