Kazumi Saito
| Kazumi Saito | |||
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| Starting pitcher | |||
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Born: November 30, 1977 Minami-ku, Kyoto, Japan |
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| NPB debut | |||
| October 5, 1997, for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks | |||
| NPB statistics (through 2009 season) |
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| Win–loss record | 79-23 | ||
| ERA | 3.33 | ||
| Strikeouts | 846 | ||
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As player As coach |
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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| Last updated on: May 11, 2009 | |||
As player
As coach
Kazumi Saito (斉藤 和巳 Saitō Kazumi?, born November 30, 1977 in Minami-ku, Kyoto, Japan) is a retired Japanese professional baseball player. starting pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He was a two-time winner of the Eiji Sawamura Award (2003, 2006), but did not pitch in a regular season game after October 2007 due to various shoulder injuries.
Saito was marked as a top prospect by NPB scouts from his days at South Kyoto High School. He along with the current Hiroshima Toyo Carp pitcher Masayuki Hasegawa and Saitama Seibu Lions pitcher Tomoki Hoshino were dubbed the "Big Three" of their particular age group. The Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (currently the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks) selected Saito with their first-round pick in the 1995 NPB amateur draft.
While Saito made his first appearance at the ichigun (Japanese equivalent of "major league") level in 1997, just his second year in the pros, his development was often hindered by his proneness to injury. In particular, Saito was plagued by a chronically loose shoulder joint, a condition so troubling for pitchers that coaches even suggested switching positions and becoming a hitter (as evidence of this, he was once called upon to pinch-hit in a nigun ("minor league" or "farm team") game, playing left field in the next inning). However, Saito refused and insisted upon remaining a pitcher.
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