Ex-Red Sox pitcher, 2007 World Series champion Daisuke Matsuzaka to retire after 2021 NPB season

Daisuke Matsuzaka is officially hanging up the cleats. 

The veteran Seibu Lions pitcher will retire at the end of the 2021 season, the team announced Wednesday, according to The Japan Times.

Matsuzaka returned to the Lions last season but has yet to appear in a game. He had cervical spine surgery about one year ago and is reportedly still experiencing numbness in his pitching hand. 

"Daisuke is not in perfect condition physically or mentally at the current time," Lions general manager Hisanobu Watanabe said. "However, when he has recovered I think he will be able to convey his own feelings in front of everyone."

Matsuzaka went 114-65 over 11 Nippon Professional Baseball seasons with the Lions, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Chunichi Dragons. After playing for the Lions from 1999-2006, he became a star with the Boston Red Sox. 

In six seasons with the BoSox, the 40-year-old, often known as "Dice-K," went 50-37 with a 4.52 ERA and 609 strikeouts in 668.1 innings. His defining moment in Boston came when he started and led the Red Sox to a 10-5 win in Game 3 of the 2007 World Series against the Colorado Rockies, his first World Series appearance. 

Matsuzaka gave up two runs on three hits in that game while striking out five and walking three. He also recorded his first MLB hit in that game, a two-out two-run single off Josh Fogg, making him the third pitcher in Red Sox history to record two RBI in a World Series game.

The native of Tokyo was also the first Japanese pitcher in World Series history to start and win a game. The Red Sox went on to win Game 4 and sweep the Rockies for their second World Series title since 2004. 

Matsuzaka finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2007 and fourth in American League Cy Young voting in 2008. 

After six years with the Red Sox, Matsuzaka finished his Major League Baseball career with the New York Mets in 2013-14. He went 6-6 with a 4.06 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 122 innings.

Injuries and ineffectiveness brought Matsuzaka's MLB career to an end when he failed to make the Cleveland Indians' Opening Day roster.