After 13 years in Major League Baseball, Matt Cain has decided to hang up his spikes.

The Giants pitcher is one of only four players in franchise history to spend his entire career with the team.

Cain pitched five shutout innings in his final start last month, with the final pitch causing him to hold back tears on the way back into the dugout as a roar of thank you cheers rained down from the crowd at AT&T Park.

Cain was one of only four players on the roster that was a part of the 2010, 2012 and 2014 championship teams, and his departure in many ways signals the end of an era.

When Cain arrived in 2005 as young 20 year old prospect, the Giants were seemingly stuck in neutral as a franchise.

The franchise had not made the playoffs since 2003 and were in the middle of an unsuccessful tenure with Felipe Alou as manager. The team seemed to be stuck in the mystique of Bonds and the pursuit of the all time home run record.

Enter Matt Cain.

The 2002 first round draft pick had entered the 2005 season as the 10th ranked prospect in the league by Baseball America. He was joining a roster that was lacking in star power outside of Bonds.

Cain quickly established himself as an up and coming star after throwing a complete game two-hitter against the Cubs.

The Giants had found themselves a pitcher.

Over the course of the next few years, the Giants would begin to build the foundation for their dynasty, and Cain would prove to be a key piece for that run.

Slightly overshadowed by the once dominant Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain brought excitement with his starts.

Fans would see a Cain start as an almost guaranteed win for the day, drawing fans into the stadium to see his great fastballs.

Cain had become a star in San Francisco, but one thing was still missing for Cain as well as the Giants.

A championship.

That came in 2010, when the Giants fought their way to a division title, made their way through the playoffs and beat the Texas Rangers in the five games in the World Series.

Cain, who put up 21.0 scoreless innings in the 2010 postseason, at the time was the sixth most in MLB history, was one of the key pieces of that team that so many cherish.

Cain would go on to record many more accomplishments with San Francisco, such as starting in the 2012 All-Star Game as well as throwing a perfect game in that same season.

Cain did so much for the Giants, and while his storied career still isn’t likely to take him to the Hall of Fame, it will certainly be a legendary one in the mind of Giants fans everywhere.