is a former Japanese

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

player with the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

in Japan's

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

Career

He was playing in the Missoula Osprey (Advanced Rookie level under

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

) before he was drafted by the Giants in 2005. He was awarded as Central League's Rookie of the Year in 2008, beating his teammate and another award favorite

Hayato Sakamoto is a Japanese professional baseball shortstop with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). In , Sakamoto became the first player in Giants franchise history to start a season opener while under the age of 20 since Hideki Mats ...

, by finishing with an 11-2 with 67 appearances, the most wins of all-time in Giants' relief pitchers. On October 5, 2018, he announced retirement after the season.

International career

He was selected

Japan national baseball team The is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009, as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by the World Baseball Softb ...

at the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference ti ...

and

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike t ...

References

External links

1983 births Living people Japanese expatriate baseball players in the United States Missoula Osprey players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Baseball people from Yokohama Yomiuri Giants players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players Japanese baseball coaches Nippon Professional Baseball coaches {{Japan-baseball-pitcher-stub