Quittin' Time: Payton Retires
<Don Payton:player#1285> of the <Mallards:team#5> is hanging it up. The veteran catcher reportedly told team officials yesterday that he would not return for another season.

"The time has come for me to give up a game I love dearly, but the time is right. Baseball has been good for me and I hope I have been good for baseball."

"While we are disappointed Don will not be playing for us next year, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and the way he went about this decision," said the <California:team#5> general manager.

In his career <Payton:player#1285> is batting .208 with 451 hits, 47 home runs, 202 runs scored and 195 RBIs.