In addition to his 158 hold and 163 saves, he also excelled as starter.

Hirotoshi Masui, who has announced his retirement for the 2022 season, will appear at the Final Pitch Ceremony on April 4 for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham vs. Orix game.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham He was a mainstay pitcher in both the National League and Orix, recording a total of 158 hold and 163 saves. He was a great pitcher reliever, but also had an impressive career as a starter, and continued to play a full rotation for a long period of time.

In this issue, we will review Masui's baseball career and introduce the moments when he achieved milestone records and many of his impressive pitching performances, along with footage from Persol Pacific League TV. We will look back again at the achievements of the iron arm who worked for Pacific League for 13 years, using actual footage.

He was in full swing as a relief pitcher, including Pacific League record 45 hold in a season.

Masui played at Shizuoka High School, Komazawa University, and Toshiba before joining Hokkaido Nippon-Ham with the fifth pick in the 2009 draft. He struggled a bit in his rookie year in 2010, but in his second year, 2011, he was converted to a reliever and had a breakout season with 34 hold in 56 games, posting a ERA of 1.84 ERA and a strike out rate of 9.73.

In 2012, he appeared in a career-high 73 games, recording 45 hold and 50 hold points, which are still Pacific League records to this day. After that, he continued to be a full-time reliever, and continued to pitch well after being converted to a closer in the middle of 2014. In 2015, he had 39 saves, a ERA of 1.50 and a strike out of 10.65, a dominant pitch worthy of the name of the Guardian.

Double-digit win as a starter

However, in 2016, he was lackluster from the beginning and was removed from closer position midway through the season. However, after that, he was converted to a starter and showed outstanding pitch, achieving his first double-digit win. He was also a part of the rotation in the postseason and contributed to the team's victory and Japan Series championship.

In 2017, he returned as a closer and recorded 27 saves in 52 games. strike out rate reached an astonishing 14.01, showing a great recovery. In the offseason, he transferred to Orix, where he was also entrusted with closer role, and in 2018 he recorded 35 saves, second in the league. He continued to perform well in his new home, with ERA 2.49 and strike out rate of 9.55.

In 2019, he was in a slump and moved to reliever, but in 2020, he pitched well in both starting and reliever with ERA of 3.03, showing his strength regardless of his position. However, he has been in poor form since 2021, and in 2022, he was pushed back by the rise of young players and only made two appearances on the mound.

From here, I would like to look back on Masui's achievements based on the video.

First professional save (May 6, 2012)

Masui took the mound in the 9th inning with a one-run lead, and although he allowed hit to hitter lead off, he got the next hitter to hit a pitching error double play. From there, he got Walk out and put runner on his back again, but missed struck out the last time he got him out. This pitch was the memorable first career save for the great closer, who has recorded a total of 163 saves.

Batting at bases loaded as #4 and running as fast as he can (August 16, 2014)

With the team removing the DH and solidifying the defense, Masui pitched as the "No. 4 and pitcher." Then, in the top of the 11th inning, just after the tying run, he came to bat with two outs and bases loaded a golden opportunity. After a drastic swing, he fell to the ground, but fielder sprinted to first base at a speed that rivaled his face. Mr. Masui, who did all of the starting, reliever, and closer, was a scene that showed his high baseball sense.

His first and only shutout game win of his career (September 1, 2016)

Masui recorded his first complete game win as a professional on August 25, 2016, and showed outstanding pitch in his next appearance on September 1. Despite a large amount of support from his teammates, he did not lose pitch and allowed eight hit, but his tenacious pitching did not allow any runs. In addition to complete game two complete games in a row, he also recorded his only shutout game win.

Became the fourth player in history to achieve saves for all 12 teams (June 29, 2018)

With every team on the brink of saving, Masui took to mound in the ninth inning against his former team Hokkaido Nippon-Ham. Although the lead was only one point, he comfortably retired all three batters at his former home stadium, Sapporo Dome, and achieved the feat of becoming just the fourth player in history to save every team.

Became the first player in Pacific League history to achieve 150 hold and 150 saves (September 2, 2019)

In recent Pacific League years, there have been many pitcher who have been active in both reliever and closer, such as Yuito Mori pitcher and Naoya Masuda pitcher. However, Masui accumulated numbers as a reliever ahead of the other team's top pitcher, becoming the first player in Pacific League history to achieve the feat of 150 hold and 150 saves.

Although he failed win all 12 teams, he pitched well against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows (June 9, 2021)

Masui had recorded hold and saves against all 12 teams, and if he had won against Tokyo Yakult, he would have achieved the "win, hold, and save" record. Unfortunately, he did not achieve this record, but in 2021 and in his final year as an active player in 2022, he pitched well against the Central League champion Tokyo Yakult for two consecutive years, allowing only two runs in five innings. He showed pitch that came very close to achieving the unprecedented record.

He used his many talents to build a rare career that will be remembered and recorded.

With 45 hold in a season, the most in Pacific League history, 163 saves as closer, and 10 wins in 2016 when he contributed to the team's major comeback victory as a starter. Masui excelled as a starter, reliever, and closer, making him a rare, multi-talented pitcher in modern baseball, where the division of labor among pitcher is widespread.

He was 26 years old in his rookie year, so he entered the professional league late, and was drafted 5th, which was a low pick. However, Masui fought his way back up and continued to fight for 13 seasons, winning two league championships and one Japan championship with both the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham and Orix. His pitch was truly memorable and memorable. I hope to see him take the mound as he finishes his career on a high note.