The Major League Baseball season officially kicks off Tuesday morning as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs meet in Japan for the two-game Tokyo Series. It’s a highly-anticipated matchup as Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki play for the Dodgers against Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs.
The Seattle Mariners opened up the 2019 season in Japan against the Oakland Athletics, and though they won’t open this year until the domestic Opening Day on March 27, the M’s do have quite a rich history with the Pacific Rim.
The Mariners have long been one of the most successful franchises at finding and cultivating Japanese talent, and they have had several influential Japanese players come through the organization from soon-to-be Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki to catcher Kenji Johjima to no-hitter thrower Hisashi Iwakuma.
However there are others, and in honor of the Toyko Series, we want to highlight one of them now: Closer Kazuhiro Sasaki.
Sasaki came to the Mariners before the 2000 season after 10 year-career in Japan with the Baystars. He instantly won the closer job for the M’s, saving 37 games in the 2000 season as the team advanced to the American League Championship Series. He also won the American League Rookie of the Year Award.
In 2001, he picked up where he left off, helping the Mariners win an American League record 116 games and advance to the ALCS again. He saved 45 games and made his first of two All-Star Games, pairing with Ichiro to make an incredible Japanese connection.
Sasaki made the All-Star team again in 2002, appearing in 61 games and saving 37 more while amassing a 2.52 ERA. The next year would be his last in the States, as he broke down, saving just 10 games in 35 appearances.
All in all, Sasaki was 7-16 with the Mariners, posting 129 saves, which are still the most in franchise history. He had a 3.14 ERA.
After his time with the Mariners, he went back to Japan and pitched parts of two more years with the Baystars.
NEW PODCAST IS OUT! Brady is back for another episode of “Refuse to Lose,” where he talks about the latest George Kirby injury update, the battle for the final roster spots and more, including Randy Johnson showing up at camp. Also, our Mariners on SI reporter Teren Kowatsch stops by, live from Peoria. CLICK HERE:
MARTINEZ MOVING ON: Seth Martinez, who the Mariners picked up earlier this offseason, is on the move to Miami. CLICK HERE:
MORE TO WORRY WITH KIRBY? Buster Olney of ESPN joined a recent episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast and discussed the M’s injury situation with George Kirby. CLICK HERE:
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