Veteran Myers puts retirement on hold with 51s

The official out in Mike Myers' contract is April 27.

The unofficial out is "after every game" as the veteran reliever struggles with his decision to wait for another call-up to the big leagues or to retire from the game he loves to spend more time with his family.

"Every couple hours I go back and forth," said Myers, 38, a married father of three children, ages 7 to 12, who has played for nine teams in 13 years in the majors.

An extremely durable left-hander who specializes in getting left-handed hitters out, Myers was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 27 and considered retirement before deciding to return to the minor leagues, with the 51s, for the first time since 1995, when he broke into the bigs with the Florida Marlins.

"My family has been through a lot in my career," Myers said. "They've put in the time waiting for me to come home. But they understand I also still have a drive to keep on going. I've always said, they'll have to rip my uniform off (to get me to retire)."

Myers, 25-24 with a 4.29 ERA in 883 career games (22nd all-time), is in his 19th season of professional baseball and said "it's not like I can walk away from it and leave it in the past so easily."

"I just didn't want to walk away with any questions in my head," he said. "If there was any doubt at all, I was coming here. I still don't know if it's the right decision or not. The big thing for me is if it wasn't Las Vegas, would I be here?"

Myers went 4-0 with a 4.80 ERA last season in 72 games for the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox.

After Chicago declined to pick up his $1.1 million option, Myers signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers in January, rejoining his former manager Joe Torre.

"Joe knows what he's going to get from me -- a reliever who is available to pitch every day, who is reliable and who wants to win," Myers said.

Myers, a submarine-style pitcher, has appeared in at least 62 games in each of the last 12 seasons and helped the 2004 Boston Red Sox win the World Series.

Myers, who relies on deception and movement, has appeared in three of five games with the 51s, going 0-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 3 2/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits, with no walks and six strikeouts.

"I'm throwing the ball better now than I have the last couple of years," he said. "I still feel great."

Myers, who joked he "consistently hits 80 mph," expected to make the Dodgers out of spring training, but with left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo out of options, Myers was sent to Las Vegas.

If the Dodgers don't call him up by April 27, Myers can ask for his release.

"I need to make a decision," he said. "If nothing happens with the Dodgers anytime soon, the decision could be made for me."