Hisashi Iwakuma
From BR Bullpen
Hisashi Iwakuma
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 3", Weight 168 lb.
[edit] Biographical Information
Hisashi Iwakuma was the 5th-round pick of the Kintetsu Buffaloes in 2000. Spending most of his rookie year in the minors, he joined the team's rotation in '02, going 8-7 with a 3.69 ERA. In 2003 Iwakuma established himself as Kintetsu's ace, going 15-10 with a 3.45 ERA. He was sixth in the Pacific League in ERA and fourth in wins despite playing on a fifth-place team. Iwakuma did even better in '04, with a 15-2, 3.01 season. He led the PL in wins, was second to Daisuke Matsuzaka in ERA and didn't suffer a defeat till after the All-Star Game (starting off the year 12-0). The rest of the Kintetsu staff went 46-68 during the year.
Iwakuma received even more fame after the 2004 season. When the Buffaloes announced a merger with the Orix Blue Wave, Kintetsu's ace said he would not play for the new team. The merged Orix Buffaloes selected him in a draft of the former Buffalo and Blue Wave players, but Iwakuma continued his refusals. The usually-docile players' union threw their weight behind Iwakuma and the Buffaloes relented, letting Iwakuma go to the expansion Rakuten Golden Eagles instead.
Iwakuma's first season with Rakuten paled statistically in comparison with his last Kintetsu season. He was clearly the ace of the new squad though - his 4.99 ERA was the best by a starter and his 9-15 record gave him more wins than the next two pitchers combined. He also threw half of the team's 18 complete games. Hisashi did not pitch much in 2006, going 1-2 with a 3.72 ERA in six games. Shoulder injuries and new rules about pitch deliveries limited his effectiveness and playing time.
Iwakuma went 5-5 with a 3.40 ERA in 2007. After his three ineffective seasons from 2005-2007, Iwakuma turned things around in a big way in 2008. He went 21-4 with a 1.87 ERA. He edged Yu Darvish by .01 for the PL lead in ERA, led the league in innings (201 2/3), was third with 159 strikeouts (trailing Toshiya Sugiuchi and Darvish) and tied for second with two shutouts. That earned him Pacific League MVP honors. He became just the third MVP in Nippon Pro Baseball history from a 5th-place team, following Hiromitsu Ochiai (1982) and Hiromitsu Kadota (1988. Iwakuma also won the Sawamura Award as the best pitcher in Japan. No one had won 21 games in a NPB season since Yoshinori Sato in 1985.
Iwakuma pitched for the Japanese national team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He went 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA, allowing only 12 hits in 20 innings while striking out 15. He lost a 1-0 duel to Jung-keun Bong of South Korea, giving up a 4th inning run on a walk to Jong-wook Lee and hits by Keun-woo Jeong and Tae-kyun Kim. He tossed a scoreless 7th inning in a win over Cuba. Iwakuma started the second game against Cuba, a make-or-break game; he tossed only 69 pitches in six shutout innings before Toshiya Sugiuchi completed the whitewash. It was the earliest Cuba had ever been eliminated from a major baseball tournament. Iwakuma then got the call from Tatsunori Hara to start the finale against South Korea. He allowed only one run in the first 7 innings (a homer by Shin-soo Choo) before giving up a second score in the 8th; he left with a 3-2 lead but Yu Darvish blew the save. Japan went on to win in the 10th. Iwakuma led the tournament in innings (20) and was second to Darvish in strikeouts. He made the All-Tournament team alongside fellow pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Bong. Matsuzaka beat him out for MVP honors, but said that Iwakuma deserved them more.
