Anthony Rizzo will retire as a Chicago Cub and become a team ambassador

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CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Rizzo will officially retire as a member of the Chicago Cubs on Saturday and will join the organization as team ambassador.

The 36-year-old Rizzo spent 10 of his 14 major league seasons with Chicago. The infielder hit .272 with 242 home runs and 784 RBIs for the Cubs and helped them win the World Series in 2016.

“Anthony Rizzo was the face of one of the most successful eras in Chicago Cubs history, and we are so excited he will be a part of our organization for many years to come,” Cubs executive chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement.

Rizzo was a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, one-time Platinum Glove winner and one-time Silver Slugger award winner for the Cubs. He played his rookie season with the San Diego Padres and spent his final seasons with the New York Yankees. He completes his major league career with 1,644 hits, 303 home runs and 965 RBIs in 1,727 games played.

Though Cubs left fielder Ian Happ didn’t make his MLB debut until 2017 with the Cubs, a year after the World Series title, Rizzo and Happ played together in Chicago for more than four seasons.

“The years that he was here, being here for the beginning of that rebuild, through (a) World Series (championship), through playoff success, his numbers speak for themselves when he was here,” Happ said. “What he did for the city, what he did for the people — giving back and charity work — the city embraced him. He embraced the city. It was all pretty incredible."

The Cubs said Rizzo, who survived Hodgkin lymphoma, has raised millions of dollars through the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation for cancer research and to help families dealing with the disease. He received the 2017 Roberto Clemente Award, the league’s highest community service honor.

Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner made his MLB debut in 2019 and played with Rizzo until his departure in 2021.

“I think he did one of the coolest things you can do as an athlete and that was here in Chicago as one of the original building blocks of the future plan for the team,” Hoerner said. “He was (on) some teams that had tough years and then took it as far as you can take it, as far as winning a World Series as part of a dominant group. Obviously the World Series year itself was historic and he was there for every bit of it which is part of why fans really gravitated towards him and why it was so meaningful for him, too.”

Cubs manager Craig Counsell never managed Rizzo but managed against him as an NL Central rival for six-plus years as the Brewers' skipper.

“It always felt like (Rizzo) was in the middle of everything,” Counsell said. “He was just a really good baseball player. ... He was a great defender. How he handled bunts, he was always a very challenging player to deal with. How he ran the bases for someone who wasn't that fast, he was just crafty.”

Other Cubs ambassadors are Andre Dawson, Ryan Dempster, Fergie Jenkins, Lee Smith, Billy Williams, Kerry Wood and Ben Zobrist. In memoriam ambassadors include Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg and Ron Santo.

“I don't know what capacity he'll be around the organization moving forward but it's so cool to have people around, whether it's legends like Billy Williams or (Sandberg) or whoever it is that just remind you of the impact that can be had in the organization and the joy that can be created for fans,” Hoerner said. “Having (Rizzo) around like that in any capacity will be really fun.”

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