CLEVELAND (WJW) — Former Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis, who ended his tenure in Cleveland with a hand fracture in 2019, announced his retirement from baseball on Monday.

“I’d be lying if I said I wanted to write this,” he wrote in a statement posted to Twitter. “To have to officially acknowledge that my time has a player in the game of baseball is over. I always heard you rarely get to end your career on your own terms. They weren’t lying.”

Kipnis broke his hamate bone on his last at-bat for the Indians in September 2019 — his last year under contract with the team. It ended his season.

He returned as a spectator to a Progressive Field that had been emptied by the COVID-19 pandemic — “no closure,” he said.

“Instead, it ended the way my professional career started, riding buses in the minor leagues,” Kipnis wrote. “And then the lockout happened, and before I knew it, it was over. My mind and body just aren’t up for the commitment anymore. Frustrating at first, but there’s only one feeling I’m left with that stands out above all…. Gratitude.”

Kipnis gave thanks to his parents, his myriad teammates, coaches and trainers and to the city of Cleveland.

“To Cleveland, thank you for being you. I was lucky to be drafted by you. I always wanted my play to echo the city’s attitude every time I took the field. There were ups and downs of my career sure, but one thing I never wanted you to question how hard I played for the name on the front. I tried to make you proud every game.