The Koshien was only the beginning. As an 18-year-old in 1999, Matsuzaka was the Pacific League Rookie of the Year. He won 16 games in 24 starts, and struck out Ichiro three times in a game. Except for 2002, when he strained his groin, he has averaged 14.6 wins and 182 strikeouts a season, and his career ERA is 2.95.
In international competition, Matsuzaka has been even better. He fired eight shutout innings vs. Cuba in the 2004 Olympics, and he went 30 with a 1.38 ERA and earned MVP honors last March as Japan won the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Although Team USA didn't face Matsuzaka, manager Buck Martinez followed him closely, calling him "a one or a two," a big-game pitcher. A veteran MLB scout compares the six-foot, 187-pound Matsuzaka to Hall of Famer Tom Seaver and says his arm strength is vastly superior to Nomo's. And, like El Duque, Matsuzaka can attack hitters from dizzying angles, with multiple pitch sequences. He throws a fastball in the low- to mid-90s (topping out at 97), a slider, a changeup, a curveball, a forkball, a two-seam fastball and a splitter (some say it's a shuuto, a nasty sinker that late-breaks down and in on righthanded hitters).
前の記事ではシリング、今度はシーバー。野茂より上。
In international competition, Matsuzaka has been even better. He fired eight shutout innings vs. Cuba in the 2004 Olympics, and he went 30 with a 1.38 ERA and earned MVP honors last March as Japan won the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Although Team USA didn't face Matsuzaka, manager Buck Martinez followed him closely, calling him "a one or a two," a big-game pitcher. A veteran MLB scout compares the six-foot, 187-pound Matsuzaka to Hall of Famer Tom Seaver and says his arm strength is vastly superior to Nomo's. And, like El Duque, Matsuzaka can attack hitters from dizzying angles, with multiple pitch sequences. He throws a fastball in the low- to mid-90s (topping out at 97), a slider, a changeup, a curveball, a forkball, a two-seam fastball and a splitter (some say it's a shuuto, a nasty sinker that late-breaks down and in on righthanded hitters).
前の記事ではシリング、今度はシーバー。野茂より上。