The pitcher who scapegoated the "Tokyo Battle" 11 years ago received an ML offer at the age of 36... But "Part of the bargaining chip" is not a good look

*This content was translated by AI.

Veteran pitcher Takahiro Norimoto (36), who was scapegoated by South Korea's "The Battle of Tokyo" 11 years ago, is drawing attention from the Major League Baseball (MLB) team.

Mark Paynesand of the Major League's official website MLB.com reported on the 8th (Korea time) that "Norimoto, a bullpen pitcher from the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), is considering a proposal for a big league team."

"Norimoto, who has 48 saves in the previous two seasons, will also listen to NPB clubs' suggestions," Painsand said. "It is expected to decide (the destination) this weekend."

Norimoto, who joined Rakuten in 2013, has been a one-club man for 13 years. Until last year, he pitched in a total of 373 games, recording 120 wins, 99 losses, 48 saves, 14 holds, 1,804 strikeouts, 479 walks, and a 3.12 ERA in 1,838 innings.

As can be seen from his career record, Norimoto is a pitcher with experience in both starting and bullpen. He won the Pacific League Rookie of the Year with 15 wins since 2013, his first year of his debut, and recorded double-digit wins for six consecutive years until 2018. In 2017, he was 15 wins and 7 losses with a 2.57 ERA and 222 strikeouts. Since then, he has turned into a closing pitcher for the 2024 season and made 32 saves, and last year he recorded 16 saves and 10 holds.

At one point, he had a powerful ball enough to achieve 200 strikeouts (2014-2017) for four consecutive years, but he has not shown as much strikeout ability as before since 2018. Still, Norimoto played a good game based on a fork ball even though he fell off the ball.

However, the response in the U.S. is not very good. MLB Trade Rumors, citing Paysand's report, said, "In the Major League, it seems to be a middle-order or backup starter," adding, "It's surprising if you want more than a cheap single-year contract." "There is a high possibility that Major League Baseball will be taken out as a bargaining chip to get better conditions in Japan," he said.

Norimoto is a familiar face to Korean fans as well. This is because he became a victim of South Korea's great reversal in the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12 semifinals. At the time, Japan's starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani (currently the LA Dodgers) was trailing 0-3 amid seven innings of one hit and 11 strikeouts, and Norimoto, who came up in the eighth inning, also made a three-out inning.

However, Norimoto, who had a leadoff hit in the top of the ninth inning, recorded his first run with Son Ah-seop's hit and Jung Geun-woo's double. Then, when he was on the verge of loading the bases with no outs by giving up a ball that hit Lee Yong-kyu, Norimoto eventually went down the mound. Since then, Korea has turned the game around 4-3 with Kim Hyun-soo's walk and Lee Dae-ho's two-run timely hit to left field. By keeping the lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, South Korea beat Japan, and beat the U.S. in the final to win the first tournament.

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*This content was translated by AI.