sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Hirokazu Sawamura (澤村 拓一, Sawamura Hirokazu, born April 3, 1988) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He previously played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants and Chiba Lotte Marines, and has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox. Listed at 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m) and 212 pounds (96 kg), he throws and bats right-handed.[1]

Hirokazu Sawamura
Sawamura with the Yomiuri Giants in 2016
Free agent
Pitcher
Born: (1988-04-03) April 3, 1988 (age 34) Tochigi, Japan
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Professional debut
NPB: April 15, 2011, for the Yomiuri Giants
MLB: April 2, 2021, for the Boston Red Sox
NPB statistics (through 2020 season)
Win–loss record	48–52
Earned run average	2.77
Strikeouts	790
Saves	75
Holds	64
MLB statistics (through 2022 season)
Win–loss record	6–2
Earned run average	3.39
Strikeouts	101
Teams
Yomiuri Giants (2011–2016, 2018–2020) Chiba Lotte Marines (2020) Boston Red Sox (2021–2022)
Career highlights and awards
Japan Series champion (2012) Central League Rookie of the Year (2011)
Medals Men's baseball Representing  Japan 2015 WBSC Premier12 2015 Tokyo Team
Last updated on: September 11, 2020

Baseball career

Sawamura played college baseball for Chuo University in Tokyo.[2]

Yomiuri Giants

Sawamura played nine seasons for the Yomiuri Giants during 2011–2020;[3] he missed the 2017 season due to a shoulder injury.[4] In 2011, he was named the Central League Rookie of the Year.[5] In 2013, he was named MVP of the first game of the NPB All-Star Series.[6] During his first four seasons with the Giants, he was predominantly a starting pitcher; after 2014, he only appeared for the Giants as a relief pitcher.[1] As a closer during 2015 and 2016, he recorded 36 and 37 saves, respectively.[3] During his nine seasons with the Giants, he compiled a 48–50 win–loss record with 74 saves.[3]

Sawamura played for the Giants in three Japan Series, the annual championship series of NPB. He was the starting and winning pitcher of Game 2 in 2012,[7] which the Giants went on to win in six games over the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He pitched as a reliever in 2013,[8] when the Giants lost in seven games to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, and in 2019,[9] when the Giants lost in four games to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Chiba Lotte Marines

On September 8, 2020, Sawamura was traded to the Chiba Lotte Marines.[10] With the Marines in 2020, he appeared in 22 games, pitching to an 0–2 record with one save and a 1.71 earned run average (ERA) while striking out 29 batters in 21 innings pitched.[3] After the season, Sawamura became a free agent.[11]

Boston Red Sox

On February 16, 2021, Sawamura officially signed a two-year, $3 million contract with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB).[12] He made his MLB debut on April 2, pitching in relief against the Baltimore Orioles.[13] He earned his first MLB win on April 23, after pitching 1+1⁄3 innings of scoreless relief against the Seattle Mariners.[14] Sawamura was placed on the injured list on July 23 due to right triceps inflammation;[15] he returned to the Red Sox on July 30.[16] He was placed on the COVID-related list on August 31,[17][18] and returned to the team on September 13.[19] Overall during the regular season, Sawamura made 55 relief appearances for Boston, compiling a 5–1 record with 3.06 ERA while striking out 61 batters in 53 innings.[20] He made three postseason relief appearances, all in the American League Championship Series, allowing a single run in two innings pitched.[20]

Sawamura began the 2022 season as a member of the Red Sox bullpen. After posting a 3.60 ERA in 18 relief appearances, he was optioned to the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox on May 28,[21] but recalled to Boston two days later.[22] On August 29, Sawamura was designated for assignment,[23] then sent outright to Triple-A two days later.[24] On September 11, Sawamura was released by the Red Sox.

International career

Sawamura was selected to the Japan national baseball team for the 2013 World Baseball Classic.[25] He also pitched for Japan in the 2015 WBSC Premier12 tournament.[26]

Scouting report

Sawamura throws a fastball topping out at 99 mph (159 km/h),[27] a splitter, and a slider.[28] In college, he also featured a curveball.[2]

Personal

Sawamura gained attention from NBC Sports for singing a rendition of an Alicia Keys song that Eduardo Rodríguez posted on his Instagram account.[29]

See also

• List of Major League Baseball players from Japan

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or NPB.or.jp

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