Junichi Tazawa

{{Infobox MLB player| name=Junichi Tazawa| image=Jun'ichi Tazawa 2009.jpg| width=250| position=Starting pitcher| team=Boston Red Sox| number=63| bats=Right| throws=Right| birthdate= (1986-06-06) June 6, 1986| birthplace=Template:City-state| debutdate=August 8| debutyear=2009 in baseball|2009]]]]

Junichi Tazawa (田澤 純一, Tazawa Jun'ichi, born June 6 1986 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture) is a starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. Tazawa was the MVP of the corporate league Intercity Championship in 2008, leading the team to the championship with a 4-0 record and 36 strikeouts. His 97-mile-per-hour (156 km/h) fastball attracted Major League Baseball scouts, and in September 2008, he announced that he would sign with a Major League team for the 2009 season, and would pursue a career in the United States without having pitched a single game in the Nippon Professional Baseball professional league.

Amateur career

After he finished his high school career in Yokohama, Tazawa was not drafted by any of Nippon Professional Baseball's 12 teams, and joined the company team of Nippon Oil in the corporate league, unaffiliated with the NPB.

In 2007, he pitched for Japan at the Baseball World Cup in Taiwan, where his fastball was clocked at 99 miles per hour (159 km/h).

In 2008, Tazawa posted a 10-1 record for Nippon Oil, with a 1.02 earned run average and 95 strikeouts in 88 1/3 innings. In the national corporate league championships, Tazawa posted two straight shutouts, the second one a complete game on four hits, 10 strikeouts and zero walks in a 4-0 quarterfinal win over Hitachi, Ltd. He appeared less than 24 hours later in a relief appearance in the semifinal against Central Japan Railway. Tazawa pitched 2 and 2/3 innings, and allowed three hits, struck out one, and gave up the go-ahead run in a 3-2 loss.

Professional career

In September 2008, Tazawa announced his intention to skip the NPB draft in and to pursue a career with a Major League team. During the 2008 season, his manager Hideaki Okubo encouraged him to attempt a career in Major League Baseball without first playing with a Nippon Professional Baseball team - if he joined a Japanese professional team, he would have to either wait nine years to become a free agent, or hope that his team auction the right to negotiate with him through the posting system.

To avoid conflict between Japanese and U.S. teams, Tazawa asked NPB teams not to select him in the October 30 draft, and the 12 teams complied with the request. However, the teams passed a rule requiring any amateur player who signs overseas to sit out two to three years before he can join a Japanese team; high school players would have to sit two years, while college and corporate players three years.

While Tazawa attracted attention of American scouts, NPB announced that the major leagues of two nations had a gentleman's agreement against signing Japanese amateurs, and general manager Brian Cashman, whose New York Yankees had a partnership agreement with Yomiuri Giants, said his team considered Tazawa hands off. However, Rob Manfred, MLB’s executive vice president for labor and human resources denied that any gentleman's agreement was in place regarding the signing of Japanese amateur players.

On December 4, 2008, Tazawa signed with the Boston Red Sox, reportedly for $3 million over three years. If Tazawa plays at the Major League level, he would become the third Japanese player, after Mac Suzuki and Kazuhito Tadano, to do so without first playing professionally in Japan.

On March 22, 2009, Red Sox optioned Tazawa to its AA affiliate, Portland Sea Dogs.

After achieving a record of 9-5 in 18 starts with a 2.57 ERA with Portland, Tazawa was promoted to the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox on July 27, 2009. While in Portland, Tazawa was named to the 2009 Eastern League All Star team, was tied in second for total amount of wins, and was tied for third in total strike outs with 88.

On August 7, 2009, Tazawa was activated from Pawtucket after the Red Sox designated John Smoltz for assignment. He made his debut that night against the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium. The first batter he faced was countryman Hideki Matsui, retiring him on a line-out. The next batter was Jorge Posada. He hit a hard single off him. Then Robinson Cano hit a blooper single to center field.

External links

• Japanese Ballplayers.com profile

• Career statistics from MLB

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