Matsuzaka Generation

The Matsuzaka Generation (松坂世代, Matsuzaka Sedai^?) is a term used to collectively describe the (usually Japanese) baseball players that belong to current Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka's age group. As per Japanese laws on how children are to be divided into grade levels, this term refers to players born between April 2, 1980, and April 1, 1981.

The term was coined by the Japanese media as the age group that came to be known as one of the deepest and most talented in Japanese professional baseball history.

In 1980, then-Waseda Jitsugyo High School pitcher Daisuke Araki rose to national stardom for his sensational performance in the 62nd National High School Baseball Championship despite being in only his first year (Japanese equivalent of tenth grade) of high school. Araki went on to pitch in five consecutive national tournaments (spring and summer), including the National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament. His popularity, particularly among women, became such a cultural phenomenon that studies showed that Daisuke (in particular, that with the Kanji characterization "大輔") was the most popular name given to newborn infants in Japan from 1979 to 1986.

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