ID :
34188
Sat, 12/06/2008 - 14:51
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/34188
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Baseball: Japan pitcher Tazawa signs 3-year majors deal with Red Sox
BOSTON, Dec. 4 Kyodo - Japanese amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa has signed a three-year major league contract with the Boston Red Sox, the ball club said Thursday.
The ace of the Nippon Oil corporate team arrived in Boston Monday and spent the
past several days preparing to finalize the deal, including undergoing a
physical.
The Boston Globe online edition said Friday that the major league contract,
which will put the 22-year-old right-hander on the 40-man roster, is worth $3.3
million. It contains a $1.8 million signing bonus with salaries of $450,000 in
2009, $500,000 in 2010 and $550,000 in 2011, the report said.
The Red Sox have reportedly won the heart of the highly regarded amateur over
three other major league clubs that also made offers -- the Texas Rangers,
Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners.
''The Red Sox were the first team to scout me,'' Tazawa told a press
conference, explaining the reasons he decided to join the team. ''I can feel
secure as there are Japanese staff and players here.''
''I am glad to finally be able to officially sign,'' said Tazawa, adding that
the Red Sox ''excellent development program,'' was also a factor in his
decision to join Boston.
Tazawa will join the Red Sox following in the footsteps of compatriots Daisuke
Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima. Unlike Tazawa, who has never pitched a
professional inning, Matsuzaka and Okajima had established solid careers in
Japan before coming to Boston.
''To me, he's (Matsuzaka) other worldly. I'd like to be able to learn from
him,'' said Tazawa.
In September, Tazawa refused to be named in Japan's amateur draft and clarified
his intention to go straight to a major league team -- the first such move by a
top Japanese amateur player.
People close to Tazawa said he holds Boston pitcher Matsuzaka in high esteem
and has been impressed with the Red Sox's system for developing young talent.
His move to bypass the Japan pro draft irked officials of Japan's pro leagues
and prompted them to work toward setting new rules aimed at curbing outflows of
promising talent from the country.
With a mixture of varied off-speed pitches and a fastball clocking over 150
kilometers per hour, Tazawa, a native of Kanagawa Prefecture, helped Nippon Oil
win the intercity tournament in September and reach the semifinals of the
national corporate championship that ended in late November.
==Kyodo
The ace of the Nippon Oil corporate team arrived in Boston Monday and spent the
past several days preparing to finalize the deal, including undergoing a
physical.
The Boston Globe online edition said Friday that the major league contract,
which will put the 22-year-old right-hander on the 40-man roster, is worth $3.3
million. It contains a $1.8 million signing bonus with salaries of $450,000 in
2009, $500,000 in 2010 and $550,000 in 2011, the report said.
The Red Sox have reportedly won the heart of the highly regarded amateur over
three other major league clubs that also made offers -- the Texas Rangers,
Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners.
''The Red Sox were the first team to scout me,'' Tazawa told a press
conference, explaining the reasons he decided to join the team. ''I can feel
secure as there are Japanese staff and players here.''
''I am glad to finally be able to officially sign,'' said Tazawa, adding that
the Red Sox ''excellent development program,'' was also a factor in his
decision to join Boston.
Tazawa will join the Red Sox following in the footsteps of compatriots Daisuke
Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima. Unlike Tazawa, who has never pitched a
professional inning, Matsuzaka and Okajima had established solid careers in
Japan before coming to Boston.
''To me, he's (Matsuzaka) other worldly. I'd like to be able to learn from
him,'' said Tazawa.
In September, Tazawa refused to be named in Japan's amateur draft and clarified
his intention to go straight to a major league team -- the first such move by a
top Japanese amateur player.
People close to Tazawa said he holds Boston pitcher Matsuzaka in high esteem
and has been impressed with the Red Sox's system for developing young talent.
His move to bypass the Japan pro draft irked officials of Japan's pro leagues
and prompted them to work toward setting new rules aimed at curbing outflows of
promising talent from the country.
With a mixture of varied off-speed pitches and a fastball clocking over 150
kilometers per hour, Tazawa, a native of Kanagawa Prefecture, helped Nippon Oil
win the intercity tournament in September and reach the semifinals of the
national corporate championship that ended in late November.
==Kyodo
