Kyuji Fujikawa

Name (Japanese): 藤川 球児

Career Stats:

Brief Biography

Kyuji Fujikawa was born the day after his father threw a no-hitter in a sandlot baseball game, and was given his name accordingly. (Kyuji = 球児 means “baseball kid”). He played baseball as a child, though he also suffered from asthma and was not seen as a very strong kid. In his second year of high school, his team (the Kochi Prefecture representative) advanced to the summer Koshien tournament, where Kyuji played right field and was the team’s back-up pitcher. His older brother, Junichi, was the team’s catcher. They lost in the second round.

A year later in the fall of 1998, Fujikawa was chosen with the Hanshin Tigers’ first overall pick. His first season was spent primarily working on building up his strength, and played just three games on the farm.

Kyuji continued to struggle for playing time over the next four seasons, bouncing between the rotation and bullpen, the farm and the top squad. He was even rumored to be on the cutting block at the end of the 2003 season, but incoming manager Akinobu Okada (who had been farm manager and seen plenty of Kyuji) chose to keep him on board for one last chance.

The 2004 season was a pivotal one, as a shoulder injury forced him to spend the first half of the season on the farm. However, it was during that time that he got advice from coaches. He changed his pitching form and also was put back in the bullpen for good. Because of this, he was able to crack the top squad roster in the second half and stay there for the remainder of the season.

The Tigers’ 2005 championship campaign was a breakout season for Fujikawa. He was named CL Pitcher of the Month in June, got voted to the All-Star team in July, set a club record for single-season appearances by a pitcher (80 – a number that was broken in 2007 by fellow reliever Tomoyuki Kubota), and was named the league’s outstanding middle reliever. More than anything, though, his game changed when he struck out Yomiuri Giants’ slugger Kazuhiro Kiyohara with a forkball in April with the bases loaded and two outs. After the game, Kiyohara called Fujikawa out in a media interview, saying the reliever was “dickless” for “chickening out” of a showdown in that situation. From that day on, Fujikawa says he worked harder than ever to polish his fastball and overpower hitters in the future. (Incidentally, he faced Kiyohara again on June 25, and this time struck him out with a fastball. Kiyohara said it was the best fastball he’d faced in his 20 years of baseball.) This is the season in which the Tigers officially gave their trio of relievers the nickname JFK (Jeff Williams, Fujikawa and Kubota). In 2005, Kubota was the closer, but their roles changed from year to year.

In 2006, Fujikawa represented Japan in the inaugural World Baseball Classic, and while he started the season as set-up man, he took over the closer’s role in June when Kubota got injured. He went an NPB record 38 straight games without giving up a run, and set a club record with 47⅔ consecutive scoreless innings, breaking Masaaki Koyama’s 44-year old record of 47. During that year’s All-Star Game, Fujikawa said he wanted to create a comic-book-like world. So he told the batters he was facing that he would throw them nothing but heat. Still, he managed to strike them out. Despite missing some time due to a neck injury, Fujikawa put up excellent numbers and was once again named the Central League’s Outstanding Reliever.

Fujikawa put up triple digits in strikeouts for the third straight season, helping the team end the season on a 10-game winning streak with his 10 appearances (2 wins, 7 saves). He tied the NPB record for most single-season saves with 46, and once again wowed the crowd at the All-Star Game with his fastball. At season’s end, he requested the club to post him to the Major Leagues, but the club refused him.

The Tigers got off to a blistering start in 2008, and Fujikawa was a huge part of it. He put up 30 saves before the All-Star Game, and the team looked poised to win the pennant. However, Fujikawa took part in the Beijing Olympics, where Japan lost in the semi-finals to South Korea. Fujikawa gave up the tying run in that game. Fujikawa posted a career-best ERA (0.67) as he continued to dominate the Central League. He was the last pitcher to stand on the mound for the Tigers that season, as he gave up the series-ending home run to Tyrone Woods in the first round of the Climax Series. It would mark the end of Okada’s career as manager, and he said he was glad to have had Fujikawa on the mound at the end. Fujikawa continued to desire to play in the majors, but also signed a lucrative deal with the Tigers, and said that in his 10th season as a pro, he hoped to be able to take down the Giants.

Once again in 2009, Fujikawa represented his team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Despite having a perfect ERA, he allowed enough base runners to prompt his being removed from the closer’s role. It was Yu Darvish who took the mound in the final innings of the semi-finals and finals. Still, Fujikawa put up stellar numbers during the regular season after a shaky start. He once again requested that the team post him, and was once again denied.

Fujikawa started the 2010 season on fire, going 16 straight games without giving up a run, but partly due to injuries in the bullpen, he was used excessively and started to show signs of fatigue towards season’s end. He gave up a career-worst 7 home runs, and posted his worst ERA (2.01) since becoming a regular part of the bullpen in 2005.

Despite gaining domestic free agency rights, Fujikawa continued to play for the Tigers, and posted solid numbers in 2011. He became the first reliever in club history to compile 100+ career holds and saves. He also was voted to the All-Star squad for the seventh straight season. In 2012, as pitching captain, he reached the 200 career saves mark, and at season’s end, declared his intention to exercise his international free agent rights.

