Masato Yoshii

Yoshii played in the Koshien high school baseball tournament twice and joined the Kintetsu Buffaloes as the second round pick in the 1983 draft after graduating from the same elementary, middle, and high schools as former Seibu Lions manager, Osamu Higashio. After spending some time in the minors, he marked his first victory in 1987, and in 1988, he won 10 games and saved 24 games, which won him the Pacific League relief pitcher title. He won five games and marked another 20 saves his next year. In 1993, he became a starter. In 1995, he was traded to the Yakult Swallows and won more than 10 games a year for three straight years.\n', '

In the 1997 off-season, he became a free agent and signed with the New York Mets. Yoshii agreed to a two-year extension worth $5 million with the Mets in November 1998. He was traded to the Colorado Rockies in 2000, for Bobby Jones. In September, Yoshii un…