Mark Kotsay plays his last home game in San Diego before his retirement

Mark Kotsay is retiring from baseball after 17 years of service in the Major Leagues.  He played his last home game yesterday, starting in left field for the San Diego Padres and going 0-3 to drop his season average to .193.

The Padres honored him in a pregame ceremony that I missed due to my late arrival.  He was presented a gift from the San Diego Padres by three of his former teammates, Trevor Hoffman, Phil Nevin and Mark Loretta.  It was the usual gift of a fish tail surfboard emblazoned with his own likeness so it'd be too embarrassing to ever use in the water.

Thank you, Mark Kotsay! #Padres pic.twitter.com/HeMZQSWOf1

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 26, 2013

For his part, Kotsay was touched by the team's generosity and the "over the top" ceremony.  When he jogged out to field his position both teams stood and applauded.

Kotsay honored before final game in San Diego | padres.com: News

"It's a moment I'll never forget," Kotsay said. "It was somewhat embarrassing and I felt naked. It's a team sport, we do things together and they left me alone. We'll have a talk about that on the bus ride to the airport."