Eric Gagne has retired, reports Martin Leclerc of Rue Frontenac (English translation here). Gagne explained that he feels great physically, but has lost the desire to pitch. The 34-year-old was released by the Dodgers a month ago.
Gagne's run of dominant closing for the Dodgers resulted in a 1.79 ERA, 13.3 K/9, and 152 saves over 2002-04, spanning 247 innings. Each of those years, he made the All-Star team and received Cy Young and MVP votes. He won the Cy Young in '03, saving 55 games with a 1.20 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 82.3 innings. Gagne earned about $40MM in his career, according to Baseball-Reference.
The blemish: Gagne appeared in the Mitchell Report for using human growth hormone in 2004. He later explained to T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times that he thought it'd help with a knee injury.
