Japanese-born starting pitchers make MLB history with Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Yusei Kikuchi and Shinnosuke Ogasawara

Billy Heyen

Japanese-born starting pitchers make MLB history with Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Yusei Kikuchi and Shinnosuke Ogasawara image

(Peter Aiken)

It’s a historic day for Japanese-born starting pitchers in Major League Baseball.

Four pitchers from Japan are scheduled to start on Saturday. And according to OptaStats, it’s the first time that will ever happen.

Shohei Ohtani is planned to start for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’s still not fully stretched out, but he should still last a few innings.

Yusei Kikuchi is slated for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He was chosen as an All Star, although he won’t be pitching in that game.

Yu Darvish is on the mound for the San Diego Padres.

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And for the Washington Nationals, Shinnosuke Ogasawara is on the bump.

Ogasawara is the newest to MLB. He came over from Japan this season, and he was also hurt early in the season.

Baseball has long since developed into a global game. And it’s another cool moment on Saturday with this Japanese quartet on the mound around the league.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle