Hisashi Iwakuma facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hisashi Iwakuma岩隈 久志 |
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Iwakuma with the Seattle Mariners in 2013
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| Pitcher | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born: April 12, 1981 Higashiyamato, Tokyo, Japan |
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| Professional debut | ||||||||||||||||||||
| NPB: May 29, 2001, for the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB: April 20, 2012, for the Seattle Mariners | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB: May 3, 2017, for the Seattle Mariners | ||||||||||||||||||||
| NPB: 2019, for the Yomiuri Giants | ||||||||||||||||||||
| NPB statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 107–69 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 3.25 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 1,175 | |||||||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 63–39 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 3.42 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 714 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Hisashi Iwakuma (岩隈 久志, born April 12, 1981) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played for many years in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan. He also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners. Iwakuma stopped playing baseball in 2020 because of ongoing shoulder problems.
Iwakuma started his professional career with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in 2000. He became an NPB All-Star several times. He also played for the Japanese national team in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Later, he joined the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. In 2008, he won the Eiji Sawamura Award, which is like the Cy Young Award in Japan. He also played in the 2009 World Baseball Classic for Japan.
After playing in Japan, Iwakuma moved to Major League Baseball. He signed with the Seattle Mariners in 2012. He was an MLB All-Star in 2013. A big moment in his career was when he pitched a no-hitter in 2015.
Contents
Hisashi Iwakuma: A Baseball Star
Early Life and Baseball Dreams
Hisashi Iwakuma was born in Higashiyamato, Tokyo, Japan. He started playing baseball when he was in the first grade. He went to Horikoshi High School in Nakano, Tokyo. Iwakuma wanted to be a pitcher because he admired Hisanobu Watanabe, a famous pitcher known for his strong performances in important games. Even though his high school team never reached a national tournament, he led them to the semi-finals of a big tournament in 1999.
Playing Professional Baseball in Japan
Starting with the Buffaloes (2000–2004)
The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes picked Iwakuma in the 1999 NPB draft. He spent his first year, 2000, playing for the Buffaloes' minor league team.
In 2001, Iwakuma made his first appearance in the "major league" level in Japan. He got his first professional win on May 29, 2001. He also pitched his first complete game shutout later that year. He helped the Buffaloes win their league title. By 2002, he was a regular starting pitcher. In 2003, he had a great year, winning 15 games and striking out 149 batters.
The 2004 season was even better for Iwakuma. He started with an amazing 12–0 record! He was chosen by fans to play in the Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Game. He also played for the Japanese national team in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He finished the year with 15 wins and only 2 losses.
After the 2004 season, two teams, the Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave, decided to merge. This led to a new team, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Iwakuma was first assigned to the new Orix Buffaloes team. But he didn't want to play for them. After some discussions, he was traded to the new Eagles team.
Joining the Golden Eagles (2005–2011)
Iwakuma was the starting pitcher for the Eagles' first-ever game in 2005. He helped the new team get their first win. However, he had some shoulder problems that year, which affected his performance.
His injury troubles continued in 2006 and 2007. He missed many games because of his shoulder and other injuries. He worked hard to recover and change his pitching style to follow new league rules.
In 2008, Iwakuma had an incredible comeback season. He was chosen to start the season opener again. He pitched his first complete game shutout for the Eagles. He reached 10 wins for the first time since 2003. On September 22, he won his 20th game of the season. This was a rare achievement in the Pacific League. He finished the 2008 season with an amazing 21 wins and only 4 losses. He led the league in wins, ERA (Earned Run Average), and winning percentage. He won nearly one-third of his team's total wins that year! Because of his amazing performance, he won the Sawamura Award, the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, and the Best Nine award.
Iwakuma continued to pitch well for the Eagles in 2009. In 2010, the Eagles allowed him to try and play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States. The Oakland Athletics won the chance to sign him, but they couldn't agree on a contract.
Playing in Major League Baseball (2012–2017)
After the 2011 season, Iwakuma signed with the Seattle Mariners in MLB. He started his time with the Mariners in the bullpen, pitching in relief. But he soon became an important part of the team's starting pitchers. In his first year, 2012, he won 9 games and had a good ERA of 3.16.
In 2012, Iwakuma signed a two-year contract extension with the Mariners. In 2013, he was chosen to represent the Mariners at the MLB All-Star Game. He finished third in the voting for the American League Cy Young Award, which goes to the best pitcher. He had a fantastic 2013 season, winning 14 games with a very low ERA of 2.66.
In 2014, Iwakuma had a finger injury but returned to pitch well. He finished the season with 15 wins. In 2015, he had another injury, a strained lat muscle, but came back strong.
Iwakuma's No-Hitter (2015)
On August 12, 2015, Hisashi Iwakuma made history at Safeco Field in Seattle. He pitched a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles! This means no batter on the Orioles team got a hit off him during the entire game. It was only the second no-hitter ever thrown by a Japanese player in MLB history. It was also the fifth no-hitter in the Seattle Mariners' team history. This was also his first complete game in MLB. For this amazing game, Iwakuma won the American League Player of the Week Award. He finished the 2015 season with 9 wins.
In 2015, Iwakuma almost signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the deal didn't happen due to concerns about his physical exam. He then re-signed with the Mariners. In 2017, he had more shoulder problems and was placed on the disabled list. After the 2017 season, he became a free agent. He tried to come back in 2018 but spent the whole season in the minor leagues. In September 2018, he decided to return to Japan to play baseball.
Final Season with Yomiuri Giants (2019)
In December 2018, Iwakuma signed with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan. He announced his retirement from baseball on October 19, 2020, after the season ended.
Playing for His Country
2004 Athens Olympics
Iwakuma first played for the Japanese national team at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He started a game against the Netherlands. However, he struggled in that game and didn't pitch again in the tournament. Japan still went on to win a bronze medal.
2009 World Baseball Classic
Iwakuma was chosen to play in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He pitched well in his first game against South Korea, even though his team lost. In his second start against Cuba, he pitched six shutout innings and earned his first win of the tournament. His excellent pitching led the manager to choose him to start the championship game against South Korea. Iwakuma pitched very well, allowing only two runs. Japan won the game and their second straight World Baseball Classic title. Iwakuma had the lowest ERA (1.35) of any pitcher who threw a lot of innings in the tournament. He was also named to the All-Tournament team.
How He Pitched
Iwakuma is a right-handed pitcher. He is known for his unique pitching style. He used to have a special motion where he paused his leg lift. However, rules in Japan changed, and he had to adjust to a more standard way of pitching. He also changed his arm angle slightly to make his pitches move more.
Iwakuma's fastball could reach speeds of about 94 miles per hour (153 km/h) earlier in his career. He also used a great splitter, a slider, a curveball, and a shuuto (a type of two-seam fastball or sinker). He often used his splitter to get batters out. He was known for being a groundball pitcher, meaning he often made batters hit the ball on the ground. He also had excellent control of his pitches, meaning he didn't walk many batters.
Coaching Career
On January 12, 2021, Iwakuma was hired by his former team, the Seattle Mariners, as a special assignment coach.
Personal Life
Hisashi Iwakuma's wife, Madoka, and their two children, Towa and Uta, moved with him from Japan to Seattle when he joined the Mariners. His wife's father, Koju Hirohashi, was a former baseball coach. Iwakuma practices Nichiren Buddhism and is a member of the Soka Gakkai International Buddhist association. He and his wife support different charities that help children, including orphanages and groups that assist children with disabilities.
Images for kids
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Iwakuma with the Seattle Mariners in 2013
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Iwakuma in 2008.
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Iwakuma pitching for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2011.
