Hideki Irabu announces retirement, again

Hideki Irabu came out of retirement last season to pitch for the Long Beach Armada in the independent Golden Baseball League and looked decent enough to sign on with another independent league team in Japan. Unfortunately his comeback was short-lived when a wrist injury led to his release and now the 40-year-old Irabu is retiring again. Presumably for good. “I’ve decided to retire and consider what to do next in my life,” said Irabu, who last pitched in the majors for the Rangers back in 2002. Fun fact via Baseball-Reference.com: There have been 1,902 pitchers in MLB history to throw at least 500 innings and Irabu has the 38th-worst ERA at 5.15.