Pitcher Koji Uehara to retire

Former major league pitcher Koji Uehara has told the Yomiuri Giants he is calling time on his playing career, baseball sources said Monday.

The 44-year-old right hander, who made his professional debut with the Giants in 1999 and rejoined the Tokyo-based Central League club in March of last year, is set to hold a press conference later in the day.

Uehara won the World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2013 and had stints in the big leagues with the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs.

After rejoining Yomiuri last year, Uehara went 0-5 in 36 games with a 3.63 earned run average, but has not appeared with the first team this season.

Uehara was the CL’s 1999 rookie of the year, and won the Sawamura Award that season as Japan’s most impressive starting pitcher, posting 20 wins.

He was 112-62 with 33 saves over a 10-year span in Japan before moving to the U.S. as a free agent in 2009.

Uehara spent time with the Orioles and Rangers before finding his niche with the Red Sox from 2013 to 2016.

In 2013, he posted 21 saves and a 1.09 ERA. He was named the American League Championship Series MVP before going on to help the Red Sox win the World Series.

Uehara joined the Cubs in 2017 and was 3-4 with a pair of saves and a 3.98 ERA in 49 games. He did not appear in the postseason, and was released after that campaign.

In the major leagues, Uehara has a career record of 22-26, with 95 saves and a 2.66 ERA.

Source : Baseball – The Japan Times