Major League Years

In December 2012, Fujikawa signed a 2-year, $9.5 million deal with the Chicago Cubs. He spoke of wanting to play out his professional career in the majors. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Despite being handed the closer’s role early in the season (due to ineffective pitching from Carlos Marmol), Fujikawa blew a lead just a few days later, and within a week, was on the disabled list with elbow issues. He came back a month later, and although he looked good in his first six appearances, he went back on the DL at the end of May. His injury required Tommy John surgery, which cost him the rest of 2013 and half of 2014. He came back to the top squad in August 2014, but did not receive a contract renewal offer from the Cubs.

That offseason, Fujikawa signed a one-year deal with the Texas Rangers. He injured his groin during spring training, and started the season on the disabled list. He made his debut with the Rangers on May 14, but only lasted two games. The Rangers designated him for assignment, and on May 22, outright released him.

Return to Japan

Despite rumors that he was set to rejoin the Hanshin Tigers for the 2015 season, Fujikawa instead elected to sign a deal with his hometown Kochi Fighting Dogs (of the Shikoku Island Plus League). He said he wanted to give local kids a dream, something to aim for. His deal with the Fighting Dogs was something of a unique one – he signed a new contract for every game he was scheduled to start, and received no salary. He also arranged for 10% of the ticket sales on his game days to be given to local children’s charities. He threw fairly well during limited action, including a complete-game shutout, and at season’s end, several NPB teams were reportedly interested in signing him for the 2016 season.

Fujikawa’s “free agency” coincided with Hanshin’s hiring of Tomoaki Kanemoto (Kyuji’s teammate from 2003 until 2012) as manager, and Kanemoto spoke directly to Fujikawa about coming back to the Tigers. They reached an agreement in November, and the two-year, ¥400 million deal was made official on the 24th of that month.

Expected to be a starter in 2016, Fujikawa only lasted 5 starts (6.12 ERA) before being relegated to the bullpen. He had his ups and downs as a reliever as well. During one stretch he went 16 straight games at Koshien without giving up a run. But he was also the losing pitcher in a walk-off loss to the Nippon Ham Fighters during interleague play. In the end, he went 4-4 with 3 saves and 10 holds and posted a 3.58 ERA after his failed attempt as a starter.

Many wondered if the team would be better off cutting him loose or forcing him into retirement, but Fujikawa’s positive influence and wisdom in the bullpen made him invaluable. He came back in 2017 with a clearer role right from the start of the season. He was not the closer, and not even a set-up man. Still, despite the fact that the 37-year old was relegated to mop-up duty for most of the year, he posted extremely strong numbers that were comparable to his career averages. He also picked up his 1000th career NPB strikeout at the end of May, becoming the fastest pitcher (771 ⅔ innings) to reach the milestone.

Fujikawa continued to put up respectable numbers in 2018, and was even plugged into a set-up role, as injuries and slumps devastated the Tigers bullpen. Until the middle of August, he had an ERA of under 1.60. He appeared to be struggling as the days went by, and ultimately he was removed from the active roster in September due to discomfort in his throwing elbow. Fortunately, he was well enough to be reactivated in October for the end of the season, and had three clean mound appearances, giving the team hope that he would be alright in 2019.

The 2019 season did not start well for Fujikawa, as he gave up two homers in a single game in early April and promptly farmed himself. Upon his recall at month’s end, he proceeded to go 18 straight games without giving up an earned run, and ultimately landed back in the closer’s role full-time for the first time since he left the team in 2013. His numbers were stellar enough to drop his career ERA below 2.00 at one point, but at season’s end he gave up runs on a couple of occasions, which brought it back over the 2.00 mark.

Unfortunately, 2020 did nothing to improve his career ERA. Despite starting the year as closer, he gave up a walk-off home run in the team’s 5th game of the year. Just 7 saves shy of The Golden Players Club (Meikyukai) entering the season, Fujikawa put up two saves all year, needing to be deactivated twice due to shoulder issues. As it turned out, his shoulder was beyond repair and he was aware of this reality early in the season. At the end of August, with still half of the season left to play, Fujikawa called a press conference to announce his retirement at season’s end. He spent the next six weeks rehabbing his shoulder, and then completed a farewell tour of sorts, making appearances (though not always on the mound) at each CL ballpark. The final mound of his career came at home on November 10, and he threw a clean ninth inning against the Yomiuri Giants in a 4-0 loss.

Kyuji Fujikawa has been hired as a Special Assistant with the Hanshin Tigers in 2021.

Related Articles:

Fujikawa’s Retirement Press Conference, Part 2 (September 5, 2020)

Fujikawa’s Retirement Press Conference, Part 1 (September 2, 2020)

Breaking News: Kyuji Fujikawa Announces Retirement (August 31, 2020)

Book Review: Immature Man by Kyuji Fujikawa (August 26, 2015)