Yoshinori Sato
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
professional baseball
player. He is a starting pitcher
for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows
.
Sato clocked some of the fastest speeds in tournament
history with his fastball
when he pitched in the 89th National High School Baseball Championship
in as a senior
for Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School. Despite his diminutive size, he has made a name for himself as one of the hardest-throwing young pitcher
s in all of Japanese professional baseball.
of Miyagi Prefecture
. His parent
s and older brother
convinced him to begin playing baseball
in the fourth grade
. (His brother, Hisanori, would later go on to Tohoku High School, where he would become batterymates
with current Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
right-hander Yu Darvish
as the team's backup catcher
.) He was chosen to the Little League Japanese national team in his first year (the equivalent of seventh grade
in the United States
) at Sendai Municipal
North Sendai Junior High School and pitched a no-hitter
against the Russia
n team, but did not play for his school's
baseball team, instead choosing to join the school's track and field team while playing for a Little Senior team instead.
and was initially made the backup third baseman
, he was clocking 140 km/h (87 mph) by the fall
of his first year (tenth grade
) and began to draw local attention as a pitcher
. He led the school to a berth in the 88th National High School Baseball Championship in the summer
of his junior year
, going the distance while striking out
11 en route to a 5-1 win over Tokushima
Commercial High School
in the first round as the team's ace pitcher
on August 7. However, he allowed four runs
on seven hits
and five walks
despite striking out 13 against Nihon University
Yamagata
Senior High School in the next round, ultimately being charged with the decision
in a 6-3 loss on August 13.
Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High won the Tohoku Regional
Tournament that fall, securing a berth in the 79th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament
that would be held in the spring
of . However, while Sato pitched well against Tokoha Gakuen Kikugawa High School in the first round (now as a senior) on March 23, striking out 14 while allowing just two runs and clocking 150 km/h (93 mph), his team was held to just one run in a disappointing 2-1 loss and first-round exit (Tokoha Gakuen Kikugawa High went on to become the tournament champions).
(August 1), throwing 148 pitches while holding Tohoku High to two runs in a 6-2 complete game
win
and leading the school to a third straight appearance in a national tournament
.
Sato took the mound against Chiben Gakuen
Wakayama
Senior High School in the first round of the 89th National High School Baseball Championship that followed on August 9, holding the team to just two runs while striking out 17 in a 4-2 complete game win. While he gave up a home run
to junior and noted cleanup hitter
Masaki Sakaguchi (currently a third baseman for Tokai University
) in the sixth inning, he threw a pitch
that the radar gun
at Koshien Stadium
clocked at 154 km/h (96 mph) in Sakaguchi's next at-bat
in the eighth, tying the highest speed ever recorded in the tournament (since the radar gun began being used in ) marked by current Yokohama BayStars
right-hander Hayato Terahara as a senior for Nichinan Gakuen High School in . He struck Sakaguchi out looking in that at-bat, throwing a total of 19 pitches clocked at 150 km/h (93 mph) or above in the same game.
In the fourth inning of the second-round game against Chiben Gakuen Senior High School (the Nara
champions) on August 15, Sato threw a pitch clocked at 155 km/h (96 mph), setting a new tournament record for pitch speed (as per official stadium
radar gun readings). He gave up five runs
in the very next inning, however, allowing eight hits and five walks in a 5-2 complete game loss. While he made three appearances in national tournaments during his three-year high school career, he never succeeded in getting past the second round.
Sato was chosen to play in the U.S.-Japan
High School Baseball Tournament (organized by the Japanese Educational Resource Center in conjunction with the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy
) as a member of the Japanese team later that summer, clocking a new personal-high 157 km/h (98 mph) during the tournament.
