Yoshii played in the Koshien high school baseball tournament twice and joined the Kintetsu Buffaloes as the second round pick in the 1983 draft after graduating from the same elementary, middle, and high schools as former Seibu Lions manager, Osamu Higashio. After spending some time in the minors, he marked his first victory in 1987, and in 1988, he won 10 games and saved 24 games, which won him the Pacific League relief pitcher title. He won five games and marked another 20 saves his next year. In 1993, he became a starter. In 1995, he was traded to the Yakult Swallows and won more than 10 games a year for three straight years.
1998 New York Mets #21 Masato Yoshii road jersey
In the 1997 off-season, he became a free agent and signed with the New York Mets.[2] Yoshii agreed to a two-year extension worth $5 million with the Mets in November 1998.[3] He was traded to the Colorado Rockies in 2000, for Bobby Jones.[4][5] In September, Yoshii underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow.[6] Two months later, he agreed to a new contract with the Rockies for the 2001 season.[7] The team tried to trade him before the season started,[8] but eventually released Yoshii, who then signed with the Montreal Expos in March 2001.[9] He had surgery on his left shoulder in September 2002.[10]
In 2003, Yoshii returned to Japan, joining the Orix BlueWave.[11] He was the team's opening-day starter that year but had surgery on his left ankle in August; he ended the season with only two wins. He played in only three games in 2004 and was cut from the team at the end of the year. The Orix BlueWave merged with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes during the off-season to form the Orix Buffaloes, and Yoshii ended up joining the Buffaloes for spring training and won six games in the 2005 season.
In 2006, Yoshii marked a win against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, becoming the fifth player in to have recorded victories against 12 Japanese professional baseball teams. On April 1, 2007, he gave up two grand slams in one inning against the Rakuten Eagles, but the third baseman, Greg LaRocca, had committed an error before loading the bases, giving Yoshii the irregular record of 8 runs given up, but no earned runs. On April 25, 2007, the 42-year-old Yoshii started the game against the Rakuten Eagles with 18-year-old Masahiro Tanaka as the opposing pitcher and recorded a win giving up 1 run over 5 innings of pitching. This made him the sixth Japanese pitcher to have recorded a win at or above age 42, after Shinji Hamasaki, Tadashi Wakabayashi, Yoshinori Sato, Yutaka Ohno, and Kimiyasu Kudoh.
He continued to pitch during the season as a starter but was demoted to relief duty by manager Terry Collins after several poor performances. Yoshii requested to be traded to another team where he could continue to start and was sent to the Chiba Lotte Marines on June 28 in exchange for an outfielder. His pitching continued to decline, and he ended the season with a 1–9 record before being demoted to the minors. He was released by the Marines on November 13, and announced his retirement to become a pitching coach for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters under manager Masataka Nashida.[12]
On October 7, 2022, the Chiba Lotte Marines announced that Yoshii would manage the team for the upcoming season.[13]
^"ニックネーム". 千葉ロッテマリーンズ オフィシャルサイト 「マリンフェスタ」特設サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved April 23, 2019.
^Olney, Buster (15 January 1998). "Mets Pleased By Maturity Of Pitcher From Japan". New York Times. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
^Madden, Bill (13 November 1998). "White: Make me a Yankee". Daily News. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
^Kepner, Tyler (29 April 2000). "No Payoff in Yoshii Trade". New York Times. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
^Hermoso, Rafael (29 April 2000). "Yoshii has same air about him". Daily News. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
^Klis, Mike (23 February 2001). "Yoshii not out of picture". Denver Post. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
^Henderson, John (4 November 2000). "Rockies retaining Yoshii". Denver Post. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
^Kils, Mike (13 March 2001). "Yoshii hopes one team wants him". Denver Post. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
^"Les Expos signent Masato Yoshii" (in French). Réseau des sports. 13 April 2001. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
^"Ex-Major Leaguer Yoshii Signs in Japan". Huron Daily Tribune. 6 January 2003. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
^"BlueWave to sign Yoshii to one-year deal". Japan Times. 8 January 2003. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
^Lefton, Brad (29 February 2008). "Hoping to Become the Next Hot Baseball Export From Japan". New York Times. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
^"Baseball: Former MLB pitcher Yoshii to manage Marines". The Mainichi. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
External linksEdit
Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
August 25, 2023
