Dec 08, 2009 3:47 PM EST

ESPN announced today that Peter Gammons, who is in the writers wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, is leaving the network when the meetings conclude Thursday.

?My decision to leave ESPN and move on at this point in my life has been conflicted," Gammons said in a statement. "I owe a great deal of my professional life to ESPN, having spent more than half of my 40 years in journalism working for the network, and the choice to move on was made with nothing but the strongest feelings for the people with whom I worked. ESPN gave me a great deal more than I gave it, and will always be a huge part of who I am."

There was no mention of retirement on Gammons' part, leaving open the possibility that he could land with another media outlet, perhaps online.

Via Los Angeels Times