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Rays notes: Carlos Pena returns to retire as a Ray

Former Tampa Bay slugger Carlos Pena announced his retirement Friday and threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Rays’ game against Baltimore at Tropicana Field.

Rays signed a contract with the team earlier in the day and retired as a Ray.

“The Rays, for me, were family ... still is,” Pena said during a news conference at Tropicana Field. “A very special place. I will never forget those days.”

Pena, 37, spent 14 years in the major leagues, playing last for Texas in 2014. He hit 31 homers with 102 RBIs in 2008 with the Rays, who lost to Philadelphia in the World Series.