ID :
31725
Sat, 11/22/2008 - 22:43
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/31725
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Baseball: Tazawa`s amateur season ends, set to begin full-fledged talks
OSAKA, Nov. 22 Kyodo - The sweepstakes for Junichi Tazawa are about to heat up among major league clubs after the season for the highly regarded amateur pitcher ended Saturday, when his Nippon Oil team crashed out of the national corporate baseball championships.
Tazawa, who refused to be picked at last month's Japanese amateur draft to
pursue a major league career, made a relief appearance and gave up a go-ahead
single in the seventh inning of a 3-2 semifinal loss to Central Japan Railway.
The hard-throwing right-hander allowed three hits, struck out one and walked
none in 2-2/3 innings in what was expected to be the final outing of his
amateur career, less than 24 hours after he pitched his second straight shutout
in the tournament in front of half a dozen major league scouts.
''It's a shame that I couldn't meet the expectations of the manager, who sent
me to the mound in a crucial situation. I needed to throw that pitch out of the
strike zone,'' Tazawa said of the 1-2 forkball that was sent to left field.
The run was unearned for Tazawa and he finished the tournament without being
charged with a run over 20-2/3 innings as he lived up to his billing as a
much-coveted prospect whose desire to make the majors has rocked the relations
between Japanese and U.S. baseball.
Nippon Oil won the intercity corporate championship in September, led by
Tazawa's strong performance, but fell short of becoming only the second team to
claim both of two major amateur baseball titles in Japan.
''I'd like to become a pitcher whom a manager can count on,'' Tazawa said,
looking ahead to full-fledged talks with major league clubs and subsequent
challenges for a major league debut.
In September, the 22-year-old Tazawa sent shock waves through Japanese baseball
when he made clear his intention to ply his trade in the majors and asked all
12 Japanese pro clubs not to name him in the amateur draft.
His move has prompted baseball officials to work toward changing regulations in
order to help prevent further outflows of top amateur prospects from the
country by bypassing the Japanese leagues.
==Kyodo
Tazawa, who refused to be picked at last month's Japanese amateur draft to
pursue a major league career, made a relief appearance and gave up a go-ahead
single in the seventh inning of a 3-2 semifinal loss to Central Japan Railway.
The hard-throwing right-hander allowed three hits, struck out one and walked
none in 2-2/3 innings in what was expected to be the final outing of his
amateur career, less than 24 hours after he pitched his second straight shutout
in the tournament in front of half a dozen major league scouts.
''It's a shame that I couldn't meet the expectations of the manager, who sent
me to the mound in a crucial situation. I needed to throw that pitch out of the
strike zone,'' Tazawa said of the 1-2 forkball that was sent to left field.
The run was unearned for Tazawa and he finished the tournament without being
charged with a run over 20-2/3 innings as he lived up to his billing as a
much-coveted prospect whose desire to make the majors has rocked the relations
between Japanese and U.S. baseball.
Nippon Oil won the intercity corporate championship in September, led by
Tazawa's strong performance, but fell short of becoming only the second team to
claim both of two major amateur baseball titles in Japan.
''I'd like to become a pitcher whom a manager can count on,'' Tazawa said,
looking ahead to full-fledged talks with major league clubs and subsequent
challenges for a major league debut.
In September, the 22-year-old Tazawa sent shock waves through Japanese baseball
when he made clear his intention to ply his trade in the majors and asked all
12 Japanese pro clubs not to name him in the amateur draft.
His move has prompted baseball officials to work toward changing regulations in
order to help prevent further outflows of top amateur prospects from the
country by bypassing the Japanese leagues.
==Kyodo
