Masakazu Watanabe

Masakazu Watanabe (渡辺 正和)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 187 lb.

• School Tsukuba University
• High School Saga Nishi High School

• Born April 12, 1966 in Saga, Saga Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Masakazu Watanabe pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball and for the Japanese national team.

Watanabe represented Japan in the 1987 Asian Championship. The Daiei Hawks drafted him in the fifth round of the 1992 NPB draft. Watanabe pitched 24 games with a 5.14 ERA as a rookie, and went 4-1 with a 4.18 ERA in 1996. However, he suffered from injury and only recorded 8 appearances combined over the next three season. In 2000, the 34-year-old Watanabe finally had his first productive season. He had a 2.54 ERA in 60 appearances, and became one of the most important parts of the Hawks' bullpen. In the 2000 Nippon Series, he pitched 6 1/3 innings, only allowing one run (Hideki Matsui's solo shot in Game 5) and got the win in Game 2. He also get a vote for the 2000 Pacific League Most Valuable Player Award. The Saga native slumped to 5.05 ERA in 48 games in 2001, but he bounced back soon. He pitched 57 games with a solid 2.66 ERA in 2002. His ERA rose to 4.95 in 2003, but he still played 46 games. In the 2003 Nippon Series, Watanabe only appeared in Game 3, and Tomoaki Kanemoto blasted a solo shot off him. The Hawks beat the Hanshin Tigers in 7 games, and Watanabe announced his retirement after getting the first Nippon Series Title of his career. He was the coach of Fukuoka University from 2015 to 2019 after retiring.

Overall, Watanabe was 15-9 with a 4.18 ERA and pitched 301 2/3 innings in 8 seasons in NPB.