David Dahl has officially called it a career. The 31-year-old outfielder announced his retirement this week, closing the book on a professional journey that spanned 13 seasons and took him from high school standout in Alabama to All-Star in the big leagues.
“Baseball has been my life for as long as I can remember,” Dahl wrote in his farewell message. “From being a kid in Alabama chasing a lifelong dream to stepping foot on a big-league field…after 13 seasons and several months to reflect on it, it’s officially time for the next chapter. Thank you, baseball.”
Dahl’s career was anything but ordinary. He played in parts of seven Major League seasons between 2016 and 2024, appearing in 350 games and posting a career slash line of .268/.313/.460 with 46 home runs across 1,311 plate appearances. But those numbers only tell part of the story.
Drafted 10th overall by the Colorado Rockies in 2012, Dahl quickly emerged as one of the most promising outfield prospects in the game. He consistently landed on top-100 prospect lists, and for good reason - the bat was live, the athleticism was real, and the ceiling was high. But the road to sustained Major League success was riddled with setbacks, most of them injury-related.
One of the most defining - and frankly, jaw-dropping - moments of Dahl’s career came in 2015, when a collision during a Double-A game left him with a lacerated spleen. Rather than sit out the remainder of the season to heal naturally, Dahl made the bold decision to have his spleen removed so he could return to action before year’s end. It was a move that spoke volumes about his toughness and commitment to the game - and also foreshadowed the kind of physical adversity he’d battle throughout his career.
When he finally made it to the majors in 2016, Dahl wasted no time showing what he could do. He hit .315 with a .359 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging mark over his first 237 plate appearances - a debut that turned heads and raised expectations. But then came the injuries again: a stress fracture in his rib, followed by back spasms, wiped out his entire 2017 big league season.
Still, Dahl bounced back in 2018 and 2019, putting together what would become the peak stretch of his MLB career. Over those two seasons, he played in 177 games for the Rockies and hit .291/.342/.528 with 31 home runs.
He was a key contributor to Colorado’s playoff run in 2018 and earned an All-Star selection in 2019. At that point, it looked like Dahl was finally turning the corner toward becoming a staple in the Rockies’ lineup.
But the injury bug never really let go. A right foot fracture and a high ankle sprain interrupted his momentum, and 2019 would ultimately be his last fully productive season.
From Opening Day 2020 onward, Dahl struggled to stay healthy and find consistency, hitting just .200/.237/.318 over his final 390 Major League plate appearances. Shoulder issues led to surgery after the 2020 season, and the Rockies opted to non-tender him.
The years that followed saw Dahl bounce around the league, trying to recapture the spark. He spent time with six different organizations and logged some Major League innings with the Rangers, Padres, and Phillies. But after not appearing in any games in 2025, Dahl made the call to step away from the game for good.
There’s a bittersweet quality to Dahl’s career - a player with All-Star talent who never quite got a full, healthy run to show the world what he could really do. But his story is also one of resilience.
He battled through surgeries, setbacks, and tough roster decisions, all while continuing to chase the dream. And for a time, especially in those late-2010s seasons in Colorado, he made good on that promise.
David Dahl walks away from the game with his head high and a career that, while marked by what-ifs, also delivered moments of genuine brilliance. Here's to whatever comes next for him - and to a career that, through all the ups and downs, never lacked heart.