Hunter Pence announces his retirement

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty ImagesHunter Pence, longtime major league outfielder, native of the Metroplex, and former Texas Rangers, has announced his retirement from baseball.

Pence, 36, was born in Fort Worth, graduated from Arlington High School and was a second round selection of the Houston Astros out of the University of Texas at Arlington in 2004. He debuted in the majors in 2007, putting up a .322/.360/.539 slash line for the Astros in 108 games, primarily in center field, and finished third in the rookie of the year balloting, behind Ryan Braun and Troy Tulowitzki.

Pence was a fixture in the Astros outfield for the next few seasons, but as the Astros went into tear-it-down mode,…