Akinori Otsuka
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Texas Rangers — No. 40 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
|---|---|
| April 6, 2004 for the San Diego Padres | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through the end of the 2006 season) |
|
| Saves | 35 |
| ERA | 2.43 |
| Strikeouts | 194 |
| Teams | |
|
|
Akinori Otsuka (大塚晶則 Otsuka Akinori?) is a Japanese baseball player. He was formerly the set-up man for the San Diego Padres. Currently, he pitches for the Texas Rangers as the closer, replacing Francisco Cordero. He was also the closer for Team Japan that won the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic.
Otsuka throws a low-90's 4-seam fastball that is very straight, along with a hard, late-breaking slider. He employs an unorthodox pitching delivery: He lifts his lead leg up very slowly, taps his glove, then fires to home plate, making his pitches look faster coming out of his hand, making them much harder to pick up.
[edit] External links
- Akinori Otsuka - mlb.com
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
- Official blog (Japanese)
 This biographical article relating to a baseball pitcher is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
