Masato Yoshii, baseball player, 1998-2002

Masato Yoshii

Born: 4/20/1965 in Osaka, Osaka, Japan

MLB Debut: 1998-04-05 | Final Game: 2002-09-11

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 210 lbs

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Biography

Masato Yoshii was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher who made a significant impact in Major League Baseball during his career from 1998 to 2002. Born in 1965, Yoshii played in an era characterized by a transition in pitching styles, where power pitchers began to dominate the mound. He was known for his unique delivery and a repertoire that included an effective fastball and deceptive off-speed pitches, which allowed him to strike out 447 batters over the course of his career. Yoshii finished his MLB tenure with a record of 32 wins and 47 losses, and an earned run average (ERA) of 4.62. Despite not recording any saves, his contributions as a starting pitcher were notable during his time with teams like the Colorado Rockies and the New York Mets. As a pioneer for Japanese players in MLB, Yoshii paved the way for future generations of talent, helping to further bridge the gap between Japanese and American baseball. His career remains a testament to the growing influence of international players in the league during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
32 47 162 118 3 0 0 757.3 805 389 112 222 447 4.62 0

Career ERA 4.62 vs. league average 4.52 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1998 NYN NL 6 8 29 29 1 0 0 171.7 166 75 53 117 3.93 4.43 (+11%) -184.3
1999 NYN NL 12 8 31 29 1 0 0 174.0 168 85 58 105 4.40 4.71 (+7%) -855.5
2000 COL NL 6 15 29 29 0 0 0 167.3 201 109 53 88 5.86 4.77 (-23%) -3396.7
2001 WSN NL 4 7 42 11 0 0 0 113.0 127 60 26 63 4.78 4.42 (-8%) -
2002 WSN NL 4 9 31 20 1 0 0 131.3 143 60 32 74 4.11 4.28 (+4%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
162 204 10 25 3 0 1 13 1 9 76 0.123 0.164 0.152 0.316 -1546.4

Career AVG .123 vs. league average .267 across their career seasons — 54.0% below league average.

Career OBP .164 vs. league average .338 across their career seasons — 51.6% below league average.

Career SLG .152 vs. league average .427 across their career seasons — 64.4% below league average.

Career OPS 0.316 vs. league average 0.765 across their career seasons — 58.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1998 NYN NL 29 48 3 3 1 0 0 3 0 3 27 0.062 — — — — -618.3
1999 NYN NL 31 55 1 9 0 0 0 2 0 0 16 0.164 .271 (-40%) .344 (-53%) .433 (-62%) .778 (-58%) -567.4
2000 COL NL 29 50 4 9 1 0 1 8 1 2 13 0.180 .270 (-33%) .344 (-39%) .437 (-41%) .782 (-40%) -360.6
2001 WSN NL 42 16 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 0.125 — — — — 0.0
2002 WSN NL 31 35 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 13 0.057 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1999 NLCS NYN 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
1999 NLDS2 NYN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 3 3 0 13.0 15 8 3 7 5.54

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1999 NLCS NYN 0 1 2 2 0 7.7 9 4 3 4 4.70
1999 NLDS2 NYN 0 0 1 1 0 5.3 6 4 0 3 6.75

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 162 118 51 87 6 9

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1998 NYN P 29 29 14 20 3 2
1999 NYN P 31 29 7 10 0 1
2000 COL P 29 29 16 20 0 2
2001 MON P 42 11 5 18 3 1
2002 MON P 31 20 9 19 0 3

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 162

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
2002 MON NL $300,000
2000 COL NL $3,000,000
1999 NYN NL $2,000,000
1998 NYN NL $1,075,000
Total Career Earnings $6,375,000