masato, yoshii, 吉井, 理人, yoshii, masato, born, april, 1965, nicknamed, oiyan, retired, japanese, professional, baseball, player, former, pitching, coach, current, manager, chiba, lotte, marines, nippon, professional, baseball, pitched, major, league, baseball, . Masato Yoshii 吉井 理人 Yoshii Masato born April 20 1965 nicknamed Oiyan 1 is a retired Japanese professional baseball player former pitching coach and current manager for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball NPB He pitched in Major League Baseball from 1998 to 2002 Masato Yoshii吉井 理人Yoshii with the Chiba Lotte MarinesChiba Lotte Marines No 21Pitcher Coach ManagerBorn 1965 04 20 April 20 1965 age 58 Aridagawa Wakayama JapanBatted RightThrew RightProfessional debutNPB September 16 1985 for the Kintetsu BuffaloesMLB April 5 1998 for the New York MetsLast appearanceNPB 2007 for the Chiba Lotte MarinesMLB September 11 2002 for the Montreal ExposNPB statisticsWin loss record89 82Earned run average3 86Strikeouts763MLB statisticsWin loss record32 47Earned run average4 62Strikeouts447TeamsAs player Kintetsu Buffaloes 1985 1994 Yakult Swallows 1995 1997 New York Mets 1998 1999 Colorado Rockies 2000 Montreal Expos 2001 2002 Orix BlueWave Orix Buffaloes 2003 2007 Chiba Lotte Marines 2007 As coach Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 2008 2012 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 2015 Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 2016 2018 Chiba Lotte Marines 2019 2021 As Manager Chiba Lotte Marines 2023 present Contents 1 Career 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksCareer EditYoshii played in the Koshien high school baseball tournament twice and joined the Kintetsu Buffaloes as the second round pick in the 1983 draft after graduating from the same elementary middle and high schools as former Seibu Lions manager Osamu Higashio After spending some time in the minors he marked his first victory in 1987 and in 1988 he won 10 games and saved 24 games which won him the Pacific League relief pitcher title He won five games and marked another 20 saves his next year In 1993 he became a starter In 1995 he was traded to the Yakult Swallows and won more than 10 games a year for three straight years 1998 New York Mets 21 Masato Yoshii road jerseyIn the 1997 off season he became a free agent and signed with the New York Mets 2 Yoshii agreed to a two year extension worth 5 million with the Mets in November 1998 3 He was traded to the Colorado Rockies in 2000 for Bobby Jones 4 5 In September Yoshii underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow 6 Two months later he agreed to a new contract with the Rockies for the 2001 season 7 The team tried to trade him before the season started 8 but eventually released Yoshii who then signed with the Montreal Expos in March 2001 9 He had surgery on his left shoulder in September 2002 10 In 2003 Yoshii returned to Japan joining the Orix BlueWave 11 He was the team s opening day starter that year but had surgery on his left ankle in August he ended the season with only two wins He played in only three games in 2004 and was cut from the team at the end of the year The Orix BlueWave merged with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes during the off season to form the Orix Buffaloes and Yoshii ended up joining the Buffaloes for spring training and won six games in the 2005 season In 2006 Yoshii marked a win against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles becoming the fifth player in to have recorded victories against 12 Japanese professional baseball teams On April 1 2007 he gave up two grand slams in one inning against the Rakuten Eagles but the third baseman Greg LaRocca had committed an error before loading the bases giving Yoshii the irregular record of 8 runs given up but no earned runs On April 25 2007 the 42 year old Yoshii started the game against the Rakuten Eagles with 18 year old Masahiro Tanaka as the opposing pitcher and recorded a win giving up 1 run over 5 innings of pitching This made him the sixth Japanese pitcher to have recorded a win at or above age 42 after Shinji Hamasaki Tadashi Wakabayashi Yoshinori Sato Yutaka Ohno and Kimiyasu Kudoh He continued to pitch during the season as a starter but was demoted to relief duty by manager Terry Collins after several poor performances Yoshii requested to be traded to another team where he could continue to start and was sent to the Chiba Lotte Marines on June 28 in exchange for an outfielder His pitching continued to decline and he ended the season with a 1 9 record before being demoted to the minors He was released by the Marines on November 13 and announced his retirement to become a pitching coach for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters under manager Masataka Nashida 12 On October 7 2022 the Chiba Lotte Marines announced that Yoshii would manage the team for the upcoming season 13 See also EditList of Japanese baseball players List of Japanese players in Major League BaseballReferences Edit ニックネーム 千葉ロッテマリーンズ オフィシャルサイト マリンフェスタ 特設サイト in Japanese Retrieved April 23 2019 Olney Buster 15 January 1998 Mets Pleased By Maturity Of Pitcher From Japan New York Times Retrieved 6 April 2018 Madden Bill 13 November 1998 White Make me a Yankee Daily News Retrieved 6 April 2018 Kepner Tyler 29 April 2000 No Payoff in Yoshii Trade New York Times Retrieved 6 April 2018 Hermoso Rafael 29 April 2000 Yoshii has same air about him Daily News Retrieved 6 April 2018 Klis Mike 23 February 2001 Yoshii not out of picture Denver Post Retrieved 6 April 2018 Henderson John 4 November 2000 Rockies retaining Yoshii Denver Post Retrieved 6 April 2018 Kils Mike 13 March 2001 Yoshii hopes one team wants him Denver Post Retrieved 6 April 2018 Les Expos signent Masato Yoshii in French Reseau des sports 13 April 2001 Retrieved 6 April 2018 Ex Major Leaguer Yoshii Signs in Japan Huron Daily Tribune 6 January 2003 Retrieved 6 April 2018 BlueWave to sign Yoshii to one year deal Japan Times 8 January 2003 Retrieved 6 April 2018 Lefton Brad 29 February 2008 Hoping to Become the Next Hot Baseball Export From Japan New York Times Retrieved 6 April 2018 Baseball Former MLB pitcher Yoshii to manage Marines The Mainichi 7 October 2022 Retrieved 18 October 2022 External links EditCareer statistics and player information from MLB or ESPN or Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or Baseball Reference Minors Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Masato Yoshii amp oldid 1157670647, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
