Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann said Wednesday that he is retiring after 15 major league seasons.

McCann, 35, revealed his plans after Atlanta's 13-1 loss to St. Louis in the decisive Game 5 of the National League Division Series.

"This is it for me," he told reporters in the locker room, saying he made the decision about a month and a half ago. "I'm going to go home and be a dad and play with those kids."

The Georgia native began his career with nine seasons with the Braves and was named an All-Star seven times before moving to the New York Yankees in 2014. He won the World Series in 2017 after a trade to the Houston Astros.

Alex Bregman, who played with McCann in Houston, quickly paid tribute to his former teammate via Twitter.

Brian McCann is one of the best catchers to ever play the game but also the best dude I met in Professional Baseball. Love you bro.

— Alex Bregman (@ABREG_1) October 10, 2019

McCann re-signed with Atlanta as a free agent last November to play for manager Brian Snitker, who was his manager at Double-A Mississippi when the Braves first called him up directly to the majors in 2005.

"Yeah, he knew," McCann said of Snitker. "I've known him for a long, long time. He was my Double-A manager. Being able to do this with him as my manager is something I'll always remember."

A six-time Silver Slugger, McCann passed 1,000 career RBIs in his final season. He finished with a career .262 average, 282 home runs and 1,018 RBIs. This season, he hit .249 with 12 homers and 45 RBIs in 85 games.

"This is everything that I wanted to do," McCann said. "I wanted to come back and get a chance at the postseason."