Former outfielder Quintin Berry announced his retirement from Major League Baseball on Friday night. He’s expected to take a front office role as outfield and baserunning coordinator for the club in 2019, though his new position has yet to be officially confirmed.
Berry, 33, saw limited exposure in the majors over the course of his 13-year pro ball career. He got his start in the league with the Tigers, who utilized him for the better part of their 2012 campaign and saw him bat a healthy .258/.330/.354 with 18 extra bases and 21 stolen bases through 330 PA. He was dealt to the Red Sox for right-hander Clayton Mortensen in 2013 and found himself in a heavily reduced role, but returned to pinch run in the postseason and was still able to count himself part of the team that ended up clinching a World Series title that fall.
Following his final major league appearance in 2017, during which the fleet-footed outfielder appeared in just seven games with the Brewers, Berry holds a lifetime .262/.333/.364 batting line, 19 extra-base hits, and 29 stolen bases. He played out the remainder of his playing career in back-to-back stints with the Brewers and Yankees’ Triple-A affiliates in 2018, but elected not to pursue additional opportunities in the minors in 2019.
Moving forward, Berry will help the Brewers hone their running game even further. The club finished first among all NL teams and fifth in the league overall after swiping 124 bags in 2018, owing in large part to Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich’s career-high marks of 30 and 22 stolen bases, respectively. Still, there’s likely something to be gleaned from a player who capped a dozen seasons in the minors with 399 stolen bases in 496 chances, even if he never got the opportunity to prove his prowess on a big league stage.