Sato was one of the most highly touted players going into the 2007 NPB high school draft
, attracting the attention of scouts
for not only his fastball but also his hard slider
and being dubbed one of the "High School Big Three" along with Osaka
Tōin Senior High School slugger Sho Nakata
and Narita
High School right-hander Yuki Karakawa. The Sendai-based Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
, Swallows, BayStars, Chunichi Dragons
and Yomiuri Giants
all selected Sato with their first-round picks, but the Swallows drew the winning straw, signing him to a base salary
of 15 million yen
, a signing bonus
of 100 million yen and additional performance-based incentives and presenting him the uniform number 11 on November 11.
season
, Sato was assigned to the Swallows' ichigun (Japanese
equivalent of "major league
") team for Spring Training, but complained of pain
in his left ankle
in late February
. While the condition was deemed minor and Sato was cleared to play in preseason games, he went 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA
, allowing 14 hits in just six innings
, and was sent down to the nigun team ("minor league
" or "farm team") for the season opener. He focused on rehabbing
his ankle, coming on in relief
in a game against the Giants on April 13 and pitching one scoreless inning in his Eastern League
debut.
Sato went on to earn a spot in the nigun team's starting rotation, going 8-5 with a 4.17 ERA in 15 appearances
and striking out 71 in 77⅔ innings before being called up to the ichigun team for the first time in late August
. He made his professional
debut on August 30, starting a game against the BayStars but giving up six runs (five earned
) on six hits and lasting just 1⅔ innings (the Swallows came back to win the game 9-8).
Sato made his second start in a game against the Giants on September 6, allowing three runs over six innings while striking out eight for the first win of his professional career and snapping the Swallows' eight-game losing streak to the Giants (prompting the Japanese media
to dub him the "Giants Killer"). However, he was charged with his first loss in his next start against the Giants on September 14, allowing three runs over six innings while striking out seven (he knocked in his first career RBI
on a sacrifice fly
in the fifth innning).
On October 8, Sato earned his second win of the season against the BayStars, holding the team to one run on just two hits over eight innings. While manager
Shigeru Takada
considered sending Sato to the mound for the ninth, he opted against it after Sato told pitching coach Daisuke Araki that he would rather retain his eligibility for the Most Valuable Rookie award for the following season than earn his first complete game win. (Sato's innings pitched total at the ichigun level at the end of the eighth inning was 29⅔, just under the 30 that a player must not have exceeded for his career to be eligible for the award.)
Sato finished the year with a 2-1 record
in five starts
(six appearances), recording a 4.55 ERA while striking out 28 in 29⅔ innings. His eight wins with the nigun team also led the Eastern League.
Most Valuable Rookie award going into the season. He threw a pitch clocked at 156 km/h (97 mph), his fastest since becoming a pro, in his third appearance against the Saitama Seibu Lions on March 19.
Sato took the mound in the Swallows' second game of the season against the Hanshin Tigers
on April 4, holding them to one run over six innings in his first win of the season, but gave up a career-high seven runs (all earned) on nine hits over just 4⅓ innings in his next start against the BayStars on April 10.
While he threw a pitch clocked at a personal-high 157 km/h (98 mph) in his fourth start against the BayStars on April 26, Sato walked four and gave up three runs in just one inning in the shortest outing of his career. He was removed from the active roster
and sent down to the minors the following day.
. He has a slightly unorthodox delivery
, raising his left leg
and bringing his glove
down in front of his knee
before pulling it into his chest
and throwing from a three-quarters arm slot.
Sato's four-seam fastball
has exceptional velocity, usually sitting at 146 to 153 km/h (90.7 to 95.1 mph) and reaching 161 km/h (100 mph) with only one pitch during 2010 season. Sato complements the pitch with a hard slider at low-80s and a occasional forkball
. Sato can be considered as a two-pitch pitcher and still has a problem in his control.
Sato has excellent stamina
, clocking 151 km/h (94 mph) with his final pitch in his 154-pitch complete game win against Chiben Gakuen Wakayama Senior High in the National High School Baseball Championship as an 18-year-old, but leaves room for improvement with his command.
Bold indicates league leader; statistics current as of 12 October 2010
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player. He is a starting pitcher
Starting pitcher
In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....
for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows
Tokyo Yakult Swallows
is a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League.The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, the Yakult Corporation. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei...
