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12/14/2006 4:34 PM ET
Red Sox sign pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka to six-year contract
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BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox today announced that the club has signed righthanded pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka to a six-year contract extending through the 2012 season. No further terms were disclosed.
The announcement was made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein at a late afternoon press conference in the State Street Pavilion at Fenway Park.
Matsuzaka joins the Red Sox after an outstanding eight-year career with the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The 26-year-old righthander has a 108-60 record, 2.95 ERA and 1,355 strikeouts over 1402.2 innings in 204 games/190 starts with the Pacific League club.
On November 2, the Seibu Lions officially granted permission for Matsuzaka to participate in the "posting" process as outlined in the agreement between Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball. On November 14, Seibu informed Major League Baseball that they had accepted the highest bid, submitted by the Red Sox, for the negotiating rights to Matsuzaka. As a result, the Red Sox had a 30-day period in which to negotiate an agreement with the pitcher.
This past season, Matsuzaka was 17-5 with a 2.13 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 25 starts for the Lions. He led all NPB teams with 14 complete games, ranked second in the Pacific League in wins, earned run average, and strikeouts, placed third in the PL with 186.1 innings, and tied for fifth with two shutouts. Matsuzaka established a lifetime best for victories, posted the lowest ERA of his pro career and finished third in the Pacific League's Most Valuable Player Award voting. He also hit his first professional home run in an interleague game on June 9 off former major leaguer Darwin Cubillan of the Hanshin Tigers.
Seibu finished the 2006 regular season with the second base record in the Pacific League at 80-54-2 before losing to Fukuoka, two games to one in the first round of the playoffs.
Matsuzaka began 2006 by helping Team Japan win the inaugural World Baseball Classic. He was selected as the WBC's Most Valuable Player, winning all three of his starts with a 1.38 ERA. The 6'0" righthander earned victories against Chinese Taipei on March 4 (4 IP, 3 H, 1 R-ER) and Mexico on March 14 (5 IP, 1 H, 0 R) before defeating Cuba, 10-6 in the Championship Game on March 20 (4 IP, 4 H, 1 R-ER).
Matsuzaka has won 14 or more games in six of his eight seasons with the Lions while recording at least 200 strikeouts four times. In 2005, he led the PC with a career best 226 strikeouts, 15 complete games, and 215 innings, had the third lowest ERA at 2.30, and tied for fifth with 14 victories. Other accomplishments included recording his 1,000th strikeout in the fifth fewest innings in NPB history and winning his sixth Gold Glove Award for defensive excellence.
The righthander was the PL ERA leader at 2.90 in 2004 after tying for the league lead in that department the previous season at 2.83. He also led the league with 215 strikeouts and had the second most victories at 16 in 2003 after being limited to 73.1 innings due to an elbow injury in 2002. Matsuzaka earned the Sawamura Award as the NPB's best pitcher in 2001, leading the PL with 15 wins, 12 complete games, two shutouts, a career high 240.1 innings, and 214 strikeouts. He also topped the league with 14 wins, two shutouts and 144 strikeouts in 2000.
Selected first by the Lions in the opening round of the 1998 NPB draft, Matsuzaka was the Pacific League's Rookie of the Year as a 19-year-old in 1999, leading the league with 16 wins and placing third with a 2.60 ERA. He worked five perfect innings in his pro debut and later tied the NPB rookie record with 15 strikeouts in one game.
In addition to the World Baseball Classic, Matsuzaka represented Japan in both the 2000 (0-1, 2.33) and 2004 (1-1, 1.69) Summer Olympic Games and was a member of the NPB All-Stars for the 2004 MLB Japan Tour.
Matsuzaka led his Yokohama High School Team to the championship of the 1998 Koshien Tournament. He threw a 17-inning complete-game victory in the quarterfinals, came back to pitch in relief in the semifinals the following day, and hurled a no-hitter versus Kyoto Seisho High School in the final. He finished that year unbeaten and established a then Japan high school record with 208 strikeouts.
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