After he finished his high school career in Yokohama, Tazawa was not drafted by any of Nippon Professional Baseball\'s 12 teams, and joined the company team of Nippon Oil in the corporate league, unaffiliated with the NPB.\n', '

In 2008, Tazawa posted a 10–1 record for Nippon Oil, with a 1.02 earned run average and 95 strikeouts in 88​1⁄3 innings. In the national corporate league championships, he posted two straight shutouts, the second one a complete game on four hits, 10 strikeouts and zero walks in a 4–0 quarterfinal win over Hitachi, Ltd. Tazawa appeared less than 24 hours later in a relief appearance in the semifinal against Central Japan Railway. He pitched 2 and 2/3 innings, and allowed three hits, struck out one, and gave up the go-ahead run in a 3–2 loss. Tazawa was the MVP of the championships, with a 4–0 record and 36 strikeouts.\n', '

In September 2008, Tazawa announced his intention to skip the NPB draft in order to pursue a career with a Major League team. During the 2008 season, his manager Hideaki Okubo encouraged him to attempt a career in Major League Baseball without first playing with a Nippon Professional Baseball team. Had Tazawa joined a Japanese professional team, he would have had to either wait nine years to become a free agent, or to hope that his team would auction the right to negotiate with him through the posting system.\n', '

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