| Hirokazu Sawamura | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sawamura with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| Chiba Lotte Marines – No. 11 | |||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1988-04-03)April 3, 1988 (age 36) Tochigi, Japan | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |||||||||||||||
| Professional debut | |||||||||||||||
| NPB: April 15, 2011, for the Yomiuri Giants | |||||||||||||||
| MLB: April 2, 2021, for the Boston Red Sox | |||||||||||||||
| NPB statistics (through 2024 season) | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 53-57 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 2.86 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 840 | ||||||||||||||
| Saves | 79 | ||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through 2022 season) | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 6–2 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 3.39 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 101 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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| Last updated on: September 11, 2020 | |||||||||||||||
Hirokazu Sawamura (澤村 拓一,Sawamura Hirokazu, born April 3, 1988) is a Japanese professionalbaseballpitcher for theChiba Lotte Marines ofNippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in NPB for theYomiuri Giants, and inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theBoston Red Sox. Listed at 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m) and 212 pounds (96 kg), he throws and bats right-handed.[1]
Sawamura playedcollege baseball forChuo University inTokyo.[2] On October 28, 2010, Sawamura was drafted by the Yomiuri Giants first overall pick in the2010 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.[3]
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Sawamura played nine seasons for theYomiuri Giants during 2011–2020;[4] he missed the 2017 season due to a shoulder injury.[5] In 2011, he was named theCentral League Rookie of the Year.[6] In 2013, he was named MVP of the first game of theNPB All-Star Series.[7] During his first four seasons with the Giants, he was predominantly astarting pitcher; after 2014, he only appeared for the Giants as arelief pitcher.[1] As acloser during 2015 and 2016, he recorded 36 and 37saves, respectively.[4] During his nine seasons with the Giants, he compiled a 48–50win–loss record with 74 saves.[4]
Sawamura played for the Giants in threeJapan Series, the annual championship series of NPB. He was the starting and winning pitcher of Game 2 in2012,[8] which the Giants went on to win in six games over theHokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He pitched as a reliever in2013,[9] when the Giants lost in seven games to theTohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, and in2019,[10] when the Giants lost in four games to theFukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
On September 8, 2020, Sawamura was traded to theChiba Lotte Marines.[11] With the Marines in 2020, he appeared in 22 games, pitching to an 0–2 record with one save and a 1.71earned run average (ERA) while striking out 29 batters in 21innings pitched.[4] After the season, Sawamura became afree agent.[12]
On February 16, 2021, Sawamura officially signed a two-year, $3 million contract with theBoston Red Sox ofMajor League Baseball (MLB).[13] He made his MLB debut on April 2, pitching in relief against theBaltimore Orioles.[14] He earned his first MLB win on April 23, after pitching1+1⁄3 innings of scoreless relief against theSeattle Mariners.[15] Sawamura was placed on theinjured list on July 23 due to righttriceps inflammation;[16] he returned to the Red Sox on July 30.[17] He was placed on the COVID-related list on August 31,[18][19] and returned to the team on September 13.[20] Overall during the regular season, Sawamura made 55 relief appearances for Boston, compiling a 5–1 record with 3.06 ERA while striking out 61 batters in 53 innings.[21] He made three postseason relief appearances, all in theAmerican League Championship Series, allowing a single run in two innings pitched.[21]
Sawamura began the 2022 season as a member of the Red Sox bullpen. After posting a 3.60 ERA in 18 relief appearances, he was optioned to theTriple-AWorcester Red Sox on May 28,[22] but recalled to Boston two days later.[23] On August 29, Sawamura wasdesignated for assignment,[24] then sent outright to Triple-A two days later.[25] On September 11, Sawamura was released by the Red Sox.[26] Overall during 49 relief appearances with the Red Sox during 2022, Sawamura compiled a 1–1 record with a 3.73 ERA while striking out 40 batters in50+2⁄3 innings.[21]
On January 28, 2023, Sawamura signed with theChiba Lotte Marines ofNippon Professional Baseball (NPB).[27][28] On August 10, it was announced that Sawamura had been diagnosed withreversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome and spent a short stint in the hospital. As a result, he was prohibited from performing strenuous exercise for the month of August.[29]
Sawamura was selected to theJapan national baseball team for the2013 World Baseball Classic.[30] He also pitched for Japan in the2015 WBSC Premier12 tournament.[31]
Sawamura throws afastball topping out at 99 mph (159 km/h),[32] asplitter, and aslider.[33] In college, he also featured acurveball.[2]
Sawamura gained attention fromNBC Sports for singing a rendition of anAlicia Keys song thatEduardo Rodríguez posted on hisInstagram account.[34]
