Kenshin Kawakami (川上憲伸) (born June 22, 1975) is a Japanese former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

. He played in

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 ...

(NPB) for the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

and in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

Japanese career

He originally pitched for the Chunichi Dragons of the

Central League The or is one of 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 consi ...

. Kawakami was the Rookie of the Year in 1998 as he went 14-6 with a 2.57

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

. He helped the Dragons to the Central League Title in 1999, but would lose in the Japan Series in 5 games to the

Fukuoka Daiei Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

. He has pitched a no-hitter in his professional career. In 2004, Kawakami went 17-7 and led Chunichi to the Central League Title, though they fell to the

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, w ...

in 7 games in the Japan Series. That year, Kawakami was named Central League MVP and received the

Eiji Sawamura Award The , commonly known as the Sawamura Award, is an honor bestowed upon the top starting pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball each year. The award was originally established by Japanese magazine "Nekkyū" in 1947 to honor the career of Eiji Sawa ...

as Japan's best pitcher. Kawakami again won 17 games in 2006 and led the Dragons to the Central League title again, winning Game 1 of the Japan Series against the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. In 2007, Kawakami helped the Dragons end a streak of 53 years without a championship as they beat the Nippon Ham Fighters in 5 games.

Major League Baseball career

On January 13, , Kawakami signed a three-year deal with the

. Kenshin Kawakami threw his first game as an Atlanta Brave on February 26 in a Spring training game against the Pirates. Kawakami pitched two innings allowing one hit and striking out one batter. Kenshin Kawakami on June 24, 2009 (2)

Kawakami pitched his first Major League game on April 11, 2009 against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. He picked up his first Major League win, giving up 3 earned runs, and striking out 8 in 6 innings. On May 22 and against countryman

Daisuke Matsuzaka is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher, who pitched professionally for 23 seasons, 16 of them in NPB, 7 in MLB. He is currently a baseball color commentator, critic, reporter, and YouTuber. Daisuke is nicknamed in Japan and "Dice ...

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

, he limited the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

to two hits and two earned runs in six innings and helped the Braves begin a 13-game stretch with an 8-2 win over the Red Sox. Kawakami went 1-10 in 2010 and recorded nine straight losses before picking up his first win on June 26 against the Detroit Tigers at

Turner Field Turner Field was a baseball stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1997 to 2016, it served as the home ballpark to the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium in 1996 to serve as the c ...

. He pitched seven innings with six strikeouts in a 4-3 win for the Braves. After being sent to the bullpen, Kawakami only pitched once in 40 games, where he performed poorly, allowing 2 runs in one inning. On November 12, following the season, the Braves outrighted Kawakami to their Double-A affiliate, the

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. ...

. During the 2010 season, a group of fans would dress as "Kenshin's Geishas" to support Kawakami during homestands.

Return to Japan

After spending the entirety of the 2011 season pitching at the AA level for the

, Kawakami agreed to a contract with his previous team, the

of Japan's Central League. Kawakami struggled with injury upon his return to the Dragons, making only a combined 12 starts during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. He went 3-1 with a 2.83 in seven starts during 2012 and 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA in five starts during 2013. Due to shoulder pain, he did not make his first start in 2013 until 22 August. On 22 November 2013, the Chunichi Dragons announced that they had signed Kawakami to a 1-year extension. However he only managed six starts in 2014 and was not resigned for the 2015 season, he announced his retirement in October 2015.

Pitching style

Kawakami throws a fastball around 90 mph (tops out at 94), shuuto (sinker), slow curveball, splitter, and a good cutter.

Outside baseball

In response to the

2011 earthquake and tsunami Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''E ...

in Japan, Kawakami donated $50,000 to relief efforts.

References

External links

*
Career statistics - NPB.jp

Japanese league stats, info, and links for Kenshin Kawakami by JapaneseBallPlayers.com
: {{DEFAULTSORT:Kawakami, Kenshin 1975 births Atlanta Braves players Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Chunichi Dragons players Japanese expatriate baseball players in the United States Gulf Coast Braves players Gwinnett Braves players Living people Meiji University alumni Major League Baseball players from Japan Major League Baseball pitchers Mississippi Braves players Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Olympic baseball players of Japan People from Tokushima (city) Baseball people from Tokushima Prefecture