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Daisuke Matsuzaka

is a Japanese starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

He previously played for the Seibu Lions in Japan's Pacific League. He was selected the MVP of the 2006 World Baseball Classic and is an Olympic bronze medalist.

Early life

He was born on September 13, 1980, in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture. He was named after Japanese high school star pitcher Daisuke Araki. He grew up in Koto, Tokyo.

High school career

After excelling at the Little League and junior high level, Daisuke Matsuzaka was admitted into Yokohama High School, a baseball powerhouse, in the spring of 1996. By his second of three years, he had developed into the school's ace pitcher. Despite his early success, he would experience a setback that summer when he allowed a go-ahead wild pitch in the semi-final game of the Kanagawa Prefecture preliminary round of the National High School Baseball Championship (Summer Koshien). During that offseason, his fastballs first began to regularly clock in at around . After pitching his school to the championship of the National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament (Spring Koshien), Matsuzaka set his aim on the 1998 Summer Koshien and eventually led his school to the championship.

The legendary 3 days at the 1998 summer Koshien

In the quarterfinal of that year's Summer Koshien, Matsuzaka threw 250 pitches in 17 innings in a win over powerhouse PL Gakuen. (The previous day he had thrown a 148-pitch complete game shutout.) The next day though trailing 6-0 in the top of the eighth inning, the team miraculously won the game by scoring 7 runs in the last two innings (four in the eighth and three in the ninth). In that game he started in left field, but came in as a reliever in the ninth inning to record the win in 15 pitches. In the final, he threw a no-hitter, the second ever in a final. This performance garnered him the attention of many scouts.

1998 draft

After graduating from high school, he was taken by the Seibu Lions with the first pick of the 1998 draft, although both the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks of the American Major Leagues also recruited him. At first, Matsuzaka stated that he want to play for the Yokohama BayStars, and that he would go to company then choose the team of his choice through the reverse-draft/gyaku-shimei system. That changed however, when the manager of the Lions, Osamu Higashio, an accomplished pitcher in his own right, met with Matsuzaka for dinner and gave his winning ball for career win number 200. It was his only memorial ball which he had. Matsuzaka accepted it and allowed himself to be drafted by the Lions.

Baseball players who were born in the 1980 academic year (from April 2, 1980 to the following April 1, 1981) have been called the in Japan.

Nippon Professional Baseball career

Awards in Japan
Awards		2003	2004
Sawamura Award
Best Nine Award
Gold Glove
Pacific League champion of	Strikeouts
	Wins
	ERA	(2.83)	(2.90)

Matsuzaka won his first official pro game in his first start of the 1999 season against the Nippon Ham Fighters at the Tokyo Dome. His first career strikeout came against Atsushi Kataoka in the first inning on a high fastball clocked at 155 km/h. He won the game, but he also gave up the first home run in the game to Michihiro Ogasawara of the Nippon Ham Fighters.

On May 16 1999, when Matsuzaka was in his rookie season at age 18, he first faced Ichiro Suzuki, a player for the Orix Bluewave at the time, and recorded 3 strikeouts in 3 at bats with a walk: the first on a fast-ball looking, the next on a high slider swinging, then last on a high fastball swinging. Matsuzaka states that this game was the moment he started to believe that he "belonged" in pro baseball. However, Ichiro would get a bit of revenge on Matsuzaka by hitting his 100th career home run off him in July of that year (footage below).

Matsuzaka started in the All-Star game as a rookie in 1999. He struck out Takuro Ishii and Takanori Suzuki of the Bay Stars before number three hitter Yoshinobu Takahashi of the Giants managed to make contact and fly out to left field.

In his first professional season in 1999, Matsuzaka had 16 wins and 5 losses as the team ace, and was voted Rookie of the Year. Another rookie pitcher in the rival Central League, Koji Uehara, also won the same honor with a 20-win season. Together, they would come to represent their respective leagues as dominant starting pitchers for seasons to come.

