Junichi Tazawa

Junichi Tazawa (田澤 純一, Tazawa Jun'ichi, born June 6 1986 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture) is a Japanese amateur baseball player for Nippon Oil Eneos in the Japan Amateur Baseball Association. Tazawa was the MVP of the corporate league Intercity Championship in 2008, leading the team to the championship with a 4-0 record and 36 strikeouts. His 97-mile-per-hour (156 km/h) fastball attracted Major League Baseball scouts, and in September 2008, he announced that he would sign with a Major League team for the 2009 season, and would pursue a career in the United States without having pitched a single game in the Nippon Professional Baseball professional league.

Amateur career

After he finished his high school career in Yokohama, Tazawa was not drafted by any of Nippon Professional Baseball's 12 teams, and joined the company team of Nippon Oil in the corporate league, unaffiliated with the NPB.

In 2007, he pitched for Japan at the Baseball World Cup in Taiwan, where his fastball was clocked at 97 miles per hour (156 km/h).

In 2008, Tazawa posted a 10-1 record for Nippon Oil, with a 1.02 earned run average and 95 strikeouts in 88 1/3 innings. In the national corporate league championships, Tazawa posted two straight shutouts, the second one a complete game on four hits, 10 strikeouts and zero walks in a 4-0 quarterfinal win over Hitachi, Ltd. He appeared less than 24 hours later in a relief appearance in the semifinal against Central Japan Railway. Tazawa pitched 2 and 2/3 innings, and allowed three hits, struck out one, and gave up the go-ahead run in a 3-2 loss.

Attempt at professional career

In September 2008, Tazawa announced his intention to skip the NPB draft in and to purse a career with a Major League team. During the 2008 season, his manager Hideaki Okubo encouraged him to attempt a career in Major League Baseball without first playing with a Nippon Professional Baseball team - if he joined a Japanese professional team, he would have to either wait 10 years to become a free agent, or hope that his team auction the right to negotiate with him through the posting system.

To avoid conflict between Japanese and U.S. teams, Tazawa asked NPB teams not to select him in the October 30 draft, and the 12 teams complied with the request. However, the teams passed a rule requiring any amateur player who signs overseas to sit out two to three years before he can join a Japanese team - high school players would have to sit two years, while college and corporate players three years. While Tazawa attracted attention of American scouts, NPB announced that the major leagues of two nations had a "gentleman's agreement" against signing Japanese amateurs, while general manager Brian Cashman, whose New York Yankees have a partnership agreement with Yomiuri Giants, said his team considered Tazawa "hands off".

In November 2008, Atlanta Braves became the first Major League team to offer Tazawa a contract. Tazawa met with Boston Red Sox on November 23 2008 and reportedly received a $6 million-offer which includes a place on Boston's 40-man roster in 2009, and also reportedly received offers from the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners.

On November 25, 2008, two Japanese sports papers reported that Tazawa was set to accept an offer from the Boston Red Sox, with an announcement coming in the following week.

On November 30, 2008, the Boston Globe reported that Tazawa and the Boston Red Sox had reached and agreement pending the outcome of a physical examination. The report also stated that the contract is worth $3 million over 3 years and after 3 years of his service there is also a 3 year period of arbitration eligibility which raises the total length of the contract to 6 years. Massarotti, Tony (November 30 2008). "Sox, Tazawa have deal in place". Extra Bases. The Boston Globe. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links

• Japanese Ballplayers.com profile