Masahiko Morifuku

From BR Bullpen

Masahiko Morifuku (森福 允彦)

  • Bats Left, Throws Left
  • Height 5' 8", Weight 150 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Masahiko Morifuku pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 13 years.

Morifuku played for Shidax in the industrial leagues after college. He pitched 1/3 of an inning in the 2006 Haarlem Baseball Week, allowing one hit against the Dutch national team. In the 2006 Intercontinental Cup, he was 2-1 with a 4.15 ERA in three relief outings and one start for the Japanese national team. He tied David Bergman, Shota Oba, Adiel Palma and Tom Stuifbergen for the tourney lead in wins. His victories came against the Philippines national team and Taiwan while he lost to Cuba (4 R, 8 H, 3 BB in 3 IP) in his lone start.

The Softbank Hawks took him in the fourth round of the 2006 NPB draft. He made his debut with the big club in 2007, allowing one run in six innings spread over seven appearances. Morifuku gave up five runs, nine hits and six walks in 6 2/3 IP in 2008. The little lefty surrendered 7 runs in 11 innings in 2009. Masahiko was used 36 times in 2010, going 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA, .202 opponent average and 0.90 WHIP. He got 15 votes for the 2010 Pacific League Rookie of the Year Award, trailing Ryo Sakakibara, Keisuke Katto and None of the Above (48 voters did not name anyone).

Morifuku made his first Pacific League All-Star team in 2011, and he completed a shutout inning with two strikeouts against Wladimir Balentien and Hayato Sakamoto in the 2011 NPB All-Star Game 1; he added a shutout inning in Game 3. He notched 34 holds with a solid 1.13 ERA in 60 appearances that season, and he was 5th in appearances (tied with Ryo Sakakibara) and 2nd in holds (tied with Hirotoshi Masui). In the 2011 Nippon Series, Morifuku get a hold with 1/3 of a shutout inning in Game 3, and he relieved D.J. Houlton when the bases were loaded in the 6th inning of Game 4. He used 11 pitches to strike out PH Masaaki Koike, get CF Ryosuke Hirata on a fly and C Motonobu Tanishige on a grounder to escape the jam. It was called "Morifuku's 11 pitches" recalling legendary Yutaka Enatsu's "Enatsu's 21 pitches" in the 1979 Nippon Series. He pitched 2/3 of a shutout inning to get a hold in Game 7, and he won his first title as the Hawks beat the Chunichi Dragons.

The Aichi native was selected into the 2012 NPB All-Star Game, and he pitched a shutout inning in Game 1. Morifuku notched 24 holds and 17 saves with a 1.39 ERA in 65 relief outings in 2012, and he was 5th in appearances (between Naoki Miyanishi and Koji Aoyama), 7th in holds (tied with Hideki Okajima) and 6th in saves (between Mamoru Kishida and Brian Falkenborg). Morifuku then represented Japan in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, and he completed a shutout inning against Cuba. He then allowed 2 runs including a RBI infield single from Xander Bogaerts of the Netherlands, and Japan won Bronze. Morifuku's ERA was 2.58 with 15 holds in 57 relief outings in 2013, and he was 9th in games (tied with Toshiyuki Yanuki and Miyanishi). He allowed a RBI double to Kosuke Fukudome in the 2014 Nippon Series Game 1, and the Hawks beat the Hanshin Tigers in 5 games.

Morifuku collected 15 holds with a 3.02 ERA in 58 games in 2015, and his ERA rose to 5.28 in 32 appearances with 14 holds in 2016. He bounced back as he got 16 holds with a 2.00 ERA in 50 games in 2017, and he announced that he would become a free agent. The Yomiuri Giants signed him, and his ERA was 3.05 in 30 games in 2018. However, Morifuku only pitched 9 more games in the next two seasons, and he announced his retirement in 2019.

Overall, Morifuku was 17-17 with a 2.59 ERA, notched 134 holds and 18 saves in 423 appearances, struck out 326 and pitched 357 1/3 innings in 13 seasons in NPB. As of 2024, he was 23rd in holds in NPB history, between Takahiro Matsunaga and Kenichi Matsuoka). With a low three-quarters delivery (nearly sidearm) Morifuku threw a low to mid-80s fastball (tops out at 88 mph), a solid slider, and a shuuto (two-seamer).

Sources[edit]

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