- Akinori Otsuka
Infobox MLB player
name=Akinori Otsuka
width=300
position=Relief Pitcher
team=Free Agent
number=--
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1972|1|13
debutdate=April 6
debutyear=2004
debutteam=San Diego Padres
statyear=2007
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=13-15
stat2label=Saves
stat2value=39
stat3label=Earned Run Average
stat3value=2.44
stat4label=Strikeout s
stat4value=217
teams=
*Kintetsu Buffaloes (by|1997-by|2002)
*Chunichi Dragons (by|2003)
*San Diego Padres (by|2004-by|2005)
* Texas Rangers (by|2006-by|2007)nihongo|Akinori Otsuka|大塚 晶則|Otsuka Akinori|extra=born
January 13 ,1972 , in Chiba,Japan , is a Japanesebaseball player. He was formerly the set-up man for theSan Diego Padres and the Texas Rangers. Currently, he is a free agent. He was also the closer for Japan's2006 World Baseball Classic winning team.Otsuka throws a low-90's 4-seam
fastball ( tops out at about 94 mph ) that is very straight, along with a hard, late-breakingslider . He employs an unorthodox pitching delivery: He lifts his lead leg up very slowly, taps his glove, then fires to home plate, making his pitches look faster coming out of his hand, making them much harder to pick up.Otsuka came to the United States after several years of pitching in the Japanese League when his former team, the
Chunichi Dragons , used theposting system to solicit bids from MLB clubs for the right to negotiate with him. The Padres offered the top bid, and signed him to a three-year contract onDecember 9 ,2003 . OnJanuary 6 ,2006 , Otsuka was traded to the Rangers, along with pitcherAdam Eaton and minor league catcherBilly Killian , in exchange for pitcher Chris Young, first basemanAdrian Gonzalez , and outfielderTerrmel Sledge .Otsuka took over the role as the closer for the Rangers during the 2006 season, replacing
Francisco Cordero , and recorded 32 saves while posting a 2.11 ERA. However, onDecember 19 ,2006 the Rangers announced that newly signedÉric Gagné would take over the closer role in 2007, with Otsuka moving back into a set-up role. OnJanuary 13 ,2007 , T.R. Sullivan reported that, in an interview in Japan, Otsuka said "If there is the team which needs me as a closer, I am going to think about (the trade)". [http://trsullivan.mlblogs.com/trsullivan/2007/01/thus_spoke_akin.html] . Due to Gagné starting the season on the DL, Otsuka began the 2007 season as the closer. With the trade of Gagne to theBoston Red Sox , Otsuka assumed the closer's role again. However, Otsuka went on the DL after experiencing tighntess in his throwing shoulder. His stand-in wasC.J. Wilson .Otsuka was not offered a new contract by the Rangers and became a free agent on
December 12 ,2007 .On
January 10 ,2008 , Otsuka announced that he would undergo elbow surgery.tatistics
Major Leagues (Total as of July 26, 2008)
* 236 Games
* 232 Innings pitched
* 13 Wins
* 15 Losses
* 39 Saves
* 217 Strikeouts
* 2.44 ERAJapanese Professional Leagues
* 305 Games
* 350.2 Innings pitched
* 14 Wins
* 23 Losses
* 137 Saves
* 474 Strikeouts
* 2.39 ERASeason by Season
Last update: 26 July 2008
*Bold = led leagueExternal links
*baseballstats|mlb=430788
*baseball-reference|id=o/otsukak01
* [http://www.aspara.co.jp/aki-otsuka/ Official blog] jp icon
* [http://japaneseballplayers.com/en/player.php?id=otsuka Japanese league stats and info of Akinori Otsuka]
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