Former MLB pitcher Kuroda to retire from pro baseball

Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda is hanging up his spikes for good, as the 41-year-old pitcher announced his retirement from professional baseball, he said in a press conference.

Kuroda pitched in Japan for 11 years before moving state side to pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2009. He stayed on the west coast until 2012, when he began a three-year stint with the New York Yankees.

After pitching in the majors for the last time in 2014, he returned to the Japanese league in 2015.

Over a seven-year MLB career, he owned a serviceable 3.45 ERA over 211 starts.