ML challenge failed, but I won't forget what I learned, right-hander returning home due to elbow pain on the day the Japanese pitcher posted '43 wins', throwing four innings in two games and stopping
Sep 18, 2024
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Imanaga won his 14th victory over the Oakland Athletics. In his 28th game of the season at Wrigley Field, Chicago, he allowed five hits and two runs in six innings and won five consecutive games. He has made five consecutive quality starts (more than six innings as a starter, less than three earned runs) since the game against the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 25.
It was a big game for him. He pitched 166 ⅓ innings, exceeding the stipulated innings (162 innings). He also recorded 11 strikeouts, his most in one game.
He is a Japanese player with 14 wins and 3 losses, 170 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.03. He is likely to win the Rookie of the Year award for the first time in six years since Shohei Ohtani (30, LA Dodgers) in 2018.
On the same day, Darvish beat the Houston Astros' strongest lineup with three hits and no runs in six innings. He overwhelmed the top team in the American League West with 79 pitches. Darvish, who returned from a long break, won two consecutive games and 202 in the U.S. and Japan.
He won 93 games in the Nippon-Ham Fighters and 109 games in the Major League. If you add one win beyond "Legend" Nomo Hideo, you will be tied with Hiroki Kuroda for the most wins in the U.S. and Japan.
Yamamoto returned from injury and pitched 72 pitches in the fourth inning against the Atlanta Braves. In his second game since returning, he contributed to the 9-0 victory by allowing four hits, two walks, and three strikeouts. He sent out runners every inning, but he didn't lose his concentration until the end. He is 6-2 with a 2.63 ERA in 16 appearances this year.
43 wins.
This is a victory that seven Japanese pitchers posted in the Major League this season. Imanaga, who entered the Major League this year, won 14 games, Yamamoto won six, and Matsui Yuki (29, San Diego) won four games (9 holds).
On the 17th, when Darvish, Imana, and Yamamoto pitched well, a Japanese pitcher boarded a plane to Japan. He is Naoyuki Uwasawa (30), a right-handed pitcher who played for Nippon Ham until last year.
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When Wausawa talked about the Major League, Nippon Ham officials, including manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo, dissuaded him. There were many skeptical views of his trip to the Major League. Uwasa chose the challenge without hesitation.
I participated in Major League camp as an invited player. He took the mound in four exhibition games and lost one game with a 13.03 ERA. He failed to go to the Major League. He moved to the Boston Red Sox and prepared for promotion from Triple-A in the minor league.
On April 28, Major League Baseball calls dropped. He made his first appearance on May 2 against the San Francisco Giants. Two scoreless innings, two hits and one run in two innings against the Minnesota Twins on the 3rd, the next day. The injured player had to give way as he returned. He came down to the minor leagues with the promise of the following. But this was the last one.
In 13 minor league games, he was 3-3 with a 6.54 ERA. He was on the injured list on the 8th due to a fatigue fracture in his right elbow. Discuss the season with the club
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Two Major League games, two hits and one run in four innings. In Triple-A, he pitched 59 innings in 20 games and had a 5-4 record with a 7.63 ERA.
Usawa, who threw as a starting pitcher in Japan, went to the middle in the U.S. He said he had difficulty adapting due to the mid-offensive, adding that `I lacked a lot.' It would have been difficult to pitch slowly raising the pace as a starter and then throw all-out pitching directly as a relief pitcher. He looked back, `I knew the middle pitcher was hard, but I thought it was really great.'
He "I had a hard year, but I knew things I wouldn't have known if I had only been in Japan. Failure is not a bad thing. I won't forget what I learned this year."
I wanted to meet my teammate Ohtani at the stadium when I was at Nippon Ham, but it didn't happen. I met Imana at the Boston Fanway Park.
Wausawa is considering returning to Japan, leaving the Major League behind. He wanted to play baseball again in a familiar environment.
Uwasawa wore the Nippon Ham uniform as the sixth pick of the 2012 rookie draft. 72 wins and 60 losses with a 3.
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huelva@sportschosun.com
