A gracious Charlie Blackmon hints at future in Rockies organization as he discusses retirement

DENVER — Even as Colorado Rockies icon Charlie Blackmon struggled to “grasp the gravity” of his retirement six days before his final game, he hinted at a potential future connected to the organization he was a part of for the last 14 years.

Blackmon, a four-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger winner and a one-time NL batting champ, took the podium at Coors Field Tuesday to discuss the retirement announcement he made a day earlier.

He was gracious toward the fans, the media, current and former teammates – including Nolan Arenado, who was on hand for the news conference since his St. Louis Cardinals are in town – and an organization that gave him a long-term home he never wanted to leave.

“I feel like I've never really worked a day in my life,” Blackmon said, “but I do work really hard at the same time. So, it's going to be very different on the other side, I know that, but at the same time I think it's the right decision.”

• Watch Blackmon's entire Tuesday news conference in the video player below:

Blackmon, 37, waited to announce his impending retirement ahead of the Rockies’ season-ending six-game homestand, but he said he’s known since spring training that he was likely going to call it a career at season’s end.

He said this year has felt like “retiring a little bit at a time.”

“I've been thinking about it. It's been on my radar. It's something that I knew was going to come, and I was prepared for it last year,” he said. The star outfielder missed nearly 70 games last year due to injury.

“I broke my hand and was able to come back and play well,” he continued. “It was kind of a blessing, having the game taken away from me briefly towards the end of my career, and realizing that I wasn't done. I still wanted to play, and I came back, played well last year, and knew that coming back this year was the right decision.

“I was very excited for the opportunity and thankful to have the opportunity after an injury-plagued season. So I came into this season [with] eyes wide open, knowing that this very well could be my last go around.”

Blackmon spoke of his love for Colorado, an “incredible” place where he’s come to enjoy fishing and the outdoors. He said hanging up the cleats may not mean leaving the place he’s called home.

“We'll try our hardest to maintain a presence here in Colorado,” he said.

Retirement, he said, may not even mean moving on entirely from the Rockies organization.

“I've already had some conversations with some very important people in the room [at Coors Field] that are going to allow me to continue to be a part of the group and hopefully contribute, just in a different fashion,” he said.

That future is not likely to be in a permanent coaching position, he said, but he wants to remain "part of the Colorado Rockies family."

Blackmon played all 14 of his big league seasons with Colorado, batting .292 with 226 home runs and 797 RBI over his career. He ranks second in franchise history in hits (1,797) and games played (1,618). His 28.3 career wins above replacement – an advanced metric that measures a player’s effectiveness by comparing their output to an average replacement – ranks seventh in Rockies history.

Hours after discussing his retirement with the press, Blackmon went 2-for-3 with an RBI triple and a double in the Rockies’ 7-2 loss to St. Louis Tuesday night.