An 18th Gold glove... and a career?

It appears as if the long, glorious run of Greg Maddux may finally have to come an end.

A couple days before picking up his record 18th Gold Glove, Maddux has indicated through his agent Scott Boras that he intends to retire. While the move is not official, at age 42 and having spent 23 years in the Majors, it certainly seems as if it's the real deal.

First, a brief look at his numbers. Of course, they're unbelievable. He has a career 355-227 record with a ridiculous 3.18 ERA. He's officially 8th on the all-time wins list, which he barely got to last year by going 1 up on Roger Clemens. He's played with the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, and Dodgers.

There's not a whole lot left for him to accomplish. He's won 4 Cy Young awards and a World Series ring, to go along with the insane amount of Gold Glove awards. He's generally regarded as having perhaps the most pinpoint accuracy in the history of baseball. After tasting playoff success with the Dodgers this year, I'm not surprised to see him ride off into the sunset.

We'll all wait to see when Maddux will talk, as everything else is still speculation. I've read that the Dodgers would welcome him back to anchor the back end of their rotation, which I'm sure he could still do.