CBS Sports announces that Ivan Rodriguez has decided to retire from baseball after a 21-year career. His decision was made public on Monday at the Rangers Ballpark in the presence of his family and numerous other press representatives. The baseball player reassured everyone that he will remain in baseball even though he won’t be active on the field.

The 14-time All-Star catcher was in Texas once again, but this time to announce his retirement. As expected, fans didn’t take the news very well, especially since Rodriguez spent most of his career playing on the Texan field.

The 41-year-old baseball player was not very happy to retire, either. He told reporters and people who were present at the news conference that it was very hard for him to take this decision. It was all the more difficult since Rodriguez had very good results throughout his career.

His wife and his three children stood next to him when the announcement was made. “Pudge” wanted to thank everyone for the support they have shown to him ever since he started playing basketball at the age of 5. He mentioned his parents and his brother in his speech and confessed that he wouldn’t have had such a wonderful career if it hadn’t been for the love they showed to him.

His career as a baseball player might have come to an end, but there are many other positions Rodriguez could fill in this field. In fact, he promised he will remain very active in baseball and he will continue to support players. Rangers’ president Nolan Ryan confirmed that the two have already had some discussions about the various jobs Rodriguez could do from now on in this area.

Ryan was still playing when the Puerto Rican catcher made his debut at the Rangers; therefore, he was able to witness Rodriguez’s career evolution and see him become the great player he is today. Even though he knew the All-Star catcher was endowed with lots of talent and potential, Nolan never expected him to have “the career that he had and the impact on the organization that he had”.