Daisuke Matsuzaka injured after fan pulls on his arm
By Matt McCarthy, 985TheSportsHub.com
Former Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is no stranger to arm injuries, but it’s safe to say he’s never had an injury like his latest one.
According to Matsuzaka’s team, the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese Central League, the right-hander is now dealing with arm inflammation after an “overzealous fan” pulled on his arm during a recent spring training event.
The team has shut the 38-year-old down for the foreseeable future.
Matsuzaka returned to Japan in 2015 after an eight-year stint in the major leagues. He went 50-37 in six seasons with the Red Sox and compiled a 4.52 ERA in 117 appearances.
He had Tommy John surgery with Boston in 2011 and had shoulder surgery after returning to Japan. He was the Comeback Player of the Year in the Japanese league in 2018, going 6-4 for the Dragons with a 3.74 ERA.
Matsuzaka’s arm has been notoriously taxed throughout his career. He became well-known in Japan as a teenager by throwing 250 pitches in an extra innings game of a national high school baseball tournament, one-day after throwing a 148-pitch shutout.
If pitch counts did not exist in America, it would have taken Matsuzaka well over 250 pitches to complete numerous games during his stint in a Red Sox uniform.
You can hear Matt McCarthy on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s own Hardcore Baseball podcast and on various 98.5 The Sports Hub programs. Follow him on Twitter @MattMcCarthy985.
