Another member of the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays team that shocked the baseball world is hanging up his spikes.
Infielder Akinori Iwamura, who recorded the final out in Game 7 of the 2008 American League Championship Series and has been playing and managing in an independent league in his home country, announced Sunday that he would retire at the end of his team's season, according to the Japan Times.
Iwamura came to the then-Devil Rays prior to the 2007 season, and played three seasons in Tampa Bay before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates and eventually ended his major league career with Oakland before returning to Japan. He finished with a slash line of .267/.345/.375 with 16 home runs and 117 RBI in the United States.
Prior to coming to Tampa Bay, he starred for the Yakult Swallows of the Japanese Central League, winning eight Golden Gloves at third base, and played for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and Yakult after returning to Japan from Major League Baseball.
Iwamura, 38, had been playing and managing for the Fukushima Hopes of the independent Baseball Classic League since the team's beginning in 2015.
Watch Game 7 of the 2008 ALCS in its entirety below!
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