Chris Mazza, a veteran of four seasons in Major League Baseball with three different teams, announced his retirement in an Instagram post Wednesday.
“Today, after 14 years of professional baseball I am officially hanging up my cleats from the game I’ve loved since I was four years old,” Mazza wrote on Instagram.
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Mazza, 36, made 34 appearances over four seasons with the New York Mets (2019), Boston Red Sox (2020), and Tampa Bay Rays (2021-22).
Mazza retires with a career record of 3-3, one save, and a 5.35 ERA.
Originally a 27th-round draft pick by the Minnesota Twins out of Menlo College in 2011, Mazza played nine seasons of minor league baseball before reaching the big leagues.
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Along the way, Mazza pitched 26 games for a pair of independent league teams in 2018, the San Rafael (Calif.) Pacifics (Pacific Association) and the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (Atlantic League).
Mazza was also released twice, by the Twins and the Miami Marlins, and selected out of the Seattle Mariners’ system in the 2018 Rule 5 draft.
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Finally in June 2019, Mazza got his chance. He appeared in nine games out of the Mets’ bullpen that season, going 1-1 with a 5.51 ERA.
After being selected off waivers by the Red Sox in December 2019, Mazza appeared in nine games for Boston in the pandemic-shortened season, starting six. He went 1-2 with a 4.80 ERA (101 ERA+).
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The Rays scooped Mazza up in the February 2021 trade that sent Jeffrey Springs to Tampa, and Nick Sogard to Boston. Mazza shuttled between Triple-A and the majors over the next two seasons, going 1-0 with one save and a 5.79 ERA in 16 games with the Rays.
Mazza was ultimately designated for assignment by Tampa Bay and latched on with the Seattle Mariners to end the 2022 season.
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But after going 4-3 with a 7.49 ERA for the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate to finish the season, Mazza’s career in affiliated baseball was effectively over.
Last year with the independent Kane County Cougars of the American Association, Mazza was 5-6 with a 3.83 ERA in 16 games (16 starts).
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