.
Sato clocked some of the fastest speeds in tournament
Single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match or bracket is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...
history with his fastball
Fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...
when he pitched in the 89th National High School Baseball Championship
National High School Baseball Championship
The National High School Baseball Championship of Japan, commonly known as "Summer Kōshien" , is an annual nationwide high school baseball tournament...
in as a senior
Twelfth grade
Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...
for Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School. Despite his diminutive size, he has made a name for himself as one of the hardest-throwing young pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
s in all of Japanese professional baseball.
Early life
Sato was born in Sendai, the capital cityCity
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
of Miyagi Prefecture
Miyagi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai.- History :Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu. Mutsu Province, on northern Honshu, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the...
. His parent
Parent
A parent is a caretaker of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is of a child . Children can have one or more parents, but they must have two biological parents. Biological parents consist of the male who sired the child and the female who gave birth to the child...
s and older brother
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
convinced him to begin playing baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
in the fourth grade
Fourth grade
Fourth grade is a year of education in the United States and many other nations. The fourth grade is the fourth school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 9 or 10 years old, depending on their birthday. It is a part of elementary school. In some parts of the United States, fourth grade...
. (His brother, Hisanori, would later go on to Tohoku High School, where he would become batterymates
Battery (baseball)
In baseball, the term battery refers collectively to the pitcher and the catcher, who may also be called batterymen or batterymates of one another.- History :...
with current Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at the Sapporo Dome. The Fighters also host a select number of regional home games in cities across Hokkaidō,...
right-hander Yu Darvish
Yu Darvish
Yu Darvish is a Japanese starting pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.Darvish pitched in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well as the 2009 World Baseball Classic as a member of the Japanese national team...
as the team's backup catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
.) He was chosen to the Little League Japanese national team in his first year (the equivalent of seventh grade
Seventh grade
Seventh grade is a year of education in the United States and many other nations. The seventh grade is the seventh school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 12–13 years old. Traditionally, seventh grade was the next-to-last year of elementary school...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) at Sendai Municipal
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
North Sendai Junior High School and pitched a no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
against the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n team, but did not play for his school's
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
baseball team, instead choosing to join the school's track and field team while playing for a Little Senior team instead.
2005 to Spring 2007
Sato went on to enroll at Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School in . Though he failed to reach even 130 km/h (81 mph) when he entered high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and was initially made the backup third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
, he was clocking 140 km/h (87 mph) by the fall
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
of his first year (tenth grade
Tenth grade
In majority of the world,Tenth grade is the tenth year of school post-kindergarten. The variants of "10th grade" in various nations is described below.-Australia:...
) and began to draw local attention as a pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
. He led the school to a berth in the 88th National High School Baseball Championship in the summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
of his junior year
Eleventh grade
Eleventh Grade is the eleventh, and for some countries final, grade of secondary schools. Students are typically 16 or 17 years of age, depending on the country and the students' birthdays.-Brazil:...
, going the distance while striking out
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
11 en route to a 5-1 win over Tokushima
Tokushima, Tokushima
is the capital city of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku island in Japan.As of May 1, 2011, the city had an estimated population of 263,372, with 114,325 households, and a population density of 1,377.25 persons per km². Its total area is 191.23 km²....
Commercial High School
Commercial high school (Japan)
A , called or shōgyō for short, is a Japanese high school which concentrates more on the teaching of business and commerce knowledge and skills rather than the college preparatory courses taught in most Japanese high schools. Most students who graduate from a commercial high school directly enter...
in the first round as the team's ace pitcher
Ace (baseball)
In baseball, an ace is the best starting pitcher of any team and nearly always the first pitcher in his starting rotation. Barring injury or exceptional circumstances, an ace usually always starts on Opening Day...
on August 7. However, he allowed four runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
on seven hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
and five walks
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
despite striking out 13 against Nihon University
Nihon University
Nihon University is the largest university in Japan. Akiyoshi Yamada, the minister of justice, founded Nihon Law School in October 1889....
