Opening pitcherWhat is (Kaikuku Toshu)?baseballInOpener OfStarting pitcherRefers to.

The starting pitcher is the starting pitcher who pitches in the first match (opening match) of the pennant race, and the pitcher representing each team is thrown in.^[1].. There is an opinion that the opening game has a special meaning and that the opening game is just one of the long pennant races, but in reality the opening game is regarded as special.^[1]Often.

Japanese professional baseball

In the opening game of Japanese professional baseball, there are relatively many cases where each baseball team starts with a pitcher called ace and the representative pitcher of the baseball team is relatively popular. It is said that Therefore, new players are rarely selected, and there are only 1 players including one league era. Still1950 eraThere was a new player's opening pitcher every year, but after that, after that1962/ OfKunio Jonouchi(巨人),1984/ OfKoya light(Yakult),2013/ OfNorimoto(Rakuten),2022/ OfWataru Kitayama(Nippon Ham) Only 4 people^[2].

In Japanese professional baseball,Shoichi Kaneda(National railway・Giant)Suzuki revelation(Kintetsu) Was the record for the opening pitcher, and Suzuki's nine opening wins were the Japanese record. Also,Hisashi Yamada(Hankyu)'S 12th consecutive pitcher (1975/~1986/) And the victory for the fifth consecutive year is also a Japanese record.

The oldest opening pitcher in Japanese professional baseball history1998/ OfYutaka Ono(Hiroshima) Is 42 years and 7 months old. The youngest opening pitcher1952/ OfYoshio Otagaki18 years and 5 months in (Hiroshima).

Successive opening pitcher

1 league system (Spring/Summer 1936-1944)

1 league system (1946-1949)

2 league 13-15 team system (1950-1957)

2 league 12 team system (1958-2004)

2 league 12 team system (since 2005)

episode

OUR TEAM

• 1960/ OfOcean WhalesThe opening pitcher was originallyAkiyama NoboruWas scheduled to serve,Chunichi DragonsOf the Chunichi coach during practice before the opening game withShigeru MakinoKnock bat hits Akiyama's face directly and knocks him down.He is no longer in a state of being thrown, so he is in a hurryYu KodaBecame the opening pitcher. In addition to this, there are some cases in which a pitcher who was originally declared to be the opening pitcher was injured, and another pitcher was appointed as the opening pitcher.
• 1970/Of the opening pitchers ofKentaro Ogawa,Nishitetsu Lions OfMasaaki Ikenaga,Toei Flyers OfToshiaki MoriyasuAll three ofBlack fog caseDue to the influence of HanshinYuka EnatsuWas punished after the season.From Nishitetsu, the opening pitcher of the previous yearJunda YodaHas been permanently disqualified. Also,1991/Yokohama Ocean Whales opening pitcherHiroaki NakayamaEven after the end of this season, a scandal was discovered and he left professional baseball for a while (returned in 1994 in China and Japan).
• 1996/ OfChiba Lotte MarinesWas originally scheduled to serveHideki IrabeHowever, due to a breakdown, he was able to avoid pitching, and he could not move the other rotations of the opening three consecutive games.Satoru Komiyama,Eric HillmanNot 4thKazumi SonokawaWas appointed as the opening pitcher (it was decided in a hurry two days before the opening).At that time, the opponentFukuoka Daiei HawksDirector'sSadaharu OhThere was also the regret that I was missed readingThere will be a case for the opening pitcherI was told.However, although Sonokawa could not be the winning pitcher in the match, Lotte won.
• 2004/Chunichi Dragons should beNobuno KawakamiWas the most influential pitcher for the opening pitcher, but he had no record of pitching in the 3st army for 1 years.Kenjiro KawasakiWas appointed as the opening pitcher. I became a director this yearHiromitsu OchiaiWas appointed to inspire the team of all players without reinforcement and to check if there was any information leakage of the starting pitcher.This appointment is basically a pitcher appointmentHead coach OfMori ShigekazuIt is said that Ochiai, who had left it to him, was the only pitcher he had decided in his career as a coach.Kawakami started in Round 3^[3].
• 2006/Chiba Lotte Marines is the starting three pillars against the Fukuoka Softbank HawksShimizu going straight,Shunsuke Watanabe,Hiroyuki KobayashiTheWBCDonated toBobby valentineSince the pitcher of WBC participation decided to rest the opening card with the intention of the director,Newcomer KingIs the second year of the professionalKubo YasutomoWas selected as the opening pitcher. For the same reason, there are some baseball teams who have appointed another pitcher as the opening pitcher because the starting pitcher entered the WBC in other years.

