Bill James, the famed statistician who's been an adviser and consultant for the Boston Red Sox since 2002, announced Thursday that he's leaving the organization.

"I leave the Red Sox on the best possible terms," the 70-year-old James wrote on his website. "I am still friendly with everyone that I have worked with there, from the owners to the security guards. I still intend to ... watch every Red Sox game. Well, maybe not EVERY game; retirement means I don't have to stay up to watch them play a four-hour game in Seattle ending at 1:30. In exchange for that, next time we win the World Series, I won't get a ring."