is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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

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) ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

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 ...

. He formerly played for the

Fukuoka SoftBank 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. ...

Professional career

On October 3, 2007, Iwasaki was drafted by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the 2007 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.

2008–2010 season

On July 23, 2008, Iwasaki pitched his debut game as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

against the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

. In 2008 - 2010 season, he pitched 8 games 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 ...

2011–2015 season

On May 13, 2011, Iwasaki won the game for the first time in 4 years. In 2011 season, he finished the regular season with a 13 Games pitched, a 6–2 Win–loss record, a 2.72 ERA, a 33 strikeouts in 79 1/3 innings. And he was selected as the Japan Series roster in the

2011 Japan Series The 2011 Japan Series (known as the ''Konami Nippon Series 2011'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 62nd edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's championship series. The best-of-seven playoff matched the Chunichi Dragons and Fukuoka SoftBank Ha ...

. In 2012 season, Iwasaki finished the regular season with a 29 Games pitched, a 5–10 Win–loss record, a 3.14 ERA, a 3 Holds, a 77 strikeouts in 120 1/3 innings. In 2013 season, Iwasaki pitched as a relief pitcher, and finished the regular season with a 47 Games pitched, a 1–4 Win–loss record, a 4.33 ERA, a 14 Holds, a two Saves, a 54 strikeouts in 68 2/3 innings. In 2014 season, Iwasaki pitched as a starting pitcher, and finished the regular season with a 18 Games pitched, a 4–1 Win–loss record, a 4.06 ERA, a 3 Holds, a 37 strikeouts in 62 innings. And he pitched as a relief pitcher in the

2014 Japan Series The 2014 Japan Series (known as the '' SMBC Nippon Series 2014'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 65th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) championship series known colloquially as the Japan Series. The best-of-seven playoff was won by ...

. In 2015 season, Iwasaki finished the regular season with a 8 Games pitched, a 1–0 Win–loss record, a 6.75 ERA, a 2 Holds, a 5 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings. And he was selected as the Japan Series roster in the

2015 Japan Series The 2015 Japan Series was the 66th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, champions of the Pacific League, played the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, champions of the Central League. The Hawks ...

2016–2020 season

In 2016 season, Iwasaki finished the regular season with a 35 Games pitched, a 4–2 Win–loss record, a 1.95 ERA, a 2 Holds, one Saves, a 61 strikeouts in 87 2/3 innings. In 2017 season, Iwasaki finished the regular season 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 ...

with a 6–3 Win–loss record, a 1.99 ERA, 66 strikeouts in 72 1/3 innings, a 40 Holds, and a 2 saves, and he won the 2017

Hold Champion with 72 Games pitched (Hawks's new record), the most in the Pacific League. And he pitched as a Setup man in the

2017 Japan Series The 2017 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2017'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason. The 68th edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the F ...

. On April 10, 2018, Iwasaki had right elbow surgery and spent the rest of the season on rehabilitation. On August 21, 2019, Iwasaki made a comeback and pitched for the first time in a year and three months. And he was selected as the Japan Series roster 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 season, Iwasaki finished the regular season with a 17 Games pitched, a 0–2 Win–loss record, a 7.20 ERA, a 10 Holds, a 20 strikeouts in 15 innings. In the

2020 Japan Series The 2020 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2020'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2020 season. The 71st edition of the Japan Series, it was played from November 21 to 25. ...

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 ...

, He pitched in two games, Game 2 and Game 4, and contributed to the team's fourth consecutive Japan Series champion with no hits and no runs.

References

External links

NPB stats
- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Iwasaki, Sho 1989 births Baseball people from Chiba Prefecture People from Funabashi Chunichi Dragons players Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Japanese expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Living people Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Águilas Cibaeñas players Criollos de Caguas players Japanese expatriate baseball players in Puerto Rico