Former New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu has retired from professional baseball for the second time, citing wrist problems.
"I've decided to retire and consider what to do next in my life," the 40-year-old wrote Monday on his official blog.
In 2009, Irabu came out of four years of retirement to pitch for the Long Beach Armada of the U.S. independent Golden Baseball League. He moved to the Kochi Fighting Dogs of the Shikoku-Kyushu Island League later that year.
Irabu was released by Kochi in September after being diagnosed with tenosynovitis, the inflammation of a tendon sheath, in his right hand and asked the club to terminate his contract.