Former Toronto Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia is retiring after six Major League Baseball seasons.
Arencibia announced his retirement Wednesday with a post on his Twitter feed, in which he thanked all the teams he played for, reserving special praise for the Blue Jays.
“Toronto and Canada will always hold the biggest part of my heart,” he wrote. “I always felt at home there.”
Arencibia had a memorable debut, hitting a home run on the first big-league pitch he faced in Toronto’s wild 17-11 win over Tampa Bay on Aug. 7, 2010. He went 4-for-5 in that game with two homers and three runs batted in.
Arencibia became the team’s full-time catcher in 2011 and enjoyed his most productive year at the plate that season, hitting 23 homers and 78 RBIs in 129 games.
In 2013, the Miami native publicly feuded with two media analysts who were critical of his slumping production. His time as a Blue Jay ended in the off-season when he signed with the Texas Rangers as a free agent.