Barry Zito officially retires from baseball, is going to be a professional musician now

It's pretty rare to be good enough at throwing a baseball that someone would pay you to do it. It's also pretty rare to be good enough at paying guitar that someone would pay you to do it. Being both of those things, however, is the realm only of those great enough to truly rock the high socks -- namely, one Barry Zito.  

After riding off into the sunset with his former A's rotation-mates last month, the left-hander announced he was hanging up the cleats on Monday in an article for the Players' Tribune. But while most retirements involve golf and the occasional nu-metal festival, Zito will have a pretty awesome way to keep busy in his golden years: He's going to become a professional musician.

"Today, I am very excited to be a 'rookie' all over again in a new field: songwriting," Zito wrote. He's kept up with playing guitar throughout his big league career, and while spending some time in Nashville with Oakland's Triple-A affiliate this past season, he decided he'd try his hand at doing it for real. So, fear not -- you may never get to see that legendary curveball again, but "Barry Zito Karaoke Night" will thankfully endure long into the future.