Eiji Sawamura (沢村 栄治; February 1, 1917 – December 2, 1944) was a Japanese professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he played in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants.
On November 20, 1934, the 17-year-old Sawamura faced a team of visiting all-star players from Major League Baseball, including Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, and Charlie Gehringer. Entering the game in the fourth inning, the high school pitcher struck out nine batters and held the Americans to a single run over five innings pitched; a home run by Gehrig in the seventh saddled Sawamura with the loss. However, he did manage to strike out Gehringer, Ruth, Gehrig, and Foxx in succession. Connie Mack, who was managing the American team, was so impressed by Sawamura's performance that he tried to sign him to a Major League contract; Sawamura refused to go, citing a reluctance to leave home.
Professional careeredit
The national attention of the 1934 exhibition game led to the formation of the Japanese Baseball League in 1936. Sawamura joined the Yomiuri Giants, which played in Tokyo and was owned by the Yomiuri Shimbun[1]newspaper. He became one of their aces. He pitched the first no-hitter in Japanese pro baseball, on September 25, 1936, and added two others (May 1, 1937 and July 6, 1940). In 1937, he went 33–10 with a 1.38 earned run average and was the named the league's Most Valuable Player. From 1937 to 1943, Sawamura accumulated 105 games pitched, a career record of 63-22, 554 strikeouts and a 1.74 ERA.
Personal lifeedit
Sawamura was drafted into the imperial Japanese army in 1939. He would be released from duties during baseball seasons, including after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. He pitched in the 1942 and 1943 seasons, but not the truncated 1944 season (No pro games were played in 1945).
Sawamura was among soldiers of the 29th Infantry Division boarded on the troop ship SS Hawaii Maru in early December 1944, bound for Borneo via Japanese-occupied Manila in the Philippines. At 0400 in the morning of Dec. 2, 1944, the ship was torpedoed and sunk by USS Sea Devil off Yakushima, an island south of Kyushu. More than 300 soldiers and sailors were killed.
eiji, sawamura, 沢村, 栄治, february, 1917, december, 1944, japanese, professional, baseball, player, right, handed, pitcher, played, japan, yomiuri, giants, pitcherborn, 1917, february, 1917ujiyamada, prefecture, japanese, empiredied, december, 1944, 1944, aged, . Eiji Sawamura 沢村 栄治 February 1 1917 December 2 1944 was a Japanese professional baseball player A right handed pitcher he played in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants Eiji SawamuraEiji SawamuraPitcherBorn 1917 02 01 February 1 1917Ujiyamada Mie Prefecture Japanese EmpireDied December 2 1944 1944 12 02 aged 27 SS Hawaii Maru Pacific Ocean off Yakushima Japanese EmpireJapanese Baseball League debutJuly 1 1936 for the Tokyo KyojinLast appearanceOctober 24 1943 for the Tokyo KyojinNPB statisticsWin loss63 22ERA1 74Strikeouts554TeamsAs Player Tokyo Kyojin 1936 1937 1940 1941 1943 Career highlights and awards4 Japanese Baseball League Champion 1936 Fall 1940 1941 1943 Japanese Triple Crown 1937 Spring Japanese Baseball League MVP 1937 Spring Pitched three no hitters Yomiuri Giants 14 retiredMember of the JapaneseBaseball Hall of FameInduction1959 Contents 1 Early life 2 Professional career 3 Personal life 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksEarly life editOn November 20 1934 the 17 year old Sawamura faced a team of visiting all star players from Major League Baseball including Babe Ruth Jimmie Foxx Lou Gehrig and Charlie Gehringer Entering the game in the fourth inning the high school pitcher struck out nine batters and held the Americans to a single run over five innings pitched a home run by Gehrig in the seventh saddled Sawamura with the loss However he did manage to strike out Gehringer Ruth Gehrig and Foxx in succession Connie Mack who was managing the American team was so impressed by Sawamura s performance that he tried to sign him to a Major League contract Sawamura refused to go citing a reluctance to leave home Professional career editThe national attention of the 1934 exhibition game led to the formation of the Japanese Baseball League in 1936 Sawamura joined the Yomiuri Giants which played in Tokyo and was owned by the Yomiuri Shimbun 1 newspaper He became one of their aces He pitched the first no hitter in Japanese pro baseball on September 25 1936 and added two others May 1 1937 and July 6 1940 In 1937 he went 33 10 with a 1 38 earned run average and was the named the league s Most Valuable Player From 1937 to 1943 Sawamura accumulated 105 games pitched a career record of 63 22 554 strikeouts and a 1 74 ERA Personal life editSawamura was drafted into the imperial Japanese army in 1939 He would be released from duties during baseball seasons including after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec 7 1941 He pitched in the 1942 and 1943 seasons but not the truncated 1944 season No pro games were played in 1945 Sawamura was among soldiers of the 29th Infantry Division boarded on the troop ship SS Hawaii Maru in early December 1944 bound for Borneo via Japanese occupied Manila in the Philippines At 0400 in the morning of Dec 2 1944 the ship was torpedoed and sunk by USS Sea Devil off Yakushima an island south of Kyushu More than 300 soldiers and sailors were killed Sawamura was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1959 The Sawamura Award Japan s equivalent to MLB s Cy Young Award which is given to the best pitchers in the League since 1947 is named in his honor See also editThe Victory Season The End of World War II and the Birth of Baseball s Golden AgeReferences edit THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN Retrieved 2024 04 24 External links editJapanese Baseball Hall of Fame Archived 2020 11 11 at the Wayback Machine Awards Preceded byNone Japanese Baseball League MVP1937 Spring Succeeded byHarris McGalliard Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eiji Sawamura amp oldid 1223755224, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
