Masaki Saito (baseball)

Masaki Saito (斎藤 雅樹, Saitō Masaki; born February 18, 1965 in Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan) is a Japanese former Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher. He played for the Yomiuri Giants from 1984 to 2001. He won the Eiji Sawamura Award three times, 1989, 1995, and 1996, and he won the Nippon Professional Baseball Most Valuable Player Award in 1990.

Masaki Saito 斎藤 雅樹
Pitcher / Coach
Born: (1965-02-18) February 18, 1965 (age 60) Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan
Batted: Right Threw: Right
NPB debut
April 6, 1984, for the Yomiuri Giants
Last appearance
September 30, 2001, for the Yomiuri Giants
NPB statistics (through 2001)
Win–loss	180–96
ERA	2.77
Strikeouts	1,707
Teams
As player Yomiuri Giants (1983–2001) As coach Yomiuri Giants (2002–2003, 2006–2018)
Member of the Japanese
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	2016

Biography

Saito is often referred to as the "Great Ace of the Heisei" because he is considered one of the best pitchers during the Heisei era (1989-2019). He was also known as one of the "Three Pillars of the Giants," along with Hiromi Makihara and Masumi Kuwata from the late 1980s to the 1990s.^[1] In the famous "10.8 deciding match in Nagoya" of 1994, Manager Shigeo Nagashima had all three of them pitch.

He holds the NPB record for 11 consecutive complete game wins.^[1]