In 2000, Matsuzaka had 14 wins and 7 losses. He had 15 wins and 15 losses in his 2001 season and won the Sawamura Award.

Matsuzaka spent a considerable portion of his 2002 season on the disabled list, which did not count toward his service time. He wasn't able to regain his pitching form in the 2002 Japan Series, when the Lions faced the Yomiuri Giants. In Game 1 at Tokyo Dome, where the designated hitter rule is not allowed, Matsuzaka batted 7th in the lineup to take advantage of his above-average hitting for a pitcher. However, not only did Matsuzaka not fare well at the plate in this game, but he also helped the Giants to a rout by giving up two key home runs. One was to extremely popular Giants first baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara, who hit a middle-of-the-plate Matsuzaka fastball off one of the billboards at the back of the left field stands (That footage can be seen in the external links section). Matsuzaka would give up another key RBI to Kiyohara in game 4 in relief, as the Lions were meekly swept by the Giants in the series.

In 2003, Matsuzaka logged 16 wins and 7 losses. He easily won the Pacific League ERA title with a 2.83 mark. Matsuzaka used to play for Japan's National Baseball Team, and pitched against South Korea.

All-Star Game of Nippon Professional Baseball

1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 (MVP), 2005, 2006

2004 Olympic Games

He participated in the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece. However, he lost the semifinal game to Australia by the score of 1-0. His team later defeated Canada and won the bronze medal.

2006 World Baseball Classic

In 2006, Matsuzaka pitched for Japan in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. He was crowned the MVP of the first ever World Baseball Classic after Team Japan defeated Team Cuba 10-6 in the finals. Matsuzaka, the winner of the finale, threw 4 innings of 1 run baseball before exiting. Overall, Matsuzaka pitched a total of 13 innings throughout the tournament while finishing with 3 wins and no losses.

Major League transition

On October 25, 2006, Scott Boras was announced as Matsuzaka's agent to represent him in any contract dealings in the Major Leagues. On November 2, Matsuzaka was officially granted permission by the Lions to pursue a career in Major League Baseball via the posting system.

On November 14, the Boston Red Sox won the bidding rights to Matsuzaka with a bid of $51,111,111.11, outbidding the Texas Rangers, New York Mets, and New York Yankees. The Red Sox had 30 days to sign Matsuzaka to a contract. If a deal could not be reached, Matsuzaka would have returned to the Lions, nullifying the bid. Scott Boras refused to consider the posting fee as part of the contract negotiations, while Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein recalled, "We tried to come up with a total number, for the post and contract, that made sense. On December 11, Epstein, Red Sox owner John W. Henry and CEO Larry Lucchino boarded a plane to "[take] the fight directly to [Boras]". Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe asserted that Boras, by refusing to negotiate, was using Matsuzaka as a protest or "test case of the posting system."

On December 13, Matsuzaka and Boras joined Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, CEO Larry Lucchino, and Chairman Tom Werner on a private plane owned by Red Sox owner John Henry headed for Boston. During the flight—which was followed by both the Boston and the Japanese media—the group agreed to terms on a contract. Journalist Nobuhiro Chiba characterized Japanese reaction to the signing: "I think the people are relieved to send Daisuke to the Boston Red Sox." In Boston, Matsuzaka passed his physical and signed the six-year, $52 million contract, which could be worth as much as $60 million if he fulfills incentives. The details of the contract include a $2 million signing bonus with a $6 million salary in 2007, $8 million in each of the following three seasons (2008–2010), and $10 million in each of the final two years (2011–2012). He also has a no-trade clause, specially constructed by the Red Sox to fit Matsuzaka's contract.

