Former Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Kevin Youkilis has decided to officially retire from playing professional baseball after 10 achievement-filled seasons.

The news broke when his agency, the Pro Star Management, released a Twitter status update announcing the retirement.

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Youkilis was one of baseball's best hitters when he was in his prime.

He has been playing in the MLB since 2004, where he played for the Boston Red Sox until 2012.

From 2006 to 2009, Youkilis was an expert with a bat. He hit .296, .393, and .498 in those seasons, with 85 home runs and had the sixth-highest FanGraphs wins above replacement total during that span.

In his 2008 season, he was also named as one of the AL's five best players by Joon Lee of Gammons Daily.

He had a number of close calls for MVP, notably finishing third in the 2008 season just behind his then-teammate Dustin Pedroia and Minnesota' Justin Morneau. In 2009, he finished six in the MVP race.

However, his promising career began to deteriorate rapidly due to his number of injuries. Over 120 games, he hit .258, .373, and.459. The next year though, he slumped to .235, .336, and .409 between the Red Sox and Chicago White Sox.

In the winter of 2012, Youkilis signed with the New York Yankees. He was hopeful on bouncing back that season. However, after just 28 games, he had back surgery that ended his season early.

Afterwards, he signed a contract to play in Japan with the hopes of rebuilding his career for a potential MLB comeback. His season also ended early though due to his Plantar fasciitis injury.

At 35-years old, Youkilis is still at a prime age for most athletes to keep playing. But with the long list of injuries, and citing family reason, he has decided to put down the bat and ball and call it a career.

During his career, he has won two World Series titles with the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and 2007.

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