Born: (1981-04-12) April 12, 1981 (age 43) Higashiyamato, Tokyo, Japan
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Professional debut
NPB: May 29, 2001, for the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes
MLB: April 20, 2012, for the Seattle Mariners
Last appearance
MLB: May 3, 2017, for the Seattle Mariners
NPB: 2019, for the Yomiuri Giants
NPB statistics
Win–loss record
107–69
Earned run average
3.25
Strikeouts
1,175
MLB statistics
Win–loss record
63–39
Earned run average
3.42
Strikeouts
714
Teams
Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes (2000–2004)
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (2005–2011)
Seattle Mariners (2012–2017)
Yomiuri Giants (2019)
Career highlights and awards
NPB
3× All-Star (2003, 2004, 2008)
Pacific League MVP (2008)
Eiji Sawamura Award (2008)
2× Best Nine Award (2004, 2008)
2× Pacific League wins leader (2004, 2008)
Pacific League ERA leader (2008)
MLB
All-Star (2013)
Pitched a no-hitter on August 12, 2015
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing Japan
World Baseball Classic
2009 Los Angeles
Team competition
Olympic Games
2004 Athens
Team competition
Hisashi Iwakuma (岩隈 久志, Iwakuma Hisashi, born April 12, 1981) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes from 2000 to 2004, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles from 2005 to 2011, and Yomiuri Giants in 2019, and all of his time in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners from 2012 to 2017. Iwakuma retired in 2020 due to lingering shoulder issues that had prevented him from playing that year.
Iwakuma made his professional debut with the Buffaloes in 2000. He was named a NPB All-Star in 2003 and 2004, and played in the 2004 Athens Olympics. He joined the Eagles in 2005. As the Eagles' reigning staff ace, Iwakuma won the Eiji Sawamura Award in 2008, and was also a NPB All-Star that year. He appeared in the 2009 World Baseball Classic for the Japanese national team.
Iwakuma was posted to Major League Baseball after the 2010 season, but he failed to come to an agreement with the winning bidder. After the 2011 season, Iwakuma signed with the Mariners. He was an MLB All-Star in 2013, as well as the third-place finisher for the 2013 American League Cy Young Award.
On August 12, 2015, Iwakuma became the second Japanese player ever to pitch a no-hitter in Major League Baseball (joining Hideo Nomo, who threw two), throwing a three-walk, seven-strikeout 3–0 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Safeco Field.[1] It was also his first MLB complete game, and the Mariners' fifth no-hitter in team history.
^Erickson, Andrew (August 12, 2015). "Mariners hold on to Kuma, rewarded with no-no". Major League Baseball Advanced Media LP. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
HisashiIwakuma (岩隈 久志, IwakumaHisashi, born April 12, 1981) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Nippon Professional...
Hideo Nomo was the only Japanese pitcher to throw a no-hitter until HisashiIwakuma accomplished the feat on August 12, 2015. Nomo threw two in total;...
own in the previous season. As the year went on, he and Eagles ace HisashiIwakuma emerged as the league leaders in both wins and ERA. On 10 April, in...
advantage of Japanese pitcher HisashiIwakuma, who was visibly tired, when they failed to score in the seventh inning, when Iwakuma was relieved by Toshiya...
Japanese pitcher in MLB to throw a no-hitter until the Seattle Mariners' HisashiIwakuma did so on August 12, 2015, against the Baltimore Orioles. Nomo was...
Similarly, the Eagles were able to acquire Buffaloes star pitcher HisashiIwakuma. Despite voicing that he had no intention of playing for the merged...
Preceded by Max Scherzer No-hitter pitcher July 25, 2015 Succeeded by HisashiIwakuma Preceded by Zack Greinke National League Pitcher of the Month August...
In a May 26 game at Seattle, he hit his second career home run off HisashiIwakuma while batting leadoff for the first time in his major league career...
Honeycutt (1991) 2 x MLB All-Star; 1983 AL ERA Leader Al Hrabosky (1969) HisashiIwakuma (2017) MLB All-Star Matt Keough (1975) MLB All-Star Darren Lewis (1989)...
as a pinch hitter, and recorded his first major league hit off of HisashiIwakuma on August 3. Benintendi recorded both his first major league triple...
keyboardist, bandleader, and composer who won 14 Grammy Awards and an Oscar HisashiIwakuma – Major League Baseball player, pitcher for the Seattle Mariners Howard...
of Oh's MVP seasons in 1964 and 1974, Wladimir Balentien in 2013, HisashiIwakuma in 2008, and Hiromitsu Kadota in 1988. Only twice was the award given...
season Hunter Pence – September 26 Francisco Cervelli – October 3 HisashiIwakuma – October 20. Retired at the end of the 2020 Nippon Professional Baseball...
collected his 1,500th career hit against Seattle Mariners pitcher HisashiIwakuma in the bottom of the third inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. In...
Japanese pitcher to throw a no-hitter in Major League Baseball until HisashiIwakuma achieved the feat in August 2015). Nomo's MLB success led to more NPB...
Golden Eagles starting pitcher HisashiIwakuma won the award despite meeting only six criteria because it was deemed that Iwakuma (21–4, 1.87 ERA, 159 strikeouts)...
Achievements Preceded by HisashiIwakuma James Paxton No-hitter pitcher August 21, 2015 May 7, 2019 Succeeded by Jake Arrieta Taylor Cole, Felix Peña...
and Michael Pineda 2012 - Félix Hernández 2013 - Félix Hernández and HisashiIwakuma 2014 - Robinson Canó, Félix Hernández, Fernando Rodney, and Kyle Seager...
MLB.com. Retrieved August 10, 2008. Baker, Geoff (July 26, 2012). "HisashiIwakuma returns to Japan for personal reasons, but Mariners expect him to make...
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