is a Japanese professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the 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 ...

for the

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

Career

On October 25, 2018, Kaino was drafted by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks first overall pick in the 2018 Nippon Professional Baseball draft. On March 29, 2019, kaino pitched his debut game against the

as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

, and won the game for the first time in the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

. In 2019, the rookie year, he finished the regular season with a 2–5 Win–loss record, a 4.14 ERA, 73 strikeouts in innings, 26 Holds, and 8 saves. And he pitched as a

Setup man In baseball, a setup man (or set-up man, also sometimes referred to as a setup pitcher or setup reliever) is a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer. They commonly pitch the eighth inning, with the closer pitching the ninth. As ...

against the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

in the

2019 Japan Series The 2019 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2019'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2019 season. The 70th edition of the Japan Series, it was played from 19-23 October. Th ...

. In 2020, Kaino hurt his right elbow in spring training and spent the season rehabilitating his right elbow. And he had surgery on his right elbow on December 4. In 2021 season, Kaino spent the first half of the season in rehabilitation, but on August 15, against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, he pitched for the first time in 662 days in the Pacific League. He recorded with a 22 Games pitched, a 0–2 Win–loss record, a 4.35 ERA, a 4 Holds, a one saves. and a 25 strikeouts in 20.2 innings. In 2022 season, he finished the regular season with a 27 Games pitched, a 2–0 Win–loss record, a 2.52 ERA, a 3 Holds, and a 27 strikeouts in 25 innings. On July 1, 2023, Kaino pitched as a closer against the

and recorded a save for the first time in two years. In 2023 season, he finished the regular season with a 46 Games pitched, a 3-1 Win–loss record, a 2.53 ERA, a 8 holds, a 2 saves, and a 39 strikeouts in 42.2 innings. On January 11, 2024, Kaino transferred to the

to compensate for

Hotaka Yamakawa , nicknamed "", is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Saitama Seibu Lions in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Yamakawa led the Pacific League in home runs in , , and . Career He was selected for the Pacific League all star t ...

go to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks via free agent.

International career

Kaino represented the

Japan national baseball team The is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009, as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by the World Baseball Sof ...

at the 2018 USA VS Japan Collegiate All-Star Series,

2018 Haarlem Baseball Week The 2018 Haarlem Baseball Week was an international baseball competition held at the Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, the Netherlands from 13–22 July 2018. It was the 29th edition of the tournament. Japan became champions for the fourth time, b ...

and

2019 WBSC Premier12 The 2019 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was the second WBSC Premier12 event. The championship ...

. During

Toyo University is a university with several branches in Japan, including Hakusan, Asaka, Kawagoe, Itakura, and Akabane. Overview The predecessor to Toyo University was , which was founded at Rinsho-in Temple by Enryo Inoue in 1887. Inoue felt that the ...

era, Kaino was selected as the Japan for the 2018 USA VS Japan Collegiate All-Star Series and 2018 Haarlem Baseball Week. On October 24, 2019, he was selected as the

in the 2019 WBSC Premier12.

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp
– Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site 1996 births Living people Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Saitama Seibu Lions players Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Toyo University alumni Baseball people from Hyōgo Prefecture 2019 WBSC Premier12 players {{Japan-baseball-pitcher-stub