In December, Mike Cameron signed a minor-league contract with the Washington Nationals.

In January, Mike Cameron turned 39 years old.

In February, Cameron decided to retire from baseball, according to the Nationals’ official Twitter feed:

OF Mike Cameron has notified the Nationals he will retire, bringing his impressive career to an end...Spring Training roster now at 54.

— Nationals PR (@NationalsPR) February 19, 2012

Cameron was a 17th-round pick of the White Sox in 1991, and played center field for them for several seasons before being sent to the Reds in a deal that turned out to be very much in the White Sox’ favor — they received Paul Konerko in return.

Later, Cameron was sent in a multiplayer trade to the Mariners that sent Ken Griffey Jr. back to his hometown Reds. While with the Mariners, Cameron became the 13th player in baseball history to hit four home runs in a game when he accomplished that feat against his former team, the White Sox, on May 2, 2002.

Cameron retires with a .249 career batting average, 1,700 career hits, 279 lifetime home runs and 297 lifetime steals.