Josh Beckett Retires After 14-Year Career
BOSTON (CBS) -- Josh Beckett has called it a career.
The 34-year-old former Red Sox ace announced his retirement following the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 loss in Game 4 of the National League Division, which ended L.A.'s season on Tuesday night.
Beckett went 138-106 with a 3.88 ERA over his 14-year career, winning a pair of World Series titles. He was the World Series MVP at the age of 23 when the Florida Marlins beat the New York Yankees in 2003, and won his second title with the Boston Red Sox in 2007. That season, Beckett went 20-7 for Boston and finished second in American League Cy Young voting.
After a few tumultuous seasons in Boston, Beckett was dealt to the Dodgers in August 2012 along with Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Nick Punto. He went 6-6 with a 2.88 ERA for Los Angeles in 2014, hurling a no-hitter against the Phillies in May, but his season ended in August after he suffered a torn labrum in his left hip.
He'll reportedly undergo surgery in May, which played major part in Beckett's decision to retire.
"I just don't see me going through that rehab and coming back to pitch at this point in my life," Beckett told MLB.com on Tuesday.
Acquired by the Red Sox from the Marlins in 2006 along with third baseman Mike Lowell for a package of prospects, including top prospect Hanley Ramirez, Beckett went 89-58 with a 4.17 ERA in his seven seasons in Boston. He was named the MVP of the 2007 ALCS after going 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in two starts against the Cleveland Indians, and followed that up by allowing just one run over seven innings against the Colorado Rockies in Game 1 of the World Series.
A three-time All Star during his career, Beckett will now have plenty of time to spend on his ranch in Texas. It's unclear if he will continue his quest to save ocelots on his property.
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