THE JAPAN NEWS


 

HIROSHIMA — Veteran Hiroshima Carp right-hander Hiroki Kuroda announced on Tuesday that this will be his last season. Now he will see if he can go out as a champion.

The 41-year-old Kuroda, who this season reached 200 wins for his combined career in Japan and the major leagues, made the announcement as the Carp prepare to meet the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japan Series starting Saturday.

The Carp are making their first appearance in the championship series since 1991.

 

Kuroda, an Osaka Prefecture native, joined the Carp in 1997 as a No. 2 draft pick out of Senshu University. He led the Central League in wins with 15 in 2005. In 2008, he made the jump to the major leagues, where he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees and won a total of 79 games.

Saying he wanted his last pitch of his career to be with the Carp, he spurned generous major league offers to stay and returned to Hiroshima after the 2014 season.

Kuroda went 10-8 this season in helping the Carp capture the Central League pennant. In July, he joined Hideo Nomo as the only pitchers with 200 wins in Japan and the major leagues. His career record on both sides of the Pacific is 203-184 with one save.