Daisuke Matsuzaka ( 松 坂 大 輔 Matsuzaka Daisuke , Daisuke Matsuzaka romaji ; born September 13, 1980 in Aomori ) is a Japanese professional baseball player who plays for the Chunichi Dragons Japanese professional baseball club. From 2007 to 2014, he played in the Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets . Before arriving in the United States, he played for the Ceibu Lions team at home. As part of the Japanese national team, he twice became the winner and most valuable player in the World Baseball Classics , as well as the bronze medalist of the 2004 Summer Olympics .
| Daisuke matsuzaka | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Chunichi Dragons - No. 18 | |||
| Pitcher | |||
| |||
| Personal data | |||
| Date of Birth | September 13, 1980 (age 38) | ||
| Place of Birth | Aomori , Japan | ||
| Professional debut | |||
| April 5, 2007 for the Boston Red Sox | |||
| Selected Statistics | |||
| Victory wins | 56–43 | ||
| Earned run average | 2.95 | ||
| Strike outs | 1355 | ||
| Teams | |||
| |||
| Awards and Achievements | |||
| |||
| Sports Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Baseball | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Bronze | Athens 2004 | Baseball |
| World Baseball Classic | ||
| Gold | San Diego 2006 | |
| Gold | Los Angeles 2009 | |
Content
- 1 Biography
- 1.1 The early years
- 1.2 Professional career in Japan
- 2 Personal life
- 3 notes
- 4 References
Biography
Early years
Matsuzaka, the first child was born on September 13, 1980 in the city of Aomori , Aomori Prefecture . Parents, Satoru and Yumiko, named him after pitcher Daisuke Araki, who became the main star of the baseball championship among schoolchildren that year [1] . In 1987, Daisuke went to elementary school in Tokyo , in the third grade went in for baseball, in the sixth - began to play for the school team as a pitcher , in the ninth - he helped the school team reach the final of the national championship.
In the spring of 1996, Matsuzaka was accepted to Yokohama High School, known for its baseball program. By the second year of study, he became the star of the school team. In 1998, Daisuke began to regularly serve a fastball ball at a speed of about 140 km / h, this skill helped the school team win the 1998 spring and summer championships [2] . In the quarterfinal of the summer tournament, Matsuzaka made 250 innings in 17 inings, in the semifinal the next day, 8 inings held as an outfielder, and in the last inning he turned out as a pitcher and, having made 15 innings, helped the team win. In the final match against students from Kyoto, Daisuke made 11 strikeouts and did not allow his opponents to make a single hit [3] .
Professional Career in Japan
In 1998, after graduating from the school, Matsuzaka was selected in the draft of the Japanese baseball league team " Seibu Lyons " from the Pacific League . Daisuke's professional debut took place on April 7, 1999 in a match against the Nippon Ham Fighters team at Tokyo Dome Stadium, which ended with the Lyons victory. On May 16, 1999, Matsuzaka was first confronted by the famous Ichiro Suzuki , one of the best Japanese players, seven times becoming the best slugger in Japan and subsequently achieving significant success in Major League Baseball. Eighteen-year-old Daisuke pulled his eminent opponent out of the game with three strikeouts and once allowed him to take first base after the walk . Suzuki later said that he had never seen such innings before [4] . In his debut season, Matsuzaka received an invitation to the All-Star Game of the Japanese Baseball League , won 16 wins, suffered 5 defeats and was recognized as the best rookie of the Pacific League.
Personal life
Married to television journalist Tomoyo Shibate (born 1974), who previously worked on the sports channel of the Nippon television network in Japan [3] . They have two children: daughter Nico (born in 2005) and a son (born March 15, 2008) [5] .
Notes
- ↑ Marsuzaka Archived on June 9, 2008. . Nikkansports.com
- ↑ Summer tournament is big in Japan . Stephen Ellsesser. MLB.com November 8, 2006
- ↑ 1 2 Beware of The Monster . Eric Neel ESPN. November 22, 2006
- ↑ A Japanese All-Star Game and a Reunion at Fenway . Jack Curry. NY Times. April 11, 2007
- ↑ Dice'Ks wife gives birth, clearing way for Japan trip . Associated Press. ESPN. March 16, 2008
Links
- Datsuke Matsuzaka on the MLB website
- Matsuzaki statistics in Japan
- Daisuke Matsuzaka - Olympic statistics at Sports-Reference.com