Christmas present for the Stealers: Japanese pitcher Kubo moves to Hamburg
Baseball veteran Yasutomo Kubo will play for the Hamburg Stealers next season (Photo: stealers.de)
On Christmas Eve, the Stealers announced their next signing on their website. Starting pitcher Yasutomo Kubo will play in Stealers Blue in the upcoming Bundesliga season.
A star in Japan
Kubo is no stranger to Japan. The 40-year-old played for 13 years in the NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball), the highest Japanese baseball league (2005-2008 Chiba Lotte Marines, 2009-2013 Hanshin Tigers, 2014-2017 Yokohama DeNA BayStars).
On April 2, 2005, the Japanese native made his NPB debut, winning the Japan Series in his rookie season with the Chiba Lotte Marines. He also received the 2005 Pacific League NPB Rookie of the Year Award and was a 2010 NPB All-Star nominee. Cuba ended his NPB career with a W/L record of 97-86, an earned run average (ERA) of 3.70 and 1130 strikeouts (K).
Starting in 2018, Cuba tried his luck in the Americas, playing three games for the Gary SouthShore RailCats (American Association of Independent Professional Baseball) and then 13 games for the Sugar Land Skeeters (Atlantic League of Professional Baseball) in the United States in 2018. In 2019, Kuba signed with the Bravos de León and played in the Mexican League until early 2020.
Adventure Europe
For the seasoned veteran, European baseball is like a grab bag: “No former NPB player has ever been to Hamburg, Germany and I was just curious to find out what the baseball level was like in Europe. In Japan there is little or no information about baseball in Europe.”
Like his two predecessors, González and Cardoso, Kuba is moving to Hamburg with ambitious goals: “As a team, we want to be No. 1 in the northern squadron and then we want to beat those from the south as well! As a player, I try to win the title in wins, innings and strikeouts. Thinking very optimistically: I would like to play for the national team and become Europe’s No. 1!”
Productive off-season in Hamburg
“Yasutomo is a real superstar in Japan. He fits perfectly into our concept,” says Stealers manager David Wohlgemuth about the signing of Kubo. Apparently the Hamburgers were very busy in the off-season. A few days ago, the Stealers announced the signing of Pablo González (last Savigny Lions, France) and Marco Cardoso (last Stuttgart Reds).
Editor: Marcel Eßers