The final agreement was announced Thursday, December 14 at a 5 p.m. EST news conference at Fenway Park. Afterwards some members of the press noted the confusion created by Matsuzaka's translator at that announcement. Art Martone of the Providence Journal commented, "Matsuzaka’s interpreter’s command of the English language was shaky, and thus the pitcher’s translated comments were brief and, occasionally, unintelligible. About the only clear statement relayed by the interpreter was when Matsuzaka said, 'I’m very happy and excited to be a member of the Boston Red Sox.'

Matsuzaka's first major league spring training took place in Fort Myers, Florida, with the Red Sox during February and March 2007. Wearing number 18, the same number he wore during his career in Japan, Matsuzaka pitched well in most of his exhibition starts. He wears number 18 because Masumi Kuwata also wears number 18. The number is traditionally worn by the ace of a pitching staff in Japan.

Major League career

2007 season

Matsuzaka made his first major league regular season start for the Red Sox on April 5, 2007 in an afternoon game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. He walked one, recorded 10 strikeouts, and at one point retired 10 consecutive batters. He allowed only a solo home run on 6 hits while throwing 108 pitches (74 for strikes) over 7 innings and recorded the win as the Red Sox triumphed by a score of 4-1. He was, however, beaten 3-0 by Félix Hernández (who pitched a one hitter), Ichiro Suzuki, Kenji Johjima, and their Seattle Mariners in his Fenway Park debut on April 11, 2007 and defeated again, 2-1, by the Toronto Blue Jays in his third major league start despite striking out 10 Toronto hitters in only 6 innings. Matsuzaka still became the only pitcher to strike out 10 or more batters in 2 of his first 3 big-league starts since Fernando Valenzuela did so in 1981.

In the official press conference after the Toronto start, Matsuzaka stated through his interpreter that gripping the American baseball—which is slightly larger than the Japanese pro ball, with higher seams—had presented some challenges, but that he had begun making adjustments and felt they were successful.

Matsuzaka pitched his first complete game in the major leagues on May 14, 2007, a 7-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers; he had pitched well over 60 complete games in Japan.

Matsuzaka recently signed a multi-million dollar exclusive deal with trading card company Upper Deck. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

On August 10, 2007 Matsuzaka broke the Red Sox rookie record for the most strikeouts in a season with 156 strikeouts. He finished the season with 201 strikeouts.

On September 28, 2007 Matsuzaka went eight innings and threw 119 pitches. He allowed six hits and two runs while striking out eight. With the win against the Minnesota Twins to secure the Red Sox's place as the winner of the Division, he closed out his first Major League season with a record of 15-12 and an ERA of 4.40.

2007 post-season

On October 6, 2007, Matsuzaka made his Major League playoff debut in the 2007 ALDS, in front of his home crowd in Boston against the visiting Los Angeles Angels. Matsuzaka started the game but lasted just 4 and 2/3 innings, giving up 3 earned runs on 7 hits before being pulled. Although Matsuzaka did not get the decision, the Red Sox eventually beat the Angels 6-3.

On October 15, 2007, Matsuzaka started in his second playoff game, in game 3 of the 2007 ALCS against the Cleveland Indians in Cleveland. Much like his playoff debut, Matsuzaka delivered another mediocre outing. Again, Matsuzaka was not able to make it past 5 innings, lasting 4 and 2/3 innings, giving up 4 earned runs on 6 hits. Matsuzaka was pulled after going over the 100-pitch mark. Matsuzaka suffered his first career playoff loss as the Indians beat the Red Sox 4-2. Matsuzaka fared better in Game 7 of the series, on October 21, 2007, retiring the first eight batters he faced. Matsuzaka pitched well for 5 innings, allowing 2 runs. The Red Sox won 11-2, to advance to the 2007 World Series against the Colorado Rockies. Matsuzaka is the first Japanese pitcher to win an MLB playoff game and only the fifth rookie to start a game seven in the playoffs.

