Lefty pitcher Barry Zito retiring from baseball as planned

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Left-hander Barry Zito is retiring just as he planned.

The pitcher made the announcement in an article he wrote for ''The Players' Tribune'' posted Monday, saying, ''I'm retiring today from baseball, but I'll never be too far away from the game that made me who I am.''

The 37-year-old Zito said last month when called up to the Oakland Athletics following a season in Triple-A that he planned to retire and turn his attention to his other love, music, and spending more time with his family.

The 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner with the A's, Zito went 165-143 with a 4.04 ERA in parts of 15 big league seasons, which also included seven years with the San Francisco Giants. He considers a highlight the 2012 World Series, when he was the Game 1 winner and also pitched Game 5 of the NLCS against St. Louis with his team facing elimination.