Masaru Imazeki

Masaru Imazeki (今関 勝)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 206 lbs.

• High School Ogusuku High School, Buso High School

• Born February 9, 1971 in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Masaru Imazeki pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 7 years.

Imazeki was drafted by the Nippon Ham Fighters in the third round of the 1992 NPB draft, but he didn't have many chances at first. He only pitched one game for the big team in his first season. Imazeki was a swingman in 1994, pitching 19 games with a 4.76 ERA. He joined the rotation in 1995, and he had a 4.53 ERA in 30 games (12 starts). The Yokosuka native broke out and had his career year in 1996. He was selected into the 1996 NPB All-Star Game, and started in Game 3. Imaezki struggled in the 2nd inning as he allowed back-to-back singles to Alonzo Powell and Hideki Matsui, then Tomoaki Kanemoto blasted a game-winning 3-run home run so he got the loss. He ended up 11-9 with a 3.22 ERA, led the Pacific League in homers allowed, ranked 8th in hits (6 behind Kip Gross) and 8th in strikeouts (56 behind Kimiyasu Kudo).

However, Imazeki's ERA rose to 8.69 in 1997, and he only had a 1-4 record. He bounced back and recorded a 3.74 ERA in 18 starts in 1998, but he struggled again and his ERA was 7.11 in 1999. After spending the entire 2000 season in the ni-gun, the Fighters released him. Imazeki then pitched for the Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League from 2001 to 2003 (going 18-18 with a 3.97 ERA overall;; his 10 wins in '03 tied for 8th in the Atlantic League), and his professional career ended.

Overall, Imazeki was 26-30 with a 4.39 ERA, struck out 376 and pitched 486 1/3 innings in 7 years in NPB.