According to news reports, a former Boston reliever, Hirokazu Sawamura states his intentions to pursue new opportunities in the United States rather than moving back to Japan.
Prior to moving to the United States and signing a two-year, $3MM contract with the Red Sox, Sawamura spent a decade pitching for Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Over 868 1/3 NPB innings, he has a 2.77 ERA.
Yomiuri’s closer is Sawamura, who began his career as a starter before moving to the bullpen in 2015. He missed the 2017 season due to a shoulder injury, although he would come back as a strong setup man before moving to the US in 2021.
When the Red Sox signed Sawamura, who was 32 at the time, it was considered to be a reasonable deal with some potential upside if he did well in the transition to Major League Baseball. He never developed into a strong bullpen pitcher, but he did provide the Sox with some crucial middle relief innings.
In 2021, Sawamura pitched 53 innings with a 3.06 ERA, striking out batters at a rate of 26.2%, which was above average, and walking them at a rate of 13.7%, which was below average.
Sawamura’s 022 had a strong start, sporting a 2.48 ERA as of July 23. The situation quickly deteriorated though, and over the course of the following month Sawamura would record a 5.40 ERA until the Red Sox decided to designate him for assignment in late August.
Fans reaction to Sawamura’s desire to stay
Hirokazu Sawamura Looking For MLB Opportunities Over Return To Japan https://t.co/oulxJJjVv3 pic.twitter.com/zDl6jjHwgy
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) January 1, 2023
Fans are stating that he might be hated in Japan, hence the desire to stay in the United States. Others are excited for him to stay and climb the MLB ladder, where his skills can improve further and that he can join a bigger team.
Sawamura’s culture shock in the United States
Red Sox reliever Hirokazu Sawamura talking about the culture shock he's experienced around the use of "sorry" in English vs. Japanese (h/t @baseballreddit) pic.twitter.com/DtbZ7wcWPn
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) March 31, 2021
He did an interview in 2022 where he stated that the culture shock for moving to America from Japan is real. In Japan, they are a lot more polite than the people in America. He tends to apologise for a lot of things, regardless if it was his mistake or not.
Sawamura claimed that he did not pitch a ball well and as he handed the ball back to his manager, he apologised. However, the manager stated that he should not apologise as the pitching was not his fault.
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