Individual

• After the division of the two leagues, "the opening pitcher in multiple teams by the same pitcher"Hidetake Watanabe(Giants, Nippon-Ham, Ocean)Hideaki WakuiThe three teams (Seibu, Lotte, Rakuten) are the most.In particular, Wakui has served five times at Seibu and four times at Lotte, and has also achieved "multiple opening pitchers with multiple teams." In 3, he also served as the opening pitcher at Rakuten and became the winning pitcher, recording the opening game victory with the first three teams in history.
• Yomiuri Giants OfMasaki SaitoIt is,1993/から1997/Served as the opening pitcher for 5 consecutive years until1994/Since then, it has been the third consecutive victory. The opening game of 3Yakult SwallowsIn battleTakehiko KobayakawaIn three consecutive home runs, he became a losing pitcher.
• Ryuji NishimuraJinx won the team that year when he served as the opening pitcher, and Nishimura was appointed as the opening pitcher for three consecutive years during the Daiei era. Especially in 3, even though the pitching opportunity was only the opening game and the season was 2000 wins, it was appointed as the opening pitcher of the following 0 (However, Nishimura recorded 2001 wins in the Yakult Swallows era and recorded the most closed league) Have a track record such as).
• Yokohama Bay Stars OfDaisuke MiuraIt is,2005/ToBest defense rateDespite being active, such as winning seven double-digit wins in total, it was not compatible with all seven losses in the opening round.2007/Is the first hitter in the Yomiuri Giants gameYoshinobu TakahashiHe enjoys a play ball home run where the first ball he throws at is hit into the stand.

Way of thinking

• Akada OkadaAccording to the team, the timing of nomination of the opening pitcher varies depending on the team and the manager, and there are three patterns: "nomination before spring camp (in the off-season)", "nomination during spring camp", "nomination just before the opening". That there is^[4].. It is said that this will differ depending on whether you think of it as "one game of the whole season" or "the most important game" regarding the opening game.^[4].. Okada himself has the idea that the opening match is the "most important match", so the opening pitcher is clear that "there will be no tricks or surprises, and our team will continue to use this player as an ace this season". It is said that he will be appointed with a message, in fact, throughout the Hanshin and Orix era, in principle, he appointed the opening pitcher at "early stage during the spring camp period".^[4].. This means that the player can make adjustments calculated backward from the opening game, improve the morale of the player himself, and create positive stimuli for the surroundings, which will improve team power.^[4].. Therefore, in the 2017 season,DeNA OfAlex RamirezThe director waited for the spring campKendai IshidaIt is said that he highly appreciates the attitude that he was nominated as the opening pitcher.^[4][5].. However, he also said that there is a risk in deciding the opening pitcher at an early stage without waiting for the opening of the open game.In fact, Okada himself was appointed as the opening pitcher in the 2012 season of the Orix era. WasChihiro KanekoHowever, due to the breakdown and the delay in adjustment that accompanied it, he was forced to avoid the opening pitcher.Alfred Figaro, Which led to a (substantial) dismissal before the end of the season.^[4].

MLB

Successive opening pitcher

Record

Number of opening pitchers in MLB^[6].

• TaiziIs an active player
• At the end of the 2021 season opener

episode

• Cleveland Indians OfBob FellerIt is,1940/Opening match (vs.Chicago White Sox) The only opener in MLB historyNo hit no runWas achieved.
• 2000/May 3ToTokyo DomeMLB opening game (New York MetsversusChicago Cubs) Is the first MLB official game outside of North America, the Cubs opening pitcherJohn LeverBecame the first winning pitcher outside of North America.
• There are a total of six Japanese opening pitchers at the end of the 2022 opening game.As a breakdown,Hideo Nomo(2000, 2003, 2004),Daisuke Matsuzaka(2008 years),Hiroki Kuroda(2009 years),Masahiro Tanaka(2015, 2016, 2017, 2019),With Darvish(2017, 2021, 2022),Kenta Maeda(2021 years),Otani Xiangping(2022).

footnote

Reference document

Central League Official Website 2013 Record Collection Opening Results by Year

Related item

• Opener
• Starting pitcher