Koji Uehara

Koji Uehara (上原 浩治) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher.

He previously played for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), as well as the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB).

In 1998, Uehara rejected a contract worth $3 million from the then-Anaheim Angels and signed with Yomiuri.

The Angels had expressed their continued interest in Uehara, as scouting director Eddie Bane had stated that acquiring either Uehara or Daisuke Matsuzaka was a top priority for the team.

However, many other teams, including the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Mets, and Orioles, had shown interest in bidding for Uehara if he were to become available.

He was drafted with the first pick by the Yomiuri Giants in 1998.

In 1999, he had a successful rookie year with 15 consecutive wins that broke the all-time rookie record, claimed the Rookie of the Year, Eiji Sawamura Award, and led in wins, ERA, strikeouts and winning percentage.

In the final game of the season against the Yakult Swallows, with the league standings already decided, Uehara was ordered to issue three intentional walks to the Swallows' Roberto Petagine in order to give the Giants' Hideki Matsui a chance to catch Petagine for the home run title.

The competitive Uehara complied with the order but showed his bitterness on the mound, kicking the dirt repeatedly and even shedding tears after the third intentional walk.

In 2001, he finished with a 4.02 ERA, the highest of his career.

In 2002, he rebounded, leading the Central League in wins and collected his second Sawamura Award.

After the 2002 season, he represented Japan in the Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series and on November 11 became the first pitcher in over a year to strike out Barry Bonds three consecutive times in one game.

This achievement raised his profile in American Major League Baseball.

He was injured before the 2007 season which made him a late appearance, and in that season, he became a closer instead, recorded a 1.74 ERA with 4 wins, 3 losses, and 32 saves.

He was expected to be eligible for free agency in 2007 (but that was postponed to 2008 due to injury).

Though showing a good ability both starting and closing, he returned as a starting pitcher in the 2008 season.

He left the Giants after that season becoming a free agent and allowing him to play in Major League Baseball.

Uehara asserted his preference in public to be transferred to a Major League Baseball team through the posting system.

His efforts had been rebuffed by the Yomiuri Giants' front office.

He became eligible for free agency in April 2008.

On January 13, 2009, Uehara signed a two-year, $10 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles.

He started the 2009 season as the number two starter behind Jeremy Guthrie.

Uehara made his big league debut on April 8 against the New York Yankees.

Uehara earned the win, going five innings and allowing one run.

His second outing resulted in a win against the Texas Rangers.

On September 10, 2009, it was announced that Uehara would be out for the remainder of the season.

He would finish his injury-plagued 2009 campaign with a 2–4 record, 4.05 ERA, and 48 strikeouts in 66 2⁄3 innings in 12 starts.

He started the 2010 season as a setup reliever in the bullpen and finished the season 1–2 with a 2.86 ERA, 55 strikeouts in 44 innings, and 13 saves.

In the first half of the 2011 season, he was 1–1 with a 1.72 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched.

On July 30, 2011, Uehara was traded to the Texas Rangers for Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter.

The move reunited him with his old high school teammate Yoshinori Tateyama.

After starting the season with superb numbers for the Orioles, his second half, with the Rangers, would prove to be a rough one.

He was 1–2 with a 4.00 ERA after the trade.

Matters would get worse in the postseason when he gave up three home runs in 1 1⁄3 innings to compile a 33.75 ERA before being left off the roster for the World Series due to his ineffectiveness.

He would finish 2011 with a 2–3 record, 2.35 ERA, and 85 strikeouts in 65 innings after pitching for the two different teams.

Uehara won the 2013 ALCS MVP Award, and closed the final game of the 2013 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

With his World Series win, Uehara became one of sixteen players in history to have won both a World Series and a World Baseball Classic.

Uehara graduated from the Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences.

A right-handed pitcher, Uehara has an MLB career strikeout rate of 10.7 K/9 innings and a walk rate of 1.5 BB/9 innings through the 2017 season.

Through the 2017 season, his career 7.33 K/BB is the best in MLB history for a player with at least 100 innings pitched.