A veteran of 17 Major League seasons, Derek Lowe has "officially' retired from the game.

"I'm officially no longer going to play the game," Lowe said. "It's still enjoyable, but the role I was having wasn't fulfilling."

Lowe, 40, was 176-157 with a 4.03 earned-run average in 681 career games with seven teams and helped the Red Sox break an 86-year championship drought in 2004.