He led the Japanese Central League with 17 wins in , (tied with Koji Uehara) but was released at the end of . He played a season with the Samsung Lions in the Korea Baseball Organization in , and returned to Japan to play for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in .
He headed the Japanese Central League with 17 victories in , (tied with Koji Uehara) but was let go at the end of . He played a season with the Samsung Lions in the Korea Baseball Organization in , and returned to Japan to play for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in .