Many people are talking about Sasaki. Roki Sasaki decided to join the Dodgers and lots of fans are waiting to see his performance in the majors. However, before Roki Sasaki arrived in America, there was another Sasaki that played a key role in the majors.
I found a Kazuhiro Sasaki baseball card a few weeks ago. It’s from a Topps Chrome series and it’s a gold refractor card. For me, it’s a cool card to add into my collection. While seeing this card, I remember that a friend is a huge fan of Kazuhiro Sasaki. We did talk about his performance in the majors previously.
Sasaki only spent 4 seasons in the majors. He was the closer for the Mariners. In total, he made 228 relief appearances, collecting 129 saves with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He tossed 223.1 innings and opponents hit .200 against him.
His career wasn’t very long in the majors. However, some of his numbers are still on the leaderboard.
Firstly, among players who were born in Japan, Kazuhiro Sasaki is the only one with 100+ saves. He collected 129 saves in 4 seasons. Moreover, Koji Uehara played in the majors from 2009 to 2017. He tossed 480.2 innings, collecting 95 saves with a 2.66 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. Furthermore, Takashi Saito spent 7 seasons in the majors and made 338 relief appearances. Saito had 84 saves with a 2.34 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.
In addition, let’s shift our focus on the Mariners franchise history. Kazuhiro Sasaki’s 129 saves are still the most in franchise history. In team history, there are 2 other pitchers who collected 100+ saves. Edwin Diaz is now the closer for the Mets. But he spent his 3 seasons in the majors with the Mariners. He made 188 relief appearances, posting a 2.64 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. Diaz picked up 109 saves for the Mariners. From 2003 to 2008, J.J. Putz made 308 relief appearances for the Mariners. Putz threw 323 innings, posting a 3.07 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He collected 101 saves in the Mariners uniform.
Finally, let’s look at the single season record. In the Mariners franchise history, 4 players used to collect at least 40 saves for the Mariners in a single season. Edwin Diaz was fantastic in 2018, posting a 1.96 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP over 73.1 innings. In that season, he collected 57 saves. In the Mariners franchise history, Diaz is the only one with 50+ saves in a single season. Moreover, in 2014, Fernando Rodney finished the season with 48 saves. He owned a 2.85 ERA and 1.34 WHIP over 66.1 innings. Kazuhiro Sasaki’s 45 saves in 2001 ranked 3rd most in a single season in the Mariners history.
Looking back at Kazuhiro Sasaki’s career in the majors, he didn’t have a long career in the majors. He won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2000, back then, Sasaki was 32 years old. Nonetheless, his career wasn’t a bad one. In particular, he collected 129 saves in his career. In the short-term, we might not see a player from Japan surpass his career record. Meanwhile, in the Mariners franchise history, we might not see a pitcher surpass his career record, either.
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