Berkman, 37, played 15 years in the majors. Twelve of those seasons were with the Astros before playing for the Yankees, Cardinals and Rangers. He was Houston's first pick in the 1997 draft out of Rice University.
Berkman is a career .293 hitter with 366 home runs and 1,234 RBIs. He's at or near the top in several Astros' offensive categories, including games (1,592-4th), home runs (326-2nd), RBI (1,090-3rd,) walks (1,040-3rd), runs (1,008-3rd) and slugging (.549-1st).
The Astros released a statement Wednesday, saying, "Lance was one of the greatest players in Astros history, and we are absolutely open to honoring him this season now that he has announced his retirement. We will communicate with Lance in the upcoming days to get his thoughts on this, and hope to schedule something that will give the fans the chance to recognize his outstanding career."
Berkman, Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell became known as the "Killer Bs," the nucleus of several Astros teams in the late 1990s and 2000s. The three played together in Houston's only World Series appearance back in 2005.
