Daisuke Matsuzaka

By Taishi KUDO

Daisuke was born September 13th , 1980 in Aomori. He is a right-handed pitcher who plays for the Seibu Lions in Japan’s Pacific League. Daisuke was a Yokohama high school student and he came on Koushien (the biggest meeting of baseball teams of high schools) in 1998 and won. After his graduation, he was taken by the Seibu Lions as the first pick of the 1998 draft. His fastball ranges from 90 to 96 mph (145-154 km/h) with good late movement. He also throws a splitter, changeup and slider with almost the same delivery. In 1999, he got “Rookie of the year” prize. From 1999 to 2001, he got “The greatest number of wins” prize. In 2003 and 2004, he got “The most valuable earned run average” prize. In 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005, he got “The largest number of strikeouts” prize. In 2000, he got the “Sawamura” prize. From 1999 to 2001, he got the “Best nine” prize. From 1999 to 2001 and from 2003 to 2006, he got the “Golden globe” prize.

Career Statistics (Through 2006)

Year Win Lose IP K ERA
1999 16 5 180 151 2.60
2000 14 7 167 144 3.97
2001 15 15 240 214 3.6
2002 6 2 73 78 3.68
2003 16 7 194 215 2.83
2004 10 6 146 127 2.90
2005 14 13 215 226 2.30
2006 17 5 186 200 2.12
TOTAL 108 60 1402 1355 2.95