Fujinami, who competed with four teams, pitched in 16 games with 3 wins and 5 losses and an ERA of 3.38.
Pitcher Shohei Ohtani, who has captivated the world with his dual wielding, joined Nippon-Ham in 10 years ago in 2012 as the number one draft pick, and moved to the United States in 2018. In the 2012 Dora 1 group, which is in sync, there are many players who are active as a central player in the team, but three of them have already retired. Let’s take a look at their “current location” here.
Shintaro Fujinami was the most popular pitcher. The local team Hanshin won the four team competition with Orix, Lotte and Yakult. This season, his 10th year, he pitched 16 games, including being the opening pitcher for the second year in a row, with 3 wins and 5 losses and an ERA of 3.38. Pitcher Higashihama, who joined Softbank after competing with three teams, marked 10 wins (6 losses), which is double digits for the first time in 5 years. In the match against Seibu on May 11, he achieved a no-hitter.
Tomoyuki Sugano, a pitcher who has been a ronin for a year, is the one that the Giants “fished”. He has reigned as an ace since he was a rookie, and this season he has pitched in 23 games with 10 wins and 7 losses and an ERA of 3.12, and he is still leading the team. Chunichi’s pitcher Koji Fukutani, who was also a sole nominee, finished in a slump with 1 win and 3 losses and an ERA of 9.00 in the second fewest five games pitched in his career.
Seibu’s pitcher Tatsushi Masuda made a comeback from last season, which ended with 8 saves, with 31 saves and full rotations in 52 pitches, second in the league. Yakult’s Yasuchika Ishiyama pitched 38 games and supported the relief team who won 16 holds and won the league for the second consecutive time. Pitcher Takahiro Matsuba, who was nominated in the first draft by Orix, transferred to Chunichi in the middle of 2019. He pitched in 19 games with 6 wins and 7 losses, and an ERA of 3.33, and struggled as part of the starting rotation. Rakuten pitcher Yudai Mori has been playing as a training player since 2020. He pitched in nine Eastern League games, going 1-0 with a 2.89 ERA.
On the other hand, some players have ended their playing careers. Lotte pitcher Takashi Matsunaga has decided to retire after receiving a second out of force notice. He became a training contract last off-season, and although he took control in July this year, he was unable to pitch the first army since 2020. Infielder Hiroyuki Shirasaki was nominated in first place in the draft from DeNA and was traded to Orix in the middle of 2018. Since last season, he has been a player-coach for Oita B-Rings, which belongs to the independent Kyushu Asian League, but he has decided to retire at the end of this season. Hiroki Takahashi, an infielder from Hiroshima, retired from active duty at the end of last season.
(Full-Count editorial department)