| Daisuke Matsuzaka 松坂 大輔 | |
|---|---|
 Matsuzaka with the New York Mets in 2014 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: September 13, 1980 Koto Ward, Tokyo, Japan | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Professional debut | |
| NPB: April 7, 1999, for the Seibu Lions | |
| MLB: April 5, 2007, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| Last appearance | |
| MLB: September 25, 2014, for the New York Mets | |
| NPB: October 19, 2021, for the Saitama Seibu Lions | |
| NPB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 114–65 |
| Earned run average | 3.04 |
| Strikeouts | 1,410 |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win-loss record | 56–43 |
| Earned run average | 4.45 |
| Strikeouts | 720 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
NPB
MLB
| |
Medals | |
Daisuke Matsuzaka (松坂 大輔, Matsuzaka Daisuke, [matsɯꜜzaka daꜜisɯ̥ke]; born September 13, 1980) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher, who pitched professionally for 23 seasons, 16 of them in NPB, 7 in MLB. He is currently a baseball color commentator, critic, reporter, and YouTuber[citation needed]. Daisuke is nicknamed "the Monster of the Heisei Era" (平成の怪物, heisei no kaibutsu)[1][2] in Japan and "Dice-K" in the United States[3] by The Boston Globe[4][5] and USA Today.[6] He played for the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Saitama Seibu Lions, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Matsuzaka was selected the MVP of the inaugural and the second World Baseball Classic, and is an Olympic bronze medalist.[7]
He is the first player to have won both a World Series and a World Baseball Classic, winning the 2006 World Baseball Classic with Team Japan and the 2007 World Series with the Red Sox.[8]
- ^ Ellsesser, Stephen (September 27, 2006). "Marines rough up Matsuzaka; Lions fail to grab No. 1 seed". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
- ^ "Lost in translation?". The Boston Globe. December 15, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
- ^ Brown, Tim (December 18, 2006). "At the letters: Shooting Dais". Yahoo!. Retrieved December 20, 2006.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
whitingchat2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Edes, Gordon (December 7, 2006). "Getting dicey with Matsuzaka". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
- ^ Nightengale, Bob (November 7, 2006). "Auction for Japanese pitcher Matsuzaka may be pitched battle". USA Today. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
- ^ Bloom, Barry M. (March 21, 2006). "World Baseball Classic: News". World Baseball Classic. Archived from the original on November 12, 2006. Retrieved November 12, 2006.
- ^ "ワールドシリーズとワールド・ベースボール・クラシックの両方で優勝を経験した選手一覧", Wikipedia (in Japanese), December 11, 2019, retrieved December 17, 2019.