Kentarō Ogawa Explained

Kentarō Ogawa
Position:Pitcher
Birth Date:January 12, 1934
Birth Place:Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan
Bats:right
Throws:right
Debutleague:Nippon Professional Baseball
Debutyear:1964
Debutteam:Chunichi Dragons
Finaldate:May
Finalyear:1970
Finalteam:Chunichi Dragons
Statleague:NPB
Stat1label:Win–loss
Stat1value:95-66
Stat2label:ERA
Stat2value:2.62
Stat3label:Strikeouts
Stat3value:739
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Kentarō Ogawa (January 12, 1934  - October 8, 1995) was a Japanese professional baseball player. A right-handed submarine-style pitcher,[1] he played in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons. Ogawa was one of the top pitchers in Nippon Professional Baseball before a scandal derailed his career. During his prime years from 1965–1969, Ogawa won 93 games, including winning 20 games or more twice.

Biography

Ogawa attended Fukuoka Prefectural Meizen High School, graduating in 1954. He signed with the Toei Flyers, but instead of pursuing professional baseball, he went to work in the private sector.

Deciding to return to professional baseball at age 30, he made his NPB debut for the Chunichi Dragons in 1964. In 1967 he went 29-12 with a 2.51 ERA and 16 complete games, winning the Eiji Sawamura Award. The next year he led the league in losses with 20, while still compiling a low 3.27 ERA and 9 complete games. In 1969 he returned to form, winning 20 games for the second time.

Black Mist scandal

See main article: The Black Mist Scandal (Japanese baseball). In 1970 Ogawa started the season 2–1 with a 1.71 ERA.

On May 6 of that year, Ogawa was arrested for taking part in match fixing involving both NPB baseball and flat track motorcycle racing. He was also implicated in baseball game-fixing. On June 6, 1970, the NPB commissioner committee banned Ogawa for life.

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Notes and References

  1. McKenna, Brian. Early Exits: The Premature Endings of Baseball Careers (Scarecrow Press, 2007), p. 17.