Carlos Guillen, a three-time All-Star and .285 hitter in 14 major league seasons with the Mariners and Tigers, retired Tuesday morning at Seattle's Arizona camp.

"It's a tough decision for me and for my family and everybody,'' Guillen said, according to the The Seattle Times' Geoff Baker. "Because I tried to come back, but I can't.''

Guillen, 36, has been limited by injuries over the past three seasons, playing an average of 59 games.

"You have to keep your head up and be in the right position to keep going," he said, according to MLB.com's Greg Johns. "But at this time, your body tells you, you know?

"It's hard because you only make this decision one time in your career and in your life."

He will be remembered in Seattle for his bunt that ended Game 3 of the 2000 American League Division Series against the White Sox. He was an even more productive offensive player with Detroit, which acquired him in 2004.

Guillen batted .320 with 19 homers and 85 RBI for the Tigers' pennant-winning club in 2006. The next season, he hit. 296 with 21 homers and 102 RBI.

Last year, he found himself in the middle of some controversy during a tense game with the Angels in which the Tigers' Justin Verlander lost a no-hitter in the eighth inning.

Angels starter Jered Weaver was ejected in the bottom of the seventh for throwing above the head of the Tigers' Alex Avila, a pitch that followed a home run by Carlos Guillen in which Guillen admired, then he stared at Weaver as he trotted to first base.

Originally signed by the Astros as a an amateur free agent out of Venezuela in 1992, Guillen was traded to Seattle in 1998 in the trade deadline deal that sent Randy Johnson to Houston. Seattle also got pitchers Freddy Garcia and John Halama in the trade.

Guillen was the starting shortstop for the 2001 Mariners team that won an AL-record 116 games.

Guillen, who also played the other three infield positions and 48 games of outfield in his career, signed a minor league deal to return to Seattle earlier this month.

"It's hard,'' he said, according to Baker. "It's funny, but I don't feel ready.''