Journeyman catcher with multiple SF Giants stints announces retirement

Forever Giant Andrew Knapp has retired. The journeyman catcher had two separate stints with the SF Giants in 2022 and 2024, but he has decided to hang up his cleats at the age of 33 after a solid career.

The Roseville native went to college at the University of California Berkeley and began to hit his stride as a junior. He had a .350 batting average in his junior year and opted to enter the MLB Draft in 2013. 

Knapp broke into the big leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies back in 2017. He played in Philadelphia until 2021, putting up unremarkable offensive numbers but serving as a respectable backup catcher for the team. 

Former SF Giants catcher Andrew Knapp announces retirement

In 2022 Knapp had a year akin to The Odyssey in which he was a member of four different organizations. He began the year as a member of the Cincinnati Reds but was released in April and joined the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was let go by Pittsburgh in May and shortly thereafter signed with the Seattle Mariners. He was designated for assignment in July and the Giants swooped in to pick him up. 

He only appeared in three games for the Giants in 2022, recording one hit and two RBI in seven plate appearances. He was a part of the carousel of catchers the Giants employed as they desperately tried to fill the void left by Buster Posey after he retired following the 2021 season.

Between 2022 and 2024, Knapp bounced around from the Detroit Tigers to the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers before making his long-awaited return to San Francisco in 2024. The Giants signed him in August and he appeared in three games, getting one base hit in six plate appearances. 

It is pretty cool that Knapp got to play for the Giants when he grew up in the Sacramento area. In his Instagram post announcing his retirement he included picture of him as a kid wearing a San Francisco 49ers cap so he may have been a Giants fan growing up as a kid as well.

Knapp will also be a nice bit of trivia for Giants fans who pride themselves on being able to name random backup catchers throughout Giants history. 

He may have only had six games with the Giants, but we’d like to congratulate Knapp on a solid big league career and wish him all the best in retirement.