Toshiya Sugiuchi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Toshiya Sugiuchi |
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Sugiuchi with the Yomiuri Giants
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| Yomiuri Giants – No. 101 | |||||||||||||||||
| Starting pitcher / Coach | |||||||||||||||||
| Born: October 30, 1980 Kasuga, Fukuoka, Japan |
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| debut | |||||||||||||||||
| April 1, 2002, for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks | |||||||||||||||||
| NPB statistics (through 2015 season) |
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| Win–loss | 142–77 | ||||||||||||||||
| ERA | 2.95 | ||||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 2,156 | ||||||||||||||||
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As player
As coach
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Toshiya Sugiuchi (杉内 俊哉, Sugiuchi Toshiya, born October 30, 1980 in Kasuga, Fukuoka, Japan) is a famous Japanese baseball player. He is a left-handed starting pitcher and coach for the Yomiuri Giants.
Sugiuchi won the Eiji Sawamura Award in 2005. This award goes to the best pitcher in Japanese baseball. He has played for Japan in many big international games. These include the 2000 Sydney and 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also played in the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics.
Contents
Toshiya Sugiuchi's Baseball Journey
Early Life and High School Baseball
Toshiya Sugiuchi was born in Kasuga and grew up in Ōnojō, Fukuoka. He started playing baseball in the fourth grade. He played for the Onojo Little League team. At first, he was an outfielder, then a first baseman.
In the sixth grade, he became a pitcher. He led his team to the national tournament. In junior high, he helped his team reach the national finals.
Sugiuchi went to Kagoshima Jitsugyo High School. He played in Japan's top high school tournaments. In 1998, as a senior, he won a big game against another star pitcher. This earned his team a spot in the national championship.
He became well-known when he threw a no-hitter with 16 strikeouts. This was in his first game at the 80th National High School Baseball Championship. However, his team then faced a very strong team. Sugiuchi gave up six runs in eight innings.
After high school, Sugiuchi decided not to join the professional draft right away. Instead, he joined an industrial league team. These teams are made up of employees from a company. He joined Mitsubishi Heavy Industries–Nagasaki. Sugiuchi is part of the "Matsuzaka Generation". This group includes players born around 1980 who played in the 1998 Summer High School Baseball Championship.
Industrial League Career Highlights
After a quiet first year, Sugiuchi helped his team reach the Intercity Baseball Tournament in 2000. They lost in the quarter-finals.
Even so, Sugiuchi was chosen for the Japanese national team. He played in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Japan finished fourth in that tournament.
In 2001, his team won their first tournament title. Sugiuchi pitched very well in the semi-finals. He spent three years in the industrial leagues. During this time, he worked on making his fastball faster. It went from about 135-140 km/h to 149 km/h.
The Fukuoka Daiei Hawks chose Sugiuchi in the 2001 professional draft. He was given uniform number 47. This was the same number as his childhood hero, Kimiyasu Kudo.
Professional Baseball Journey
Early Years with the Hawks (2002–2004)
Sugiuchi won only two games in his first year as a professional in 2002. For the next season, he changed his pitching style. This helped him win 10 games in 2003. He became a key part of the team's starting pitchers.
The Hawks won their league title. Sugiuchi started two games in the 2003 Japan Series. He won both games and was named the Japan Series Most Valuable Player.
In 2004, Sugiuchi had a tough start. In one game, he got so frustrated that he hit a dugout bench. He broke a bone in both hands and needed surgery. He was out for three months.
Becoming an MVP (2005)
Sugiuchi had a fantastic year in 2005. He was named the Pacific League MVP for April and May. He quickly won his first 10 games.
He finished the season with 18 wins and only 4 losses. His ERA was 2.11, which was excellent. He also had 218 strikeouts. He led the league in wins and ERA. He was the fourth pitcher in Hawks history to get over 200 strikeouts in one season.
Sugiuchi also won the Eiji Sawamura Award and the league's Most Valuable Player award. He had a perfect season without any hit-batters, wild pitches, balks, or errors.
World Baseball Classic and Comeback (2006–2007)
In 2006, Sugiuchi played for Japan in the first World Baseball Classic. He struggled in the tournament. He started the regular season strong but then had a tough time. He finished with 7 wins and 5 losses.
Sugiuchi had a great comeback year in 2007. He became the Hawks' main pitcher. He won 15 games and lost 6. His ERA was 2.46. He struck out 187 batters, which was his second-highest total. He pitched a career-high 197+2⁄3 innings. He also had five complete games and three shutouts. His strong performance was very important after the team's top pitcher, Kazumi Saito, got injured.
Olympic Pitching and Strikeout Leader (2008)
Sugiuchi had another good season in 2008. He won 10 games and lost 8. He missed some time playing for Japan in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He led the league with 213 strikeouts and had a 2.66 ERA. This was the first time he had double-digit wins and over 140 innings in two years in a row.
In a key game in October, Sugiuchi pitched nine shutout innings. The game went into extra innings, but his team lost. The Hawks finished last in the league that year.
International Success and Milestones (2009)
In 2009, Sugiuchi played in his fourth major international competition, the second World Baseball Classic. He was used as a reliever. He pitched 6+1⁄3 innings without giving up any hits. He even got a save in a game against Cuba.
In April, Sugiuchi reached 1,000 career strikeouts. He was the fourth-fastest pitcher in Japanese baseball history to do this. He also reached 1,000 career innings pitched. In May, he continued his amazing streak of winning games in that month. He was 11–0 in May since 2007.
Strong Starts and Emotional Win (2010)
Sugiuchi started the 2010 season as the Opening Day pitcher. He won his first game against another star pitcher, Yu Darvish. He continued to win games, but he wasn't always as dominant. He pitched a complete-game shutout in April.
He had a tough game in June, giving up six runs in only three innings. But he quickly bounced back with several strong starts. He also started the second game of the 2010 All-Star Series.
As the season ended, Sugiuchi had a small slump. But in a crucial game in September, he faced Darvish again. Both pitchers went all nine innings. Sugiuchi won the game without giving up any runs. This win helped the Hawks stay in the lead for the league title. After the game, a very relieved Sugiuchi cried during his interview. He said he was happy to finally deliver for his team in the important pennant race.
Pitching Style and Nickname
Sugiuchi is a left-handed pitcher. He is not very tall, listed at 175 cm (5 ft 9 in). But he is known for striking out many batters. He averages more than one strikeout per inning.
He throws a four-seam fastball that goes about 86-89 mph, sometimes up to 93 mph. He also throws a good slider, a good changeup, and sometimes a curveball.
Sugiuchi is a bit unusual because he only pitches from the "stretch" position. He has good control over all his pitches. He is also good at hiding the ball with his glove when he pitches.
The Japanese media calls Sugiuchi "Mr. May." This is because he has had so much success in the month of May during his career. He has won the Pacific League MVP award for May three times. He was 13–0 in May from 2007 to 2010.
Images for kids
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Sugiuchi with the Yomiuri Giants
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Sugiuchi pitching for Japan in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
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Sugiuchi during his time with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in 2009