On October 27, 2007, he started and led the Red Sox to a 10-5 win in Game 3 of the 2007 World Series against the Rockies, his first World Series appearance, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks, with 5 strikeouts. In the game, he also recorded his first major league hit: a two-out 2-run single off Josh Fogg, making Matsuzaka the third pitcher in Red Sox history to record two RBIs in a World Series game; the others were Babe Ruth (in Game 4 of the 1918 World Series) and Cy Young. Matsuzaka is also the first Japanese pitcher in World Series history to start and win a game. The next day, the Red Sox won the Series in Game 4.

2008 season

In the beginning of 2008 season, Matsuzaka led the Red Sox pitching staff with eight consecutive wins without suffering a single loss. However, on May 27, he left the game against the Seattle Mariners in the bottom of the fifth inning due to a "tired shoulder". The game resulted in a 4-3 loss. The Red Sox placed Matsuzaka on the disabled on May 30, 2008 with a mild right rotator cuff strain. He returned on June 21 but was the losing pitcher after giving up 7 earned runs in just one inning of work against the St. Louis Cardinals. Despite a record of 9-1 and a 3.12 ERA at the break, Matsuzaka was not selected to the 2008 American League All-Star team. On September 15th he won his 17th game of the season, setting a new single-season record for Japanese MLB pitchers, passing previous record holder Hideo Nomo.

Year	Record	ERA	Strikeouts
2007	15-12	4.40	201
2008	18-3	2.90	154

Pitches

Matsuzaka possesses numerous pitches in his repertoire: a four-seam fastball that ranges from 91-94 mph (146-151 km/h) (occasionally clocking 97 mph or 156 km/h) with some late movement, a two-seam fastball in the low 90s (145-150 km/h), a cut fastball in the high 80s (140-143 km/h), a slider in the mid 80s (135-138 km/h), a curveball at about 80 (129 km/h), a forkball, and a screwball-like changeup.

His changeup (breaks like a screwball, similar to Pedro Martínez's change) is commonly confused with the gyroball. According to a documentary done by TV Asahi (footage below), the gyroball is a pitch that is thrown with a bullet-like spin and is designed to have little to no movement. When the angle of the axis is slightly altered, it can have a sudden break as it reaches home plate, and, thus, can be devastating for a batter. However, Matsuzaka still has yet to publicly admit that he can throw a gyroball. The same documentary explains this in two ways: that Matsuzaka wants to keep his pitch a secret, or that he has never been able to intentionally throw the gyroball because it is a random result of him pitching a fastball. Along with Matsuzaka, Hideo Nomo, Nobuyuki Hoshino, and several major leaguers have been confirmed to be able to throw this mystical pitch. As of the 2008 season, Daisuke has not incorporated the gyroball into his arsenal.

Batting

Matsuzaka was an accomplished hitter in high school and he got his first hit in his first ever career at-bat, a single to center, in a game against the Orix Blue Wave when the Lions ran out of bench players and had to allow him to hit for himself. The Pacific League employs the designated hitter rule. Matsuzaka's first pro home run came in an interleague game against Hanshin Tigers pitcher Darwin Cubillán at spacious Koshien Stadium on June 9, 2006. That footage can be seen in the external links section.

Matsuzaka does not have a regular-season hit in two seasons with the Red Sox, but drove in two runs with a single in Game 3 of the 2007 World Series, during a six-run third inning which enabled the Red Sox to win the game.

Personal life

Matsuzaka is married to television journalist Tomoyo Shibata, formerly of Nippon TV in Japan, and in 2005 she gave birth to the couple's daughter, Niko. He also has a son, born on March 15, 2008.

Matsuzaka became involved in a scandal when he began dating Shibata. On September 13, 2000, he drove to her apartment one night without a valid license, illegally parked his car and it got towed, then had a team official take the blame for him to avoid a scandal, but the truth soon got out and he was fined 195,000 yen by the police and put under house arrest for one month by the Lions.

Daisuke is nicknamed in Japan and "Dice-K" in the United States by the Boston Globe and USA Today.