Yankees' Mussina announces retirement

New York Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina is calling it a career.

The 270-game winner announced his retirement on Thursday, confirming a report that surfaced a day earlier.

"I don't have any regrets with what I decided. This is the right time," Mussina said on a conference call.

"I don't think there was ever a point where I looked around and said, 'You know what, I'm going to change my mind,"' he said. "It was like the last year of high school. You know it's going to end and you enjoy the ride."

Mussina, who turns 40 next month, is hanging it up after posting the first 20-win season of his stellar career. The last pitcher to call it quits following a 20-win season was Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax in 1966.

Mussina posted a record of 270-153 in 18 big-league seasons. He spent his first 10 campaigns in Baltimore, and the rest in New York after signing with the Yankees as a free agent before the 2001 season.

A five-time all-star during his stint with the Orioles, Mussina went 20-9 with a 3.37 ERA in 2008, becoming the oldest pitcher in major-league history to win 20 games for the first time. He also collected his seventh Gold Glove Award, for fielding excellence.

"I love baseball. I love playing, I love pitching," Mussina said. "This is good for me. This is it."