Panik Announces Retirement from Major League Baseball

QUEENS, N.Y. – Following a successful Major League career that spanned the better part of a decade, former St. John's standout Joe Panik has announced his retirement from professional baseball.

Panik appeared in 818 games across eight years in the majors, highlighted by a World Series win with the Giants as a rookie in 2014. After joining the Big League club in June of that season, Panik hit .305 the rest of the way to finish sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting and started all seven games of the World Series against the Royals.

The following season, Panik earned a nod to the All-Star game and hit a career-best .312 while slugging .455 and driving in 37 runs. In 2016, Panik set high-water marks for home runs (10), doubles (7) and RBIs (62) while earning a Gold Glove Award as the NL's top defensive second baseman.

Panik played three more seasons in San Francisco before joining his hometown New York Mets for the close of the 2019 campaign. He spent the shortened 2020 season with Toronto before splitting 2021 between Toronto and Miami.

Panik joined the Giants organization in 2011 after being selected with the 29^th overall pick of that year's MLB Draft. He hit .370 in his three years at St. John's, good enough for the second highest career average in program history. As a junior in 2011, he hit a career-best .398 and earned All-America honors from the ABCA, Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

Panik led the Johnnies to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, including a BIG EAST Tournament title in 2010. His 237 hits rank ninth in program history and he ranks fifth all-time for both home runs (25) and RBIs (157).

Panik and his wife, Brittany, welcomed a daughter, Mikayla, in October of 2021.

St. John's University Athletics

Panik Announces Retirement from Major League Baseball

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