Veteran reliever Koji Uehara has retired, Jim Allen of the Kyodo News reports. The 44-year-old Uehara last pitched in the majors in 2017, after which he returned to his native Japan to join the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. It proved to be a full-circle move by Uehara, who began and ended his career with Yomiuri.
Uehara was often dominant as a starter for Yomiuri from 1999-2006 before mostly working out of the Giants’ bullpen from 2007-08. The right-hander then headed to the majors in 2009 when he signed a two-year, $10MM contract with the Orioles, who initially deployed him as a starter.
Uehara transitioned to the Orioles’ bullpen in 2010 and began a lengthy run as one of the majors’ most effective relievers. During a six-season, 324-inning span from 2010-15, Uehara’s pristine command helped him place first among relievers in two key categories – BB/9 (1.19) and K/BB ratio (9.56) – as well as seventh in ERA (2.08) and 19th in K/9 (11.42).
While Uehara’s major league excellence began with Baltimore, his tenure there was short-lived. The club traded him to the Rangers in July 2011 for reliever Tommy Hunter and a then-unproven slugger named Chris Davis, who later became the highest-paid Oriole ever and remains with the franchise today. Meanwhile, Texas clinched playoff berths in both of Uehara’s seasons with the team and won the American League the year it acquired him, though it wound up losing a classic seven-game World Series to the Cardinals.
Uehara returned to the World Series in 2013 with the Red Sox, who inked him to a one-year, $4.25MM contract prior to the season. It’s safe to say that deal ranks among the wisest the Red Sox have ever doled out, as it began a fruitful four-year union between the sides. Uehara was never greater than during his first year in Boston, where he logged 74 1/3 regular-season innings of 1.09 ERA ball and 12.23 K/9 against 1.09 BB/9. That brilliance carried into the playoffs, where Uehara earned ALCS MVP honors after combining for six shutout innings in a six-game victory over the Tigers. Uehara then totaled another 4 2/3 scoreless frames during the Red Sox’s World Series triumph over the Cardinals, whom he closed out in Game 6.
Although Uehara was never part of another title-winning team, he remained a quality reliever throughout his major league career – which concluded with a one-year stint with the Cubs. Across Baltimore, Texas, Boston and Chicago, the one-time All-Star produced 480 2/3 innings of 2.66 ERA ball with 10.7 K/9, 1.5 BB/9 and 95 saves, leading to upward of $50MM in earnings.
As great as Uehara was in the majors, he’s even more accomplished in his homeland. Uehara registered a 3.02 ERA and a 112-67 record over 312 appearances and 205 starts with Yomiuri, where he earned a slew of personal and team awards. MLBTR congratulates Uehara on two outstanding decades in pro baseball and wishes him the best moving forward.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Love you Koji! Thanks for the 2013 WS!
I loved Koji, I’ll never forget him, he lives in Boston’s history forever.
Between the Glenn Davis trade and the Chris Davis trade, the O’s should stop trading for 1b from the state of Texas named Davis. Although, it wasn’t so much the trade with Krush, it was that ill-advised 7-year, $161 million deal they signed him to.
Yeah he had some good years for them, then signed that deal and that’s where it went wrong
Absolutely love the Uehara for Davis trade. A great trade for that era or O’s baseball.
Congrats to Koji on a great MLB career, despite having come over here relatively late in his career. Incredible to watch him fool hitters with phenomenal control and change of speed.
Congrats on an amazing career Koji.
One of the best and most underrated relievers of his era.
Very much so.
I’ll never forget the 7, 8, 9 pitch innings to close out a game. Effortlessly closed games that 2013 season. Can’t forget the violent high fives or the the huge orange glove either. Wish him all the best in the future.
Don’t forget he led the majors in high-fives every year he was in the majors as well.
a truely dominant but never fully appreciated pitcher. All the best in your retirement Koji.
Japanese hall of fame awaits him.
Are career WHIP of under 1 heck under .900 now that is a seriously impressive career.
Darn good career. Darn good reliever.
His 2013 season is one of the top years ever by a relief pitcher. He started closing during the season and was virtually unhittable. I think he retired some crazy number of hitters in a row at one point, maybe 33, but I’m not sure. Never boring to watch, kind of like Pedro in his prime.
See you in Cooperstown Koji!
Tickets are $14.99…….
That 2013 season was something else. I had him on my strat team with that card, and he didn’t give up anything – 101 Ks/9 walks in 74 innings. Uehara always gave up loy=ts of homers – he was a flyball pitcher in the extreme, but it worked because he never walked anyone. He actually had two seasons in which he allowed more homers than walks, which has to be incredibly rare. Uehara is also an example of a pitcher rarely seen these days – a successful low-velocity reliever. His four-seam rarely topped 90, and his cutter and splitter were both way slower. But he made it work for years.
I’m always intrigued by guys that had so much success without throwing hard. And this guy did it in an era when closers usually brought the heat.
Legend.
His splitter was unsurpassed. It was known as the “invisiball.”
In 2013 he took over the closer duties on June 26. In the ensuing 40 games his numbers defy belief..His line is 43/14/3/2/51/2 with 20 saves in 22 opportunities. He is indelibly etched in the memories of all members of Red Sox Nation.
How much did he earn in Japan?
As a Red Sox fan what a treat it was to watch Koji pitch. Guys were late on that 89mph painted fastball and that splitter it was absolutely devastating. Will always have fond memories of Koji.
I remember he cried when he got traded from the orioles. He had a solid career.