Report: Hideki Matsui to announce retirement

Outfielder Hideki Matsui plans to announce his retirement from baseball on Thursday night, reports the YES Network's Jack Curry. An official press conference will be held in New York. As a free agent, Matsui drew some interest from big league teams this winter but decided not to return.

Matsui, 38, was born in Ishikawa, Japan and spent 10 years in the Major Leagues. He played for the Yankees for the majority of his career (2003-2009) and also had one-year stints with the Angels, A's and Devil Rays. Matsui was a career .282/.360/.462 hitter and was named the World Series MVP in 2009.