This is a site about Pro Yakyu (Japanese Baseball), not about who the next player to go over to MLB is. It's a community of Pro Yakyu fans who have come together to share their knowledge and opinions with the world. It's a place to follow teams and individuals playing baseball in Japan (and Asia), and to learn about Japanese (and Asian) culture through baseball.
It is my sincere hope that once you learn a bit about what we're about here that you will join the community of contributors.
Michael Westbay
(aka westbaystars)
Founder
So, I glanced at his statistics this year, and he's 11-6 with a 2.99 ERA. So, I checked his career stats, and ever since he's been with Hanshin (with the exception of 2004), he's been a decent starter. His stats with the Hawks were not very good (ERA never below 4.00 and giving up about as many walks and runs as a reliever as he has been as a starter with Hanshin).
So, did he simply learn to pitch better?