Roki Sasaki

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Roki Sasaki (佐々木 朗希)
(Wonder of Reiwa)

BR page

Biographical Information[edit]

Roki Sasaki pitched one of the best games in Nippon Pro Baseball history when he was only 20 years old.

His father and grandfather died in the massive Tohoku earthquake in March 2011, and the family home in Rikuzentakata was destroyed. [1] As a result, his family moved to Ofunate where he began to play baseball, but as he found success on the field, he became a symbol of hope for his birth town. He pitched one shutout inning (1 BB, 1 K, 0 H) for Japan in the 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup. [2] He hit 99.4 on the radar gun as a high school senior, tying Shohei Otani's record for a Japanese high schooler; there were rumors he hit 101.2 for a scout. [3] In the 2019 NPB draft, he was the first pick of four teams (the Nippon Ham Fighters, Chiba Lotte Marines, Rakuten Golden Eagles and Seibu Lions, with Chiba Lotte winning the lottery for his rights. [4]

He did not appear in a game in 2020. He was 3-2 with a 2.27 ERA in 11 games for the Marines in 2021, fanning 68 in 63 1/3 IP; he was 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA and 0.65 WHIP in five minor league games as well. He got two votes for the 2021 Pacific League Rookie of the Year Award, finishing fifth. [5] He started their first playoff game and fanned ten in six innings against the Golden Eagles but his bullpen blew the lead; they rallied to win later. [6]

In his first game of 2022, his fastball reached a new record speed for himself, 101.9 mph. [7] On April 10, he pitched a game for the ages. He fanned 13 in a row, shattering the old NPB record of nine set in 1957 by Takao Kajimoto and tied by Masayuki Dobashi in 1958 (Yutaka Enatsu had fanned nine straight in 1971 NPB All-Star Game 1). [8] He finished with 19 whiffs, tying Koji Noda's NPB record. [9] He threw a perfect game against the Orix Buffaloes, including getting the 3-4-5 hitters to strike out all nine times up (Masataka Yoshida, Rangel Ravelo, Shuhei Fukuda). [10] He was the first NPB pitcher to throw a regular-season perfect game since Hiromi Makihara in 1994 (Daisuke Yamai and Hitoki Iwase had combined on one in the 2007 Japan Series). It was the 18th NPB perfecto and he was the youngest pitcher to have thrown one. [11] In his next start on April 16th, he was perfect for the first 8 innings against the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters before being removed after throwing 102 pitches in what was still a scoreless tie (Chiba lost the game, 1-0, in extra innings). He struck out 14 batters in the 8 innings, giving him a streak - still active - of 52 straight batters retired. That streak ended quickly in his next start, on April 24th, he gave up a hit to Shuhei Fukuda of the Orix Buffaloes on his first pitch of the game. He went 9-4, 2.02 in 20 games that season.

Sasaki followed his breakout season with two more excellent years. In 2023, he was 7-4, 1.78 in 15 games, striking out 135 batters in just 91 innings as he missed some time. That came after he had made two starts for Japan and won one game on their way to winning the title in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In 2024, he played 18 games and finished at 10-5, 2.35. That ERA was his highest since turning pro. He also struck out 129 batters in 111 innings. Following the season, Chiba Lotte acceded to his demand of being posted, making him available to transfer to Major League Baseball. His availability was certain to raise a great amount of interest among MLB teams. The posting period began on December 9th. On January 17, 2025, he announced on social media that he had chosen to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Details of the deal were not immediately made public, but it was thought to include a signing bonus of $6.5 million, while his salary for the first six years would be aligned with MLB standards for players under team control: being under 25 at the time of being posted, he was considered an international amateur free agent, as his future teammate Shohei Ohtani had been when he had first signed with the Los Angeles Angels before cashing in big time with the Dodgers via free agency.

He made his major league debut in his native country, starting the second game of a two-game, season-opening series against the Chicago Cubs at the Tokyo Dome on March 19, 2025. After a dominant 1st inning, he struggled a bit with his command, issuing 2 walks in the 2nd, and another 3 in the 3rd, including one that forced in the only run he gave up in those three frames. Control was again in an issue in his first start at Dodger Stadium on March 29th, when he walked four in 1 2/3 innings and gave up two runs on three hits in an abbreviated outing against the Detroit Tigers. He continued to struggle to find his rhythm in April, finishing the month at 0-1, 3.55. His main issue was his control, with 18 walks allowed in 25 1/3 innings; that matched the 18 hits he had given up, and was barely fewer than his 20 Ks. He recorded his first career win on May 3rd when he defeated the Atlanta Braves, 10-3, on the road. He allowed 3 runs in 5 innings, which required 98 pitches, but was bailed out by his batters, who scored seven runs in the first four innings. He made one more start before going on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement. He finished the season at 1-1, 4.46 in 10 games, which was a bit of a disappointment. However, he was great in the Dodgers' win over the Philadelphia Phillies in the Division Series. He recorded his first save as a professional by pitching the final inning of Game 1, then came in to resolve a tight situation in Game 2 two days later, recording the final out of a 4-3 win. In game 4, he pitched three perfect innings with the two teams tied and the game going into extra innings, before the Dodgers won the game and the series in the 11th inning. He picked up another save in Game 3 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers before completing the sweep in Game 4 by again pitching a scoreless 9th in what was not a save situation, thanks in large part to the heroics of countryman Shohei Ohtani, who had homered three times and received credit for the win. In the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, he pitched 1 1/3 scoreless inning in the marathon game 3, that eventually went 18 innings, then was brought in to save Game 6 with a 3-1 lead and two innings to go on October 31st. He wasn't as overpowering as in previous appearances, and ran out of steam before he could nail things down in the 9th inning, as Tyler Glasnow was summoned out of the bullpen to get out of a tricky situation and get the save. He warmed up during Game 7, which also went into extra innings, but it was countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto who played the hero on the mound, shutting down a 9th inning rally and then getting the win in the 11th inning as the Dodgers earned their second straight championship.

