Hideaki Wakui is a Japanese Professional baseball pitcher for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball.
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16 Facts About Hideaki Wakui
3.
Hideaki Wakui played softball in elementary school and began playing baseball in junior high for Matsudo Senior.
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4.
Hideaki Wakui went on to Yokohama Senior High School, the alma mater of former Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and a baseball powerhouse that had sent more players to the pros than any other high school in Japan except PL Gakuen Senior High.
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5.
Hideaki Wakui was chosen to start in the tournament finals despite having pitched only in relief up until then, but gave up six runs in just 3.
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6.
In 2004, Hideaki Wakui led his team to another berth in a national tournament in his senior year, this time the 86th National High School Baseball Championship held in the summer at Koshien Stadium.
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7.
Hideaki Wakui was picked in the first round of the 2004 NPB amateur draft by the Seibu Lions and later given the uniform number 16.
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8.
On March 26,2006, his first start of the season, Hideaki Wakui earned a win against the Orix Buffaloes with Ginjiro Sumitani behind the plate, marking the first time a pitcher and catcher both in their teens had won a game in Japanese professional baseball since Tadanori Ishii and Motonobu Tanishige accomplished the feat for the Yokohama Taiyo Whales in 1989.
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9.
Hideaki Wakui led both Pacific and Central leagues in innings pitched and hits allowed and came second to only Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters ace Yu Darvish in complete games.
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10.
Year, Hideaki Wakui was named to the Japanese national team to play in the 2007 Asian Baseball Championship.
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11.
Hideaki Wakui started in the Japan's first game against the Philippines and held them to just one hit over six shutout innings.
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12.
In 2008, Hideaki Wakui was named the starter for the Lions' season opener for the first time in his career.
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13.
Nevertheless, Hideaki Wakui took the hill in Game 1 and Game 5 of the Pacific League Climax Series against the Fighters, winning both starts and giving up just one run over 15 combined innings.
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14.
Hideaki Wakui pitched in three games in the Japan Series, starting Game 1 and Game 5 and even coming on in relief in Game 7 on two days' rest to a key role in the Lions' championship.
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15.
Hideaki Wakui accepted the team's offer to change his uniform number from 16 to 18 during the off-season, a number that denotes the team's ace pitcher in Japan.
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16.
Hideaki Wakui was named to the national team to play in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
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