The Kyodo News reports that former Yankees and Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda will retire at the end of the season.
Kuroda left MLB after the 2014 season and has been pitching for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp for the past two years. The 41-year-old had a 3.09 ERA and 98/30 K/BB ratio over 151.2 innings this season and he will end his career pitching against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in the Japan Series, which begins this weekend.
Kuroda’s statement announcing his retirement shows that, despite obviously still having the chops to compete in NPB, going out on top is a big factor:
Kuroda was 79-79 with a 3.45 ERA (115 ERA+) and 986 strikeouts against 292 walks in 1,319 innings across seven major league seasons. In NPB, Kuroda is 124-105 with a 3.55 ERA and 1,451 strikeouts and 504 walks in 2,021.2 innings across 13 seasons, all with Hiroshima.