Kyuji Fujikawa

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Kyuji Fujikawa (藤川 球児)

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Biographical Information[edit]

Kyuji Fujikawa pitched in the Major Leagues and Nippon Pro Baseball for 20 years.

The characters Kyuji mean something like "baseball child"; his father had thrown a no-hitter in an amateur league the day before his birth. In junior high school, he saved a man from drowning. After a very good high school baseball career, he was drafted in the first round of the 1998 NPB draft by the Hanshin Tigers. Fujikawa spent his first couple of years at ni-gun, getting in 19 games for Hanshin in 2000 (0-0, 4.76, 25 K in 22 2/3 IP). After a 2001 injury, he considered retiring, but returned to the hill and got an extended look from Hanshin the next year. Making 12 starts, Fujikawa went 1-5, 3.71. He was 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA the next year in two starts and 15 relief appearances.

In 2004, Kyuji continued to improve, fanning 35 in 31 innings and going 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA. The next year, Fujikawa became a Central League All-Star with a 1.36 ERA, 7-1 record and one save. He pitched a shutout inning in the 2004 NPB All-Star Game 1, then he notched a save with another shutout inning in Game 2. He pitched in 80 games, a Nippon Pro Baseball record. In 92 1/3 innings, he allowed only 57 hits, 20 walks and struck out an impressive 139 batters. That year, Kazuhiro Kiyohara (then with 499 career homers) criticized Fujikawa for throwing a forkball to strike him out instead of challenging him with a fastball. The next time they met, Fujikawa K'd Kiyohara with his heater. With Tomoyuki Kubota as the Hanshin closer, Fujikawa was named NPB Most Valuable Setup Pitcher Award with a league-leading 46 holds.

After his dazzling 2005 campaign, Fujikawa struggled in the 2005 Japan Series, giving up four runs in three innings, though he struck out 4. Picked for the 2006 World Baseball Classic, he was 0-1 in 4 games, but the only run he gave up was unearned. He struck out three and allowed four hits in 2 2/3 innings. Fujikawa was even better to start 2006, almost making it to the All-Star break before he allowed a run. His 47 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings were the 7th-longest stretch in NPB history. He attended the 2006 NPB All-Star Game, and he announced that he would only use his fastball before Game 1. Fujikawa struck out both batters he faced (Michihiro Ogasawara and Alex Ramirez), and he completed another shutout inning in Game 2. Through July 15th, Kyuji was 3-0 with nine saves and a 0.33 ERA. He had allowed 31 hits, 14 walks and 82 strikeouts in 54 2/3 innings. He finished the year with a 5-0 record, 17 saves and 30 holds, a 0.68 ERA, .165 opponent average, 46 hits allowed, 22 walks and 122 strikeouts in 79 1/3 innings over 63 games. He led the league in holds, and he was 4th in saves.

Fujikawa finished a one-hit shutout of the Pacific League in the 2007 NPB All-Star Game 1. He followed Shingo Takatsu, Masanori Hayashi, Atsushi Kizuka, Hitoki Iwase, Hiroki Kuroda, Tomoyuki Kubota and Marc Kroon in the 4-0 win. He reached 100 strikeouts for the third straight season. In 2007, Fujikawa was 5-5 with 46 saves in his first year as a full-time closer. In 71 games and 83 innings, he allowed only 50 hits and 18 walks while striking out 115 batters. He led the Central League in saves and save points and was third in games pitched. He was only 8 strikeouts shy of the #10 spot in the league, held by Hiroki Kuroda.

Fujikawa retired all three batters he faced in the 2007 Asian Championship; Japan won and advanced to the 2008 Olympics. In Beijing, Kyuji struck out 7 in 4 innings and only allowed one run but Japan failed to get a Medal. The only run he allowed came when Japan blew a 2-1 lead over the South Korean national team in the semifinals; Fujikawa relieved Kenshin Kawakami in the 7th and walked Dae-ho Lee before Young-min Ko and Jin-young Lee singled to tie the game. South Korea went on to win Gold. Fujikawa went 8-1 with 38 saves and a 0.67 ERA in 2008, striking out 90 in 67 2/3 innings. He walked 13 and allowed 34 hits for a .125 opponent average and 0.69 WHIP. He was also voted into the 2008 NPB All-Star Game, and he pitched a shutout inning in each of two games. He tied Katsuhiro Nagakawa for second in the Central League in saves, behind Kroon, and led in save points.

