Daisuke Matsuzaka biography
Daisuke Matsuzaka, byname Dice-Okay, (born September 13, 1980, Tokyo, Japan), Japanese skilled baseball pitcher who grew to become a star participant in each Japan and the United States. In 2007, his first season of Major League Baseball (MLB), he helped the Boston Red Sox win a World Series championship.
Before Matsuzaka made the transfer to the American League Red Sox, he had already attained legendary standing in Japan. A star pitcher from his youth, he led Yokohama High School to the 1998 Japanese National Invitational High School Baseball Tournament championship, pitching a no-hitter within the title sport. Upon his commencement that 12 months, the 6-foot (1.8-metre), 185-pound (84-kg) right-hander was chosen by the Seibu Lions of the Pacific League as the highest general draft decide. Matsuzaka earned Rookie of the Year honours in 1999, ending the season with a report of 16 wins and 5 losses. In his eight seasons with the Lions, he compiled a win-loss report of 108–60 and threw a complete of 1,355 strikeouts in 204 video games.
At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Matsuzaka helped the Japanese baseball workforce seize the bronze medal. He additional raised his worldwide profile together with his dominating efficiency on the first-ever World Baseball Classic in 2006, the place he was named the event’s most useful participant after going undefeated in three begins and giving up simply 4 hits throughout Japan’s 10–6 victory over Cuba within the championship sport. The MLB bidding struggle after the 2006 season was intense and in the end was gained by the Red Sox, who agreed to pay the Seibu Lions greater than $51 million for the negotiating rights to Matsuzaka after which signed the pitcher to a six-year contract price one other $52 million.
Such a big contract introduced hefty expectations, which at instances Matsuzaka—or Dice-Okay, as he was quickly dubbed—struggled to satisfy as he tallied a mediocre regular-season report of 15–12, with a 4.40 earned run common (ERA). His gutsy play within the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and the World Series, nonetheless, quieted critics who had commented on his regular-season report and on his shaky begins at first of the playoffs. The rookie got here up with a pair of clutch performances within the postseason when his workforce wanted him most, profitable each the decisive seventh sport of the ACLS towards the Cleveland Indians and sport three of the World Series towards the Colorado Rockies, which made him the primary Japanese pitcher to win a World Series sport.
Matsuzaka had a robust second season in 2008, compiling an 18–3 regular-season report and a low 2.90 ERA. Prior to the beginning of the 2009 baseball season, he once more performed for Japan within the World Baseball Classic, as soon as extra main it to a first-place end and being named the event’s most useful participant. However, his play there apparently strained his pitching arm. He fared poorly in his early 2009 begins; his ERA mushroomed; and he spent appreciable time as an inactive participant on the disabled listing. The injury-plagued Matsuzaka began simply 55 complete video games from 2009 to 2012, compiling a cumulative 5.53 ERA over these seasons.
Matsuzaka grew to become a free agent following the 2012 season, and he signed a minor-league contract with the Cleveland Indians in February 2013. He was launched the next August having by no means joined Cleveland’s major-league roster and was rapidly signed by the New York Mets. He appeared in 34 video games for the Mets—primarily as a reduction pitcher—and signed with Japan’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks within the low season. His play was restricted by accidents, nonetheless, and in 2018 Matsuzaka joined the Chunichi Dragons. He posted a 6–4 report with a 3.74 ERA in his first season with the workforce and was named Nippon Professional Baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year.