Yamagata
Yamagata, Yamagata
is the capital city of Yamagata Prefecture in Japan.As of July 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 253,951 with 97,457 households and a population density of 665.94 persons per km². The total area is 381.34 km². The city was founded on April 1, 1889.-Culture:The , one of Tōhoku's...
Senior High School in the next round, ultimately being charged with the decision
Decision (baseball)
A decision is a statistical credit given to a baseball pitcher.There are two types of decisions: win and loss.In order to receive a win, the starting pitcher must complete at least five innings and leave with the lead. If the pitcher's lead is preserved by the bullpen, he is credited with a win...
in a 6-3 loss on August 13.
Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High won the Tohoku Regional
Tohoku region
The is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures : Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata....
Tournament that fall, securing a berth in the 79th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament
National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament
The National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament of Japan, commonly known as "Spring Kōshien" or "Senbatsu" , is an annual high school baseball tournament....
that would be held in the spring
Spring (season)
Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...
of . However, while Sato pitched well against Tokoha Gakuen Kikugawa High School in the first round (now as a senior) on March 23, striking out 14 while allowing just two runs and clocking 150 km/h (93 mph), his team was held to just one run in a disappointing 2-1 loss and first-round exit (Tokoha Gakuen Kikugawa High went on to become the tournament champions).
Summer 2007
Already viewed as one of the top high school pitchers in the country, Sato pitched well in the regional Miyagi Tournament that summer, throwing 226 pitches in fifteen shutout innings in the finals against rival Tohoku High School on July 31 in what ended in a scoreless tie (as per tournament regulations). He started the rematch that ensued the next dayDay
A day is a unit of time, commonly defined as an interval equal to 24 hours. It also can mean that portion of the full day during which a location is illuminated by the light of the sun...
(August 1), throwing 148 pitches while holding Tohoku High to two runs in a 6-2 complete game
Complete game
In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...
win
Win (baseball)
In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...
and leading the school to a third straight appearance in a national tournament
High school baseball in Japan
In Japan, high school baseball generally refers to the two annual baseball tournaments played by high schools nationwide culminating at a final showdown at Hanshin Kōshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Japan...
.
Sato took the mound against Chiben Gakuen
Chiben Gakuen
Chiben Gakuen is a private academic institution with campuses in Nara Prefecture and Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The school sends many students to the best universities and colleges in Japan, including the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University and other public and private schools.The school is...
Wakayama
Wakayama, Wakayama
is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan.-Background:Wakayama occupies 4% of the land area and has 40% of Wakayama prefecture's population. The city was founded on April 1, 1889....
Senior High School in the first round of the 89th National High School Baseball Championship that followed on August 9, holding the team to just two runs while striking out 17 in a 4-2 complete game win. While he gave up a home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
to junior and noted cleanup hitter
Cleanup hitter
In baseball, the cleanup hitter is the hitter who bats fourth in the lineup. Although the third man up is generally the hitter with the highest batting average, cleanup hitters often have the most power on the team and are typically the team's best power hitter; their job is to "clean up the...
Masaki Sakaguchi (currently a third baseman for Tokai University
Tokai University
is a private university in Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 1943 by Shigeyoshi Matsumae, who had formerly been the engineering president of the Ministry of Communications...
) in the sixth inning, he threw a pitch
Pitch (baseball)
In baseball, a pitch is the act of throwing a baseball toward home plate to start a play. The term comes from the Knickerbocker Rules. Originally, the ball had to be literally "pitched" underhand, as with pitching horseshoes. Overhand throwing was not allowed until 1884.The biomechanics of...
that the radar gun
Radar gun
A radar speed gun is a small doppler radar unit used to measure the speed of moving objects, including vehicles, pitched baseballs, runners and other moving objects. Radar speed guns may be hand-held, vehicle-mounted or static...
at Koshien Stadium
Koshien Stadium
is a baseball park located near Kobe in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments, and opened on April 1, 1924. It was the largest stadium in Asia at the time it was completed, with a capacity of 55,000.The name Kōshien comes...
clocked at 154 km/h (96 mph) in Sakaguchi's next at-bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
in the eighth, tying the highest speed ever recorded in the tournament (since the radar gun began being used in ) marked by current Yokohama BayStars
Yokohama BayStars
The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Home field is the Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The clubhouse is located near the stadium....
right-hander Hayato Terahara as a senior for Nichinan Gakuen High School in . He struck Sakaguchi out looking in that at-bat, throwing a total of 19 pitches clocked at 150 km/h (93 mph) or above in the same game.