In the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Kyuji tossed four shutout innings to help Japan take the title. He was 5-3 with 25 saves, a 1.25 ERA, .161 opponent average, .82 WHIP and 86 K in 57 2/3 IP in 2009. He made his fifth straight CL All-Star team; he allowed a solo shot to Saburo Omura in the 2009 NPB All-Star Game 1. He was 5th in the league in saves. In 2010, he went 3-4 with 28 saves, a 2.01 ERA, .207 opponent average, 1.07 WHIP and 80 K in 62 2/3 IP in a drop-off year; still excellent. He was an All-Star and 4th in the league in saves after Iwase, Chang-yong Lim and Shun Yamaguchi.

Fujikawa was again lights-out with a .140 opponent average, .75 WHIP, 1.24 ERA and 80 whiffs in 51 innings in 2011. He went 3-3 with 41 saves, leading the CL in both saves (4 ahead of Iwase) and save points (7 ahead of Iwase). He was an All-Star for the 7th year in a row, and he pitched a shuotut inning in the 2011 NPB All-Star Game 1. On August 11 against the Yomiuri Giants, Fujikawa notched his 100th career save and became the first player in NPB history to get 100 saves and 100 holds. He went 2-2 with 24 saves and a 1.32 ERA in 2012, finishing 4th in saves behind Tony Barnette, Iwase and Kentaro Nishimura.

On December 1, 2012, Fujikawa signed a two-year contract with the Chicago Cubs. He made his major league debut on Opening Day, April 1, 2013, pitching one-third of an inning to close out a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, earning the save by getting Russell Martin to fly out to center with two men on base after replacing James Russell. After a couple of late-game meltdowns by titular closer Carlos Marmol, manager Dale Sveum announced on April 7th that the Japanese veteran would now fill the role. However, he then had to miss almost a month with elbow problems after giving up 3 runs in one inning to the San Francisco Giants on April 12th; ironically, he picked up his first win that day when the Cubs came back with two runs in the bottom of the 9th for a 4-3 victory. Back in action on May 12th, he pitched 7 times in May, but with no more thoughts of making him the closer. He was shut down after his 12th appearance of the year, on May 26th, again complaining of pain in his elbow. This time, exams showed that he needed Tommy John surgery. His season ended with a record of 1-1, 5.25 and 2 saves in 12 innings. He had struck out 14 while walking only 2, pitching extremely well apart from a couple of rough outings that had accounted for 6 of the 7 runs he had allowed.

Fujikawa returned to the Cubs in August of 2014 and pitched with the team for the remainder of the season, getting into 15 games in relief with no decisions and an ERA of 4.85 in 13 innings. A free agent again, he signed with the Texas Rangers on December 16th. He only pitched 2 games in 2015, and he decided to return to Japan and joined the Tigers again. Fujikawa was 5-6 with 10 holds and a 4.60 ERA in 43 appearances in 2016, then he recorded a 2.22 ERA in 52 relief outings in 2017. Fujikawa fanned Katsuya Kakunaka to collect his 1,000th career strikeout, and he was the fastest player to reach that milestone in NPB history (in terms of innings pitched). He collected 21 holds with a 2.32 ERA in 53 games in 2018, and he ranked 8th in holds. He became the first Tigers pitcher to get 100 strikeouts as a reliever on July 21 against Toshiro Miyazaki, and he broke the team record with his 701st appearance, on September 5.

The Kochi native was selected into the 2019 NPB All-Star Game, and he pitched a shutout inning in Game 2. Fujikawa notched 23 holds and 16 saves with a 1.77 ERA in 56 relief outings in 2019, and he was 7th in holds (tied with Kazuki Mishima) and 3rd in saves (tied with Kota Nakagawa). However, his ERA rose to 6.08 in 16 relief outings in 2020, and he announced his retirement. He was voted into the Meikyukai in 2022. The Tigers named him their new manager in 2025, and he led them had a 85-54-4 record. Fujikawa was the first Hanshin manager to lead the team win the pennant in his first season as a manager. However, the Tigers lost to the Hanshin Tigers in 5 games in the 2025 Nippon Series.

Overall, Fujikawa was 60-38 with a 2.03 ERA, collected 163 holds and 243 saves in 782 appearances, struck out 1,220 and pitched 935 1/3 innings in 17 seasons in NPB. As of 2025, he was 8th in appearance (between Ryota Igarashi and Naoya Masuda), 7th in holds (tied with Igarashi and Yuhei Takanashi) and 6th in saves (between Masuda and Yuki Matsui). In addition to his forkball and fastball (sitting 92-94 mph, tops out at 97 mph), Kyuji threw a curveball. Fujikawa has "no homers allowed" sewn into his glove.

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