Anthony Rizzo helped deliver the Chicago Cubs one of the franchise's most memorable moments in over a century.
On the night of Nov. 2, 2016, Michael Martinez hit a ground ball towards third base. Kris Bryant fielded the ball and tossed it across the diamond to Rizzo at first. Upon catching the ball and stepping on the bag, Rizzo held his arms aloft, and the realization finally sank in — the Cubs had just won Game 7 of the World Series, ending a 108-year championship drought for the team.
That moment will replay in the minds of many on Wednesday.
Did Anthony Rizzo retire?
It was announced that Rizzo would be retiring from professional baseball as a member of the Cubs organization before joining it as an ambassador, news that was first reported by ESPN's Jesse Rogers and later confirmed by the team.
Rizzo has yet to announce what led to his decision to retire. The only public statement Rizzo has made regarding his retirement came in the form of a video tribute he posted on his personal Instagram account.
"This game gave me everything. 14 years later, I'm retiring with nothing but gratitude," Rizzo wrote in the post.
There will only ever be one Anthony Rizzo. pic.twitter.com/d3APSO3QWf
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 10, 2025
While that reasoning will not be confirmed until Rizzo or someone close to his camp says as such, the tail end of his 14-year MLB career likely played a role in Wednesday's announcement.
Rizzo may not have been the All-Star caliber player he previously had been while playing for the New York Yankees, but an incident early in the 2023 campaign curtailed his production through the end of his career.
In a May 28 game against the San Diego Padres, Rizzo was injured while attempting to pick Fernando Tatis Jr. off first base. Tatis Jr. ran into the head of Anthony Rizzo, who was hunched over attempting to catch the ball and tag Tatis Jr. out with it, resulting in him being taken out of the game for what was initially described as a "neck injury."
The effects of the hit lingered until August, when the Yankees shut Rizzo down for the rest of the year as he recovered from "post-concussion syndrome." The following season would prove to be his last with the Yankees, as the club declined his contract option and made him a free agent.
Since then, no teams have made a concrete effort to sign the 36-year-old to their rosters.
That concussion may have ended Rizzo's career earlier than it should have, but that won't be what he's remembered for most. Instead, it'll be for that memorable World Series-winning moment and his other accolades on and off the diamond: three All-Star appearances, four Gold Glove Awards and three Silver Slugger Awards, in addition his Roberto Clemente Award in 2017 for charity work that aimed to find a cure for childhood cancer.