(born January 13, 1972) is a retired Japanese

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 t ...

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 dr ...

who coaches 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) ...

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 was formerly the set-up man for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

and the Texas Rangers. He was also the closer for

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 n ...

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puert ...

winning team. Otsuka threw a low-90's 4-seam

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

(tops out at about 94 mph) that is very straight, along with a hard, late-breaking

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

. He employed an unorthodox pitching delivery wherein he lifted his lead leg up very slowly, tapped his glove, then fired to home plate, making his pitches look faster coming out of his hand and thus harder to pick up.

NPB career

MLB career

San Diego Padres

Otsuka came to the United States after several years of pitching in the Japanese League when his former team, the

, used the

posting system The is a baseball player transfer system that operates between Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). Despite the drafting of the United States – Japanese Player Contract Agreement, unveiled in 1967 to regulate ...

to solicit bids from MLB clubs for the right to negotiate with him. The Padres offered the top bid, and signed him to a three-year contract on December 9, . Otsuka made his major league debut April 6, 2004 against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

, earning the loss after giving up a walk-off single to

Robin Ventura Robin Mark Ventura (born July 14, 1967) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager. Ventura played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Do ...

. He struck out

Paul Lo Duca Paul Anthony Lo Duca (born April 12, 1972) is an American retired professional baseball player and television personality. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers (–), Florida Marlins (2004–, ), New York ...

for his first major league strikeout. On January 6, , Otsuka was traded to the Rangers, along with

Adam Eaton and minor league

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

Billy Killian, in exchange for pitcher Chris Young,

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Adrián González Adrián González Savín (born May 8, 1982), also known by his nicknames "A-Gon" and "Titán", is a Mexican-American former professional baseball first baseman He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, ...

, and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Terrmel Sledge Terrmel Sledge (born March 18, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and the former assistant hitting coach of the Chicago Cubs. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals and San D ...

Texas Rangers

Otsuka took over the role as the closer for the Rangers during the 2006 season, replacing

Francisco Cordero Francisco Javier Cordero (born May 11, 1975) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, and Housto ...

, and recorded 32 saves while posting a 2.11 ERA. However, on December 19, 2006, the Rangers announced that newly signed Éric Gagné would take over the closer role in , with Otsuka moving back into a set-up role. On January 13, 2007, T. R. Sullivan reported that, in an interview in Japan, Otsuka said "If there is the team which needs me as a closer, I am going to think about (the trade)". Due to Gagné starting the season on the DL, Otsuka began the 2007 season as the closer. With the trade of Gagne to 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 eight ...

, Otsuka assumed the closer's role again. However, Otsuka went on the DL after experiencing tightness in his throwing shoulder. His stand-in was C. J. Wilson. Otsuka was not offered a new contract by the Rangers and became a free agent on December 12, 2007.

Post MLB and Retirement

On January 10, , Otsuka announced that he would undergo elbow surgery.

Shinano Grandserows

Otsuka was the

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

of the Shinano Grandserows of the Japanese

Baseball Challenge League The Route Inn BCL, formerly known as the , is an independent minor baseball league in Japan. The league's abbreviated designation is "." League structure The Baseball Challenge League has three divisions, East, Middle, and West, with four teams ...

from 2012–2014. The team held his retirement ceremony on September 15, 2014.

Coaching career

Chunichi Dragons

Otsuka returned to the Chunichi Dragons on the 3rd of October 2015 as one of the second team pitching coaches. In 2016, with first team pitching coach Shinichi Kondoh on leave to have hernia surgery, Otsuka helped lead the first team pitchers in spring camp. He however returned to working with the second team following Kondoh's return. On 26 September, Otsuka was unveiled as the pitching coach for the U-23 Japanese national team for the 2016 WBSC U-23 World Cup.

San Diego Padres

Otsuka rejoined the Padres organization in 2017 when he was announced as the bullpen coach of the

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University Park, which opened ...

, the AAA affiliate of the Padres.

Personal life

Otsuka and his wife, Akemi, have one son, Toranosuke, and one daughter, Hikaru.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otsuka, Akinori 1972 births 2006 World Baseball Classic players Baseball player-managers Baseball people from Chiba Prefecture Chunichi Dragons players Japanese expatriate baseball players in the United States Kintetsu Buffaloes players Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Japan Managers of baseball teams in Japan Nippon Professional Baseball coaches Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes players People from Chiba (city) San Diego Padres players Texas Rangers players Minor league baseball coaches