Jesse Orosco retires

• Tweet

PHOENIX, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Jesse Orosco, who last season had six teammates born after he beat Hall of Famer Steve Carlton for his first career win, announced his retirement Wednesday.

The seemingly ageless Orosco, who turns 47 in April and is the all-time leader in games pitched, signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks in November but decided to hang up his spikes less than a month before pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

"Jesse had one of the great careers in our game and we respect his decision of ending it before officially taking the field as a member of the Diamondbacks," said Arizona General Manager Joe Garagiola Jr.

Orosco ends his career with 1,252 games pitched and 1,248 relief appearances, both major league records. He also played in an All-Star Game, won a World Series title, and made 24 postseason appearances.

He was taken in the second round of the 1978 draft by Minnesota, and amassed 1,295 innings and 1,179 strikeouts for nine different teams.