Kyuji Fujikawa (藤川 球児, Fujikawa Kyūji, born July 21, 1980) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball. He previously pitched for the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB).\n', '

Fujikawa pitched in the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics as well as the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A prototypical power pitcher, Fujikawa is said to have one of the most explosive fastballs in all of Japanese professional baseball and is one of Japan\'s premier relievers.\n', '

Fujikawa was born in Kōchi, Kōchi, in 1980, a member of the so-called Matsuzaka Generation. His name "Kyuji" literally means "baseball kid" in Japanese, and is often used as part of the phrase "Kōkō-kyuji" (高校球児) to refer to a high school baseball player. It was reportedly given to him by his father because he had thrown a no-hitter in a sandlot baseball game the day before Fujikawa was born. He began playing baseball for the Little League team "Kodakasa White Wolf", first as a shortstop, then later as a pitcher.\n', '

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