Hisashi Iwakuma

Hisashi Iwakuma (岩隈 久志) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher.

While he never made it to a national tournament during his high school career, he led his team to the semi-finals of the West Tokyo Tournament as a senior in the summer of 1999.

The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes picked him in the fifth round of the 1999 NPB draft.

He has played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes from 2000 to 2004, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles from 2005 to 2011, and Yomiuri Giants in 2019, and all of his time in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners from 2012 to 2017.

Iwakuma made his professional debut with the Buffaloes in 2000.

Iwakuma spent the entirety of his rookie season (2000) with the Buffaloes' nigun (Japanese for "minor league" or "farm team") team, clocking 149 km/h with his fastball at one point but making only two appearances all year in the Western League.

Iwakuma made his debut at the ichigun ("major league") level the following year, appearing in relief in a game against the Nippon-Ham Fighters on May 29 2001 and earning the first career win of his professional career despite giving up a run over 1 innings.

He made his first start on June 10 against the Fighters and threw his first career complete game (a two-hit shutout) against the Seibu Lions on September 18, finishing the year with a 4–2 record and playing an important role in the Buffaloes' league title that year.

Iwakuma secured a spot in the team's starting rotation by 2002, the following season, going 8–7 with a much-improved 3.69 ERA in 141 innings.

He enjoyed a breakout year in, going 15–10 with a 3.45 ERA and 149 strikeouts and leading the league with 11 complete games.

He was named a NPB All-Star in 2003 and 2004, and played in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Iwakuma began the 2004 season 12–0 and establishing a franchise record for most consecutive wins to start the season.

He received the most fan votes among Pacific League starting pitchers for the NPB All-Star Game that year, starting Game 1 at Nagoya Dome on July 10, and pitched in the 2004 Athens Olympics as a member of the Japanese national team in August.

He finished with a 15–2 record for the year, leading the league in both wins and winning percentage (.882) for the first time in his career.

He also pitched in Game 5 of the MLB All-Star Series held in November, holding the MLB All-Stars to one run over seven innings to earn the win.

Following the 2004 season, Iwakuma's Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave, another Pacific League team based in the Kansai region, opted to merge to alleviate some of their financial difficulties, later leading to the addition of a new team named the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles that would fill the void created by the merger.

Iwakuma was initially named a member of the newly formed Orix Buffaloes in a dispersal draft held that November, but refused to comply and join the Buffaloes and became involved in a contractual dispute.

Although the Buffaloes attempted to persuade him to play for their team, they eventually agreed to trade him to the Eagles in exchange for cash.

Iwakuma was named the Eagles' starter for the season opener, holding the Chiba Lotte Marines to one run while going the distance on March 26 and earning the expansion team's first-ever win.

However, while he did not miss a single start during the regular season, he was bothered by tenderness in his shoulder throughout the year, finishing with a 9-15 record and an ERA of 4.99 (worst among all qualifying pitchers).

Iwakuma's injury woes continued into the season.

His struggles to adapt to the league's new rules on pitching motions during Spring training, combined with lingering concerns about his shoulder condition, caused him to miss the season opener and spend the entire first half of the season with the nigun team undergoing a rehab stint.

He made his first appearance of the season against the Fighters on August 29, but did not record a win until September 12 in a game against the Marines, finishing the season with a 1–2 record and 3.72 ERA in just six starts.

In, Iwakuma was named the starter for the season opener for the first time in two years, taking the mound on March 24 against the Lions.

While he was slated to start the Eagles' first home game of the season on March 31 against the Buffaloes as well, he reported stiffness in his back just hours before the game, causing him to be scratched from the lineup and sent down to the minors for rehab the next day.

He returned at the end of April only to be demoted again just weeks later with a left oblique strain.

Iwakuma finally returned after the All-Star break, notching his second win of the season on July 31 and finishing the season with a 5–5 record in 16 games and an ERA of 3.40.

He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow in October.

Chosen to start the season opener for the second straight year (and fourth time overall), Iwakuma pitched against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on March 20,, but fell short of the win despite limiting the Hawks to just one run over seven innings (then-closer Domingo Guzmán gave up a walk-off home run to outfielder Hiroshi Shibahara, handing Iwakuma a no-decision in a 4–3 loss).

He joined the Eagles in 2005.

As the Eagles' reigning staff ace, Iwakuma won the Eiji Sawamura Award in, and was also a NPB All-Star that year.

He appeared in the 2009 World Baseball Classic for the Japanese national team.

Iwakuma was posted to Major League Baseball after the 2010 season, but he failed to come to an agreement with the winning bidder.

After the 2011 season, Iwakuma signed with the Mariners.

He was an MLB All-Star in 2013, as well as the third-place finisher for the 2013 American League Cy Young Award.

On August 12, 2015, Iwakuma became the second Japanese player ever to pitch a no-hitter in Major League Baseball (joining Hideo Nomo, who threw two), throwing a three-walk, seven-strikeout 3–0 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Safeco Field.

It was also his first MLB complete game, and the Mariners' fifth no-hitter in team history.

Iwakuma was born in Higashiyamato, Tokyo, and began playing baseball in the first grade before attending Horikoshi High School in Nakano.

Iwakuma was inspired to become a pitcher after "looking up to" former Seibu Lions great Hisanobu Watanabe, who was known for his big-game pitching.

Iwakuma retired in 2020 due to lingering shoulder issues that had prevented him from playing that year.