What Is The “Shuuto”?
The Red Sox's recent signing of Japanese baseball star
Daisuke Matsuzaka has brought the “shuuto”
into the English baseball vocabulary. Although variously
described as a sinker, two-seam fastball, screwball,
gyroball, or splitter, the shuuto is closer to a “reverse
slider” that breaks down and in on batters. According
to a wikipedia article, “the shuuto is unique
because it is a faster pitch with less downward break
when compared to a screwball, and has less speed but
more lateral break when compared to two-seam fastballs
and sinking fastballs.” It is more common in Japan
where it was the hallmark of Japanese Hall-of-Famer
Ryohei Hasegawa, who consistently froze hitters with
it while pitching in the 1950s and 60s. In the states,
Greg Maddux’s running fastball to left-handers
has been described as a shuuto-type pitch in the way
it breaks sharply down and inside the strike zone. The
video clip below shows Matsuzaka throwing the shuuto
while on the Seibu Lions.
Daisuke Matsuzaka’s Career:
Age: 26 (DOB 9/13/1980; Tokyo, Japan)
Height/Weight: 6’0”, 180 lbs
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Honors: 1999 Pacific League Rookie of the Year; 2001
Sawamura Award (the Japanese Cy Young Award); 2006 World
Baseball Classic MVP
Widely considered the best pitcher in Japan when the
Red Sox signed him in 2006, Daisuke (pronounced Dice-K)
Matsuzaka throws a mid-90s fastball, slider, curve,
and changeup, in addition to the shuuto. He gained national
fame in high-school where he threw an astonishing 250
pitches for Yokohama High School over 17 innings in
a complete game victory over powerhouse PL Gakuen in
the summer Koshien tournament. Two days later in the
final game, he had 11 strikeouts in hurling a no-hitter
over Kyoto Seisho.
In the Nippon professional league in Japan, he played
his entire career with the Seibu Lions. As an 18-year
old, he earned the Pacific League Rookie of the Year,
going 16-5 and striking out 87. In his last year in
Japan (2006), Matsuzaka was 17-5, with a 2.13 ERA, 200
strikeouts, and 14 complete games. Over his career,
he went 108-60, averaging 2.95 ERA and 182 strikeouts
a season.
In international play, Matsuzaka made history as the
first MVP of the World Baseball Classic in 2006. His
strong pitching (3-0, 1.38 ERA) led Japan to the Championship
after they beat Cuba 10-6 in the final game. He also
pitched for Japan in the Olympics in 2000 and 2004.
In Athens in 2004, Matsuzaka shut out Cuba over 8 innings,
only to lose 1-0 in the semi-finals to Australia.
After the 2006 season, the Red Sox paid an astonishing
$51.1 million to the Seibu Lions for the rights simply
to negotiate a contract with Matsuzaka, followed by
the inking of a $52 million deal locking up Matsuzaka
for six years. In Japan, he is married to Nippon TV
sportscaster Tomoyo Shibata and has achieved rock star
status.
