Detroit Tigers hitter Victor Martinez announces his retirement on Friday

Detroit Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez announced Friday he will retire after Saturday night's game at Comerica Park.

The Tigers have planned a ceremony to honor Martinez before the game against the Kansas City Royals. He said he wanted his last at-bat to be before the home fans.

"It's just thanking the Detroit Tigers fans and thanking everybody here," he told reporters Friday. "After tomorrow, it's going to be it. That will be my last game. This is one way to thank everybody."

Martinez, 39, has spent seven of the 16 years in his career in Detroit, following seven-plus seasons in Cleveland and a shorter stint in Boston.

Heading into play Friday, he had appeared in 1,971 games -- almost half of them in a Tigers' uniform. He had 2,151 career hits entering Friday's game.

Martinez had his best career season in 2014 as a member of the Tigers, belting 32 home runs and adding 103 RBIs. He leads the league in on-base percentage and finished second in the most valuable player voting. He was a five-time All-Star.

"We had some good teams. Unfortunately, we didn't accomplish the final goal, which was winning the championship," said Martinez, who plans to return to his Florida home. "I had the best year of my career here in Detroit. I'll take a lot from this city and keep it with me.

"It is what it is. When I say I'm leaving this game with no regrets, I'm going to leave the game with no regrets. I'm going to go home happy because I know I left everything. I wouldn't do anything else. I'm going to be at home sitting on that couch, saying that I left everything in this game."