Chiba Lotte Marines 's pitcher Kaito Mori, despite being a rookie, made his debut as the opening day pitcher and impressively secured a win.

Chiba Lotte Marines 's pitcher Kaito Mori was selected as the opening day pitcher despite being a rookie, and he delivered a superb performance, pitching five runs innings and earning a remarkable first professional start and first win. Until the 1950s, it was not uncommon for rookies to be the opening day pitcher, but from 1960 to 2025, there have been only four such cases, making it an extremely rare occurrence.

This time, we'll take a closer look at four pitcher who served as opening pitcher as rookies between 1960 and 2025. We'll revisit each pitcher 's overall performance in their rookie year and their subsequent successes, and look forward to even greater achievements from pitcher Mori. (*Statistics are as of the end of the 2025 season)

Kunio Jonouchi

Kunio Jounouchi joined The Giants in 1962 and was selected to start pitcher the season in his first year as a professional. In the same year, he pitched in 56 games, with a record of 280 inning, 24 wins and 12 losses, and a ERA 2.21 record, a record that was unmatched by any rookie. He showed an impressive pitch performance that lived up to the expectations of the top management, and was crowned the Rookie of the Year.

The Giants win ERA In 1965 and 1966, he recorded 21 wins for two consecutive years and 220 innings pitched or more wins for six consecutive years. The Giants He was also a major contributor to the formation of the V9 era pitcher that began in 1965.

After 1969, his pitching opportunities declined due to injury, and he retired from active baseball once in 1971. However, in 1974, he returned to active duty with the Lotte Orions (now Chiba Lotte Marines), managed by Shoichi Kaneda, with whom he played The Giants in the 1960s, and pitched in five games for the first team. In the same year, Lotte won the league championship and the Japan championship, and in the Japan Series, Jounouchi's old team win ended the V9 era of his old team The Giants.

Mitsuru Takano

Hikaru Takano joined Yakult (now Tokyo Yakult) from Tokai University in the 1983 draft as the first pick. In 1984, his first year as a professional, he was selected as the opening pitcher, and after that, he continued to struggle on the first team stage. He threw 162 inning in 38 appearances, going 10-12 with two saves and a double-digit win from his rookie year. In a team that is sinking to the bottom, he showed an active performance that lived up to expectations as an immediate force.

The following year, in 1985, he went 7-11 with a ERA of 4.97, but in 1986, his third year as a professional, he won 12 wins, the most of his own, and reached the 200 innings pitched mark. ERA also left a personal best of 3.10 and had a career-high season in both name and reality. After the following year, he continued to pitch as a main pitcher, but from 1989, he had a difficult time without making a first-team appearance for two seasons due to a breakdown.

In 1992, he made his first first-team appearance in three years, playing 91 inning in 18 games and winning 7 wins, contributing to the league championship in the same year as a starter. In the 1993 off, which ended without a first-team appearance, he transferred to Fukuoka Daiei (currently Fukuoka Softbank), and although he retired from active duty only for the next season, he became a supporter of the Yakult pitcher team from the slump to the time when he recovered.

pitcher Kodai Norimoto

Kota Norimoto pitcher joined Tohoku Rakuten Eagles in the second round of the 2012 draft from Mie Chukyo University. In 2013, his first year as a pro, he was selected to start the season pitcher despite being a rookie, and he continued to lead the team pitch as the second best player behind ace Masahiro Tanaka pitcher. He was one of the key players in the team's first league championship and Japan's No. 1 ranking after the team's founding.

From 2014 onward, he took over as the ace of the team when Tanaka pitcher moved on, achieving double-digit win wins for six consecutive years since joining the professional ranks. After 2014, his second year as a professional, he recorded 200 strike out or more for four consecutive years and won the title of most strike out for five consecutive years, and in 2017 he set a new NPB record with eight consecutive double-digit strike out games, showing his unparalleled performance as a serious right fielder representing the Japanese baseball world in recent years.

He won 114 games as a starter, including eight double-digit win wins in total, and switched to relief in 2024 after Hiroki Matsui pitcher moved to the team, winning the title for most saves with 32 saves in 2024 and pitching in 50 or more games for the second consecutive year, also in a full rotation in his new role. In all 13 years he played for the Northeast Rakuten Eagles team, he showed remarkable stability, posting three or fewer ERA saves in all of them, and he supported the team for a long time as a mainstay.

Koki Kitayama pitcher

Koki Kitayama pitcher joined Hokkaido Nippon-Ham in 2021 from Kyoto Sangyo University. In 2022, his first year as a pro, he was selected as the 8th overall pick in the draft and was chosen to start the season pitcher. In the opening game, he pitched well as an opener, going 2 innings without a save runs. After that, he made a number of appearances as a reliever. After that, he pitched in relief, and in 55 games he had 16 hold 9 saves and ERA 3.51 innings, showing his success as a part of the winning pattern bullpen in spite of being a rookie.

In the middle of 2023, he moved to the starting lineup, and in that year he posted a consistent record of 6 wins in 14 games, ERA 3.41. The following year, in 2024, he appeared in only 14 games, the same as the previous year, due to an injury. The following year, in 2024, he made only 14 appearances, the same as the previous year due to an injury, but he was 5-1, ERA 2.31, strike out a 9.59 ratio, a significant improvement over his pitch content, and played an active role in helping the team to a second-place finish.

In 2025, he became the first player in his career to reach the innings pitched rule, and he showed great consistency, ranking second in the league ERA with a 1.63 ERA. In 22 starts, he won 9 games and strike out posted an 8.64 ERA, contributing greatly to the team's championship contention. He is developing into one of the best right-handers in baseball.

Those who served as opening day pitcher as rookies from 1960 onwards went on to achieve great success.

Jonouchi achieved an exceptional record for a rookie, with 24 wins and pitcher with 15 wins, earning them the Rookie of the Year title. Takano also achieved double-digit win in his rookie year. pitcher also played a key role in the team's win formula, pitch at full capacity. All of them have shown outstanding performances from their first year as professionals.

Furthermore, it's worth noting that each pitcher has continued to perform well in their second year and beyond, contributing to the team's success. Whether pitcher Mori can follow in the footsteps of his predecessors who served as opening pitcher in their rookie year and become a central figure in pitcher staff from his first year will be one of the key topics to watch this season.

Written by Ryota Mochizuki