Red Sox Flamethrower Announces Retirement Ending 13-Year MLB Career

One former member of the Boston Red Sox is calling it a career.

Former Red Sox flamethrower Jake Diekman announced on Friday that he's hanging up his cleats and retiring after a 13-year big league career that saw him spend time with the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, Athletics, Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and the New York Mets.

Diekman announced the news in a statement on Friday.

"The time has come for me to retire as a Major League Baseball player," Diekman said. "Thank you, God, for this life and being able to live out my wildest dream. From being in kindergarten and writing down that I wanted to be a baseball player when I grow up, to not even having a high school baseball team and just playing legion in the summer. 'Making it' to the big leagues seemed like such a pipe dream...

"From American Legion to Doane College to Cloud County Community College, I could not have asked for better spots to be. Those were some of the best times on the field. Those early years in high school and college is where you learn what it actually takes to be your best, grind out a game and learn to fail."

You can check out his entire statement about his retirement right here.

Diekman spent time with Boston in 2022 and had a 4.23 ERA in 44 appearances. Overall, he finishes his career with a 3.91 ERA in 705 total big league appearances.