[新聞] Braves land Japanese ace Kawakami
http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/01/10/braves_pitcher_kawakami.html
Braves land Japanese ace Kawakami
Acquisition of 33-year-old right-hander could help pursuit of Lowe
By DAVID O'BRIEN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The Braves finally found a free-agent pitcher who’d take their money — on
the other side of the world.
Kenshin Kawakami, 33, a right-hander, has reached an agreement with the
Braves and will fly to Atlanta for a physical Monday, two people familiar
with the situation confirmed. It’s believed to be a three-year deal, with an
announcement expected Monday or Tuesday.
He’s one of the two most high-profile free agents in Japan, where the 2004
Central League MVP has compiled a 112-72 record with a 3.22 earned run
average with 1,328 strikeouts in 11 seasons the Chunichi Dragons.
Numerous major league teams pursued Kawakami, who chose the Braves over
finalists that included the St. Louis Cardinals and Baltimore Orioles.
Kawakami went 9-5 with a 2.30 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 117-1/3 innings in
2008, when he pitched most of the season in a six-man rotation and missed
several weeks with a back strain.
From 2004-06, he posted a 45-22 record while averaging 197 innings. He was
17-7 with a 3.32 ERA in 2004, and in ‘06 he went 17-7 with a 2.51 ERA and
career-highs of 194 strikeouts and 215 innings.
The two-time Olympian and three-time Gold Glove recipient won the Sawamura
Award as Japan’s top pitcher in 2004. He was also the Central League’s
rookie of the year in 1998.
Kawakami and agent Dan Evans were impressed by general manager Fran Wren’s
presentation at the December winter meetings, where he provided a detailed
look at the Braves, their history, and Atlanta with its significant Japanese
population, of which the pitcher wasn’t previously aware.
Wren named four or five major Japanese corporations with North American
offices in the Atlanta area.
Wren and Braves president John Schuerholz began more than a year ago to step
up their preparations for the pursuit of Japanese players, meeting with
Atlanta’s Japanese consulate to find out all they could about the Japanese
presence in Georgia.
In recent years, the Braves also beefed up their scouting presence in Asian
countries.
Signing Kawakami might also help the Braves in their ongoing pursuit of top
free-agent pitcher Derek Lowe, whose agent said Friday that it was important
to Lowe to go to a team that could contend for the expected four-year length
of the contract he will sign.
Lowe, 35, has averaged 15 wins and 208 innings for seven seasons for the Los
Angles Dodgers and Boston since moving from the Red Sox bullpen to the
starting rotation. The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets are also
pursuing him, and other teams have expressed interest
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