Masumi Kuwata
[edit] BiographyMasumi Kuwata (桑田 真澄 Kuwata Masumi, born 1 April 1968 in Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese righthanded baseball pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. He was formerly with the Yomiuri Giants of the Central League. He pitched 21 seasons with the Giants, beginning in 1986. In December, 2006 Masumi signed a minor league deal with the Pirates. Despite interest from the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Masumi chose Pittsburgh because he predicted he would have the best chance of breaking in the main club as a starter with the Pirates. Kuwata participated in spring training with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but injured his right ankle, ending hopes of getting on a major league roster at the start of the season. The Pirates did not release Kuwata, but placed him on their Triple-A Indianapolis Indians roster as a disabled player, giving him a chance to work his way up to the majors. He made his major league debut for the Pirates in June. [edit] CareerKuwata entered the prestigious PL (Perfect Liberty) High School in Osaka, and immediately became a star in high school baseball. Kuwata led his team to five Koshien tournaments, winning the tournament twice. The Yomiuri Giants drafted Kuwata in the 1st round in 1985. The draft generated some controversy, since Kuwata had repeatedly expressed a desire to continue his education at Waseda University, prompting other teams to refrain from picking him in the draft. Kuwata reversed his previous statements and immediately signed with the Yomiuri Giants, founding rumors that he had conspired with the Giants to avoid being picked by other teams. Kuwata quickly established his presence in the professional leagues, winning 15 games in his second year (1987) with a 2.17 ERA, the lowest in the league. MLB pitcher Bill Gullickson belonged to Giants in 1988-1989, and made the friendship with Kuwata. Gullickson took the name to his son, as "Craig Kuwata Gullickson", and gave many knowledges and technics for this Japanese. Kuwata told his dream was given from Bill at first, to go to MLB in future. But, many problems didn't allow it to be realized. He won the Sawamura Award (the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young Award) the same year, and won over ten games for six consecutive seasons starting in 1992. No other modern player (with the exception of Daisuke Matsuzaka) that entered the professional leagues from high school has been so immediately effective in the Japanese professional leagues. Kuwata suffered a severe injury to his right elbow while attempting to catch a pop fly in June, 1995, ending his season. Kuwata had surgery in the U.S., and spent the rest of 1995 and all of 1996 in rehab. He made a comeback in 1997, winning 10 games, and 16 games in 1998, but his pitching had noticeably deteriorated compared to the years before his injury. As he became more and more hittable, he was relegated to relief and closing duties, where he was mostly unsuccessful. Kuwata decided to retire during the 2001 off-season, but Giants general manager Tatsunori Hara convinced him to remain on the team. Kuwata made a brilliant performance in 2002, posting a 2.22 ERA (lowest in the league), and winning over 10 games for the first time in four years. However, he once again dipped into mediocrity in the 2003 season, and did not win a single game in 2005. At the end of the 2006, Kuwata surprised fans by announcing his intent to play in the Major Leagues[1] . Kuwata signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a 38 year old rookie, ending his 21-year stay with the Yomiuri Giants. On June 9, 2007, Kuwata was promoted to the Pittsburgh Pirates after reliever Salomon Torres was placed on the disabled list. He is the first Japanese player in team history. He made his Major League debut June 10, 2007 [2] in a game against the New York Yankees. At that time, he was 39 years old. He gave up 2 runs in 2 innings on a home run to third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
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