Heading into the 2026 season, the Dodgers announced that there were no plans to turn Sasaki into a full-time reliever, in spite of his postseason success, and that his future was as a starting pitcher. This time, he skipped the 2026 World Baseball Classic in order to concentrate on the upcoming season. It did not pay immediate dividends, as he put up an ERA of 13.50 in 3 spring training starts, and his final outing, against the Los Angeles Angels on May 23rd was simply disastrous: he failed to retire a batter in the 1st inning, walking three and plunking one, before being replaced by Ronan Kopp. This still being spring training, he was allowed to re-enter the game later, but the Dodgers were concerned about his continuing struggles with his control. His first regular season start on March 30th against the Cleveland Guardians went much better as he gave up just 1 run in 4 innings and struck out 4, ending up with a no-decision. In his first four starts, he was 0-2, 6.11, and when closer Edwin Díaz had to undergo surgery to remove bone chips in his pitching elbow on April 22nd, the calls to make Roki the replacement closer were heard once again, with sportswriter Bill Plaschke leading the charge.

Notable Achievements[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ↑ Kyodo News
  2. ↑ 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup
  3. ↑ Japanese Wikipedia
  4. ↑ Japanese Wikipedia
  5. ↑ NPB site, 2021 PL Rookie of the Year voting
  6. ↑ NPB site, playoff box score
  7. ↑ Japanese Wikipedia
  8. ↑ Chunichi
  9. ↑ World Baseball and Softball Confederation
  10. ↑ NPB site, box score of perfect game
  11. ↑ Nikkan Sports

Further Reading[edit]

  • David Adler: "'It's as if he's throwing his soul': Get to know Japanese ace Roki Sasaki", mlb.com, March 19, 2023. [1]
  • David Adler: "3 reasons Sasaki should thrive in the Majors", mlb.com, January 17, 2025. [2]
  • Chris Bumbaca: "Who is Roki Sasaki? Meet Japanese pitching phenom who almost threw back-to-back perfect games", USA Today, April 17, 2022. [3]
  • Sonja Chen: "Sasaki a symbol of hope for people of Japan", mlb.com, March 16, 2025. [4]
  • Sonja Chen: "Roki shows flashes of brilliance -- and wildness -- in MLB debut", mlb.com, March 19, 2025. [5]
  • Sonja Chen and David Adler: "Japanese phenom Sasaki picks the Dodgers", mlb.com, January 17, 2025. [6]
  • Sonja Chen: "After 3 perfect innings in G4, Dodgers running out of superlatives for Sasaki", mlb.com, October 10, 2025. [7]
  • Sonja Chen: "The origin story of Sasaki's electric -- and contagious -- warmup music", mlb.com, October 19, 2025. [8]
  • Sonja Chen: "How did Roki's relief role help him toward a return to the rotation?", mlb.com, November 29, 2025. [9]
  • Rick Farlow: "Sasaki earns 1st win with help from Ohtani and Co.", mlb.com, May 4, 2025. [10]
  • Rick Gold: "Back-to-back perfect games? Almost", mlb.com, April 17, 2022. [11]
  • Thomas Harrigan: "Sasaki reiterates 'desire to play' in MLB -- but how soon?", mlb.com, January 27, 2024. [12]
  • Thomas Harrigan: "Japanese ace Sasaki coming to MLB next season", mlb.com, November 9, 2024. [13]
  • Thomas Harrigan: "Japanese phenom Sasaki posted for MLB teams", mlb.com, December 9, 2024. [14]
  • Pat James: "Japanese phenom fans 19 in perfect game", mlb.com, April 10, 2022. [15]
  • Yuri Kageyama and Stephen Wade (Associated Press): "Pitcher Roki Sasaki next 'big thing' from Japanese baseball", Yahoo! News, March 7, 2023. [16]
  • Brian Murphy: "After star turn in bullpen, Sasaki 'absolutely' in Dodgers' rotation plans for '26", mlb.com, November 14. 2025. [17]
  • Jonathan Mayo: "Here's the scouting report on Roki Sasaki", mlb.com, November 13, 2024. [18]
  • Andrés Soto: "Sasaki's latest bullpen feat? Securing Dodgers' trip to World Series", mlb.com, October 18, 2025. [19]

Related Sites[edit]

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