In the fourth inning of the second-round game against Chiben Gakuen Senior High School (the Nara
Nara Prefecture
is a prefecture in the Kansai region on Honshū Island, Japan. The capital is the city of Nara.-History:The present-day Nara Prefecture was created in 1887, making it independent of Osaka Prefecture....
champions) on August 15, Sato threw a pitch clocked at 155 km/h (96 mph), setting a new tournament record for pitch speed (as per official stadium
Baseball park
A baseball park, also known as a baseball stadium, ball park, or ballpark is a venue where baseball is played. It consists of the playing field and the surrounding spectator seating...
radar gun readings). He gave up five runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
in the very next inning, however, allowing eight hits and five walks in a 5-2 complete game loss. While he made three appearances in national tournaments during his three-year high school career, he never succeeded in getting past the second round.
Sato was chosen to play in the U.S.-Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
High School Baseball Tournament (organized by the Japanese Educational Resource Center in conjunction with the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy
Major League Baseball Academy
The Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy is a youth baseball academy located in Compton, California providing free baseball and softball instruction to Southern California youth, ages 8–17....
) as a member of the Japanese team later that summer, clocking a new personal-high 157 km/h (98 mph) during the tournament.
Sato was one of the most highly touted players going into the 2007 NPB high school draft
Draft (sports)
A draft is a process used in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Russia and the Philippines to allocate certain players to sports teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players...
, attracting the attention of scouts
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...
for not only his fastball but also his hard slider
Slider
In baseball, a slider is a pitch that breaks laterally and down, with a speed between that of a curveball and that of a fastball....
and being dubbed one of the "High School Big Three" along with Osaka
Osaka Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :...
Tōin Senior High School slugger Sho Nakata
Sho Nakata
is a Japanese baseball hitter of the Nippon Professional Baseball. In his high school career, he was a pitcher.As a high school student, he hit 87 home runs and his fastball reached 94 mph. In 2006, he took part in a National High School Baseball Championship, but he was defeated by his...
and Narita
Narita, Chiba
is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is the site of Narita International Airport, the main international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area....
High School right-hander Yuki Karakawa. The Sendai-based Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
The is a baseball team founded in 2004; it played its first season in the Japanese Pacific League in 2005. It is simply called Rakuten . The team was created to fill the void left by the merger of the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes, after the 2004 season due to financial difficulties,...
, Swallows, BayStars, Chunichi Dragons
Chunichi Dragons
The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:...
and Yomiuri Giants
Yomiuri Giants
The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the...
all selected Sato with their first-round picks, but the Swallows drew the winning straw, signing him to a base salary
Salary
A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis....
of 15 million yen
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
, a signing bonus
Signing bonus
A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive to the employee, e.g., if the annual salary is lower than he or she desires...
of 100 million yen and additional performance-based incentives and presenting him the uniform number 11 on November 11.
2008
In , his rookieRookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
season
Season (sports)
In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...
, Sato was assigned to the Swallows' ichigun (Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
equivalent of "major league
Sports league
League is a term commonly used to describe a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on weekends; at its most complex, it can be an...
") team for Spring Training, but complained of pain
Pain
Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone."...
in his left ankle
Ankle
The ankle joint is formed where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle, or talocrural joint, is a synovial hinge joint that connects the distal ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower limb with the proximal end of the talus bone in the foot...
in late February
February 2008
February 2008 was the second month of the leap year. It began on a Friday and ended after 29 days on a Friday.-International holidays:* February 2 - Candlemas* February 5 - Shrove Tuesday* February 6 - Waitangi Day...
. While the condition was deemed minor and Sato was cleared to play in preseason games, he went 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
, allowing 14 hits in just six innings
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...
, and was sent down to the nigun team ("minor league
Minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...
" or "farm team") for the season opener. He focused on rehabbing
Physical therapy
Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
his ankle, coming on in relief
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
in a game against the Giants on April 13 and pitching one scoreless inning in his Eastern League
Eastern League (Japanese baseball)
The is one of the two minor leagues of Japanese professional baseball. The league is owned and managed by the Central League.-History:The league was created in 1955, and contained the minor league teams of the seven professional teams that had their homefields in the Eastern region of Japan...
debut.
Sato went on to earn a spot in the nigun team's starting rotation, going 8-5 with a 4.17 ERA in 15 appearances
Games pitched
In baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while...
and striking out 71 in 77⅔ innings before being called up to the ichigun team for the first time in late August
August 2008
August 2008 was the eighth month of the leap year. It began on a Friday and ended after 31 days on a Sunday.-References:...
. He made his professional
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
debut on August 30, starting a game against the BayStars but giving up six runs (five earned
Earned run
In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...
) on six hits and lasting just 1⅔ innings (the Swallows came back to win the game 9-8).
Sato made his second start in a game against the Giants on September 6, allowing three runs over six innings while striking out eight for the first win of his professional career and snapping the Swallows' eight-game losing streak to the Giants (prompting the Japanese media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
to dub him the "Giants Killer"). However, he was charged with his first loss in his next start against the Giants on September 14, allowing three runs over six innings while striking out seven (he knocked in his first career RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
on a sacrifice fly
Sacrifice fly
In baseball, a sacrifice fly is a batted ball that satisfies four criteria:* There are fewer than two outs when the ball is hit.* The ball is hit to the outfield....
in the fifth innning).
On October 8, Sato earned his second win of the season against the BayStars, holding the team to one run on just two hits over eight innings. While manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
Shigeru Takada
Shigeru Takada
Shigeru Takada is the former manager of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows baseball team in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He stepped down on May 26, 2010. Before assuming this role, he was a player for the Yomiuri Giants from to .-External links:...
considered sending Sato to the mound for the ninth, he opted against it after Sato told pitching coach Daisuke Araki that he would rather retain his eligibility for the Most Valuable Rookie award for the following season than earn his first complete game win. (Sato's innings pitched total at the ichigun level at the end of the eighth inning was 29⅔, just under the 30 that a player must not have exceeded for his career to be eligible for the award.)
Sato finished the year with a 2-1 record
Pitchers of record
Pitcher of record is a baseball term that refers to a pitcher who is credited with the win or charged with the loss in a particular game. These pitchers are known respectively as the winning and losing pitchers and collectively as the pitchers of record; thus, there are always two pitchers of...
in five starts
Games started
In baseball statistics, games started indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he faces the first opposing batter...
(six appearances), recording a 4.55 ERA while striking out 28 in 29⅔ innings. His eight wins with the nigun team also led the Eastern League.
2009
Sato pitched well in the pre-season, going 1-0 with one save with a 2.37 ERA in four appearances, and was considered one of the favorites for the Central LeagueCentral League
The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League...
Most Valuable Rookie award going into the season. He threw a pitch clocked at 156 km/h (97 mph), his fastest since becoming a pro, in his third appearance against the Saitama Seibu Lions on March 19.
Sato took the mound in the Swallows' second game of the season against the Hanshin Tigers
Hanshin Tigers
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly...
on April 4, holding them to one run over six innings in his first win of the season, but gave up a career-high seven runs (all earned) on nine hits over just 4⅓ innings in his next start against the BayStars on April 10.
While he threw a pitch clocked at a personal-high 157 km/h (98 mph) in his fourth start against the BayStars on April 26, Sato walked four and gave up three runs in just one inning in the shortest outing of his career. He was removed from the active roster
Roster
A roster is a list of names of people involved with an organization of some kind.A roster can be a list of people and the times when they are required to work or a list of students in a classroom....
and sent down to the minors the following day.
Pitching style
Listed at 179 cm (70.5 in) and 80 kg (176.4 lb), Sato is relatively small (even by Japanese standards) for a prototypical power pitcherPower pitcher
In baseball, a power pitcher is a pitcher who relies on the velocity of his pitches, sometimes at the expense of accuracy. Power pitchers usually record a high number of strikeouts and statistics such as strikeouts per 9 innings pitched are common measures of power...
. He has a slightly unorthodox delivery
Pitching position
In baseball, there are two legal pitching positions: the windup, and the set. Each type of pitching position has its strengths and weaknesses. Compared to the set, the windup takes a relatively slower execution, so therefore is better suited for situations in which there are no baserunners, or when...
, raising his left leg
Human leg
The human leg is the entire lower extremity or limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh and even the hip or gluteal region; however, the precise definition in human anatomy refers only to the section of the lower limb extending from the knee to the ankle.Legs are used for standing,...
and bringing his glove
Baseball glove
A baseball glove or mitt is a large leather glove that baseball players on the defending team are allowed to wear to assist them in catching and fielding balls hit by a batter, or thrown by a teammate.-History:...
down in front of his knee
Knee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
before pulling it into his chest
Chest
The chest is a part of the anatomy of humans and various other animals. It is sometimes referred to as the thorax or the bosom.-Chest anatomy - Humans and other hominids:...
and throwing from a three-quarters arm slot.
Sato's four-seam fastball
Four-seam fastball
A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family...
has exceptional velocity, usually sitting at 146 to 153 km/h (90.7 to 95.1 mph) and reaching 161 km/h (100 mph) with only one pitch during 2010 season. Sato complements the pitch with a hard slider at low-80s and a occasional forkball
Forkball
The forkball is a type of pitch in baseball. Related to the split-fingered fastball, the forkball is held between the first two fingers and thrown hard snapping the wrist....
. Sato can be considered as a two-pitch pitcher and still has a problem in his control.
Sato has excellent stamina
Endurance
Endurance is the ability for a human or animal to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fatigue. In humans, it is usually used in aerobic or anaerobic exercise...
, clocking 151 km/h (94 mph) with his final pitch in his 154-pitch complete game win against Chiben Gakuen Wakayama Senior High in the National High School Baseball Championship as an 18-year-old, but leaves room for improvement with his command.
Career statistics
| Nippon Professional Baseball | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Team | W Win (baseball) In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only... |
L | W% Winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win... |
GS Games started In baseball statistics, games started indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he faces the first opposing batter... |
CG Complete game In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were... |
SHO | IP Innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two... |
H Hit (baseball) In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice.... |
R Run (baseball) In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured... |
ER Earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run... |
HR Home run In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process... |
BB Base on balls A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08... |
K Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters.... |
ERA Earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine... |
WHIP Walks plus hits per inning pitched In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched is a sabermetric measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. It is a measure of a pitcher's ability to prevent batters from reaching base... |
LgERA |
| 18 | Yakult Tokyo Yakult Swallows is a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League.The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, the Yakult Corporation. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei... |
2 | 1 | .667 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 29.2 | 21 | 16 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 28 | 4.55 | 0.98 | 3.74 | |
| 19 | 5 | 10 | .333 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 109 | 61 | 47 | 9 | 57 | 91 | 3.50 | 1.38 | 3.55 | ||
| 20 | 12 | 9 | .571 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 167.2 | 158 | 78 | 67 | 11 | 74 | 149 | 3.60 | 1.38 | 4.13 | ||
| Career | 19 | 20 | .487 | 51 | 2 | 1 | 318.1 | 288 | 155 | 129 | 24 | 139 | 268 | 3.65 | 1.34 | |||
Bold indicates league leader; statistics current as of 12 October 2010