Softbank Hawks left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada was born in February 1981. He is the second oldest player in the Japanese pro baseball, who will turn 43 in two months. Masanori Ishikawa, 43, the left-hander of the Yakult Swallows, was born in January 1980 and is the oldest player. Both players renewed their contracts and will play as active players next year. Wada won 158 games (87 losses) from 326 games and Ishikawa 185 wins (185 losses) from 533 games. Their goal is to win 200 games overall. A graduate of Waseda University, Wada was drafted first in the rookie draft in 2003. The former Softbank player made his debut as a member of the Daiei Hawks.
In his first year as a pro, he pitched 26 games with 14 wins and five losses with an ERA of 3.38.189 innings, recording 195 strikeouts and complete pitching eight times. That year, Wada became the Rookie of the Year, and his team lifted the Japan Series trophy. He started the Hanshin Tigers and the Japan Series. He started the game as the third starter after ace Kazumi Saito and Toshiya Sugiuchi. He allowed one run in six innings in the third game, and completely gave up two runs in nine innings in the seventh game. He has been strong since the rookie season. He played for Japan at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2006 WBC (World Baseball Classic). 파워볼실시간
After 17 wins (eight losses) in 2010 and 15 wins (five losses) in 2016, he became the most prolific champion. He tried unsuccessfully to play in the Major League. Between 2012 and 2013, he was a member of the Baltimore Orioles. Due to his injury, he could not play in any Major League games. He moved to the Chicago Cubs from 2014 to 2015 and played in 21 games. He won five games and lost four, with an ERA of 3.36. After spending four years in the U.S., he moved to SoftBank
Wada, a former veteran, became the last Softbank player to renew his contract on Saturday. Next year, Wada will receive 200 million yen (1.83 billion won), up 35 million yen (320 million won) from this year. This is the highest annual salary since 2018 when the figure was 400 million yen. He ended his multi-year contract worth 400 million yen in 2018 and received 100 million yen in 2019. Since then, his salary has continued to rise. He was paid 150 million yen between 2021 and 2022, and 165 million yen in 2023. “I was told by the club that you have done a good job as a veteran,” Wada said.
In his 21st year as a professional baseball player, he started 21 games and pitched 100 innings. He has eight wins and six losses, with an ERA of 3.24. He has played three-digit innings for the first time in seven years since 2016. He ranked second in multiple wins in his team, following Kohei Arihara (31·10-5 losses) who returned from the Major League. Softbank ranked third in the Pacific League. It was blocked by the second-place Chiba Lotte Marines and stopped at the Climax Series First Stage. Meanwhile, Ishikawa renewed his annual salary at 67.5 million yen (about 620 million won). The amount was reduced from 90 million yen to 22.5 million yen. He has won two games and lost five games with a 3.